Escaped

The time read 5 PM, and the oppressive silence stretched between the seconds, each one dragging Azumi and Adelina further into their growing anxiety. The weight of the day hung heavily over them, with every tick of the clock feeding their unease. It had been hours since Victor and Hiroshi had left, and yet there was no sign of them.

Azumi sat near the window, her fingers tapping an erratic rhythm against the wooden armrest of her chair. Outside, the sky had begun its slow descent into twilight, streaked with hues of amber and violet, but the beauty of the evening was lost on her. Her mind was fixated on the unknown—where they were, if they were safe, if something had gone terribly wrong.

Adelina paced near the doorway, arms crossed tightly over her chest, her breath uneven. She had tried to distract herself, tried to believe that any moment now, the familiar sound of footsteps would echo through the corridor, signaling their return. But as the hours crawled on, doubt gnawed at the edges of her resolve.

“What if something happened?” Adelina finally spoke, her voice barely above a whisper, laced with the fear she had been trying to suppress.

Azumi didn’t respond immediately. She swallowed hard, her gaze still fixed on the empty street beyond the window. When she finally spoke, her voice was quiet but firm. “We wait. They’d come back.”

But promises felt fragile in the face of uncertainty, and as the sun dipped lower on the horizon, the shadows in the room seemed to stretch longer, wrapping around them like silent specters of dread.

"But where the hell are they really?!" Azumi muttered under her breath, her voice laced with frustration. "If we leave, we leave while there's still light. Otherwise, we'd run straight into a sea of zombies out there."

Adelina heaved a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "Relax. They must have found somewhere to build us a shelter for the night... perhaps."

Azumi scowled, shaking her head as she scratched the back of her neck. "Well, we can’t get in there unless they come back." Her gaze shifted to the barricades they had erected outside, their makeshift fortress of hope. The unease bubbling in her chest had no outlet, and the stillness of the world around them only made it worse. It felt like the whole city was holding its breath.

The air between them was thick with silence, the only sound being the occasional rustle of their movements. Every breath felt heavier, as if even the simple act of inhaling disturbed the delicate stillness that had settled around them.

The world beyond their immediate surroundings seemed impossibly farther away, as if it existed only in memories, too distant to reach. It was as though they were trapped in a moment stretched too thin, an in-between space where time slowed and reality wavered.

There was something deeply unnerving about it, an extremely different sensation. The silence wasn’t just an absence of noise—it carried weight, pressing down on them like an unspoken truth neither dared to voice. If they spoke now, it would feel intrusive, as if sound itself was a forbidden thing in this space.

The quiet had taken on a life of its own, stretching between them like an unseen force, coiling tighter with every second. And yet, the longer it lasted, the more suffocating it became, threatening to consume them whole.

"You haven't gotten any flashbacks?" Adelina’s voice broke the silence, quiet but probing.

Azumi turned toward her, furrowing her brow. "No, why?"

Adelina sighed, looking down at the dirt beneath her feet as if weighing something invisible. "Me neither. I thought I'd be flooded with them by now, especially now that we’re together again."

Azumi considered this, her thoughts swirling. "That’s what I thought too. But it’s okay. We’ve already figured out a few things. I’m sure more will come in time—"

Before Azumi could finish her sentence, a rustling noise interrupted her thoughts. Her eyes snapped to the source, ears straining for the familiar sound of Victor’s boots, but what she heard wasn’t the steady, confident rhythm she had come to recognize. Instead, the steps were too measured, too deliberate—lacking the easy familiarity of her partner’s gait.

A prickle of unease crept up her spine as she held her breath, her fingers instinctively tightening around the edge of the table. The dim lighting cast long shadows against the cracked walls, distorting shapes into eerie figures that flickered with each shifting movement. The footsteps grew louder, the heavy thud reverberating in the silence, slow and deliberate, as if whoever was approaching wanted to be heard.

Azumi’s pulse quickened. Something wasn’t right. Victor would have called out by now—would have made some offhanded remark, teasing her about jumping at shadows. But there was only silence, stretching unbearably between each footfall.

"Finally, they’re back!" Azumi said, the tension in her chest momentarily relieved.

But the relief was short-lived.

Adelina, whose muscles had already tensed with readiness, was quicker than Azumi could react. She had already sprinted toward the entrance, her figure a blur against the fading daylight. Her breath was steady, her movements precise—years of training kicking in as she surged forward, her boots barely making a sound against the worn concrete floor.

Azumi barely had time to register what was happening. A sharp inhale was caught in her throat as she reached out, a futile attempt to stop Adelina before it was too late. The barrel by the entrance was shifting, its weight scraping against the ground, but the sound of it moving was lost beneath a deafening explosion that shattered the air.

The world seemed to convulse, the walls of their barricade buckling under the force of the blast. A blinding flash swallowed the dimly lit space, followed by an eruption of heat that sent shrapnel and dust cascading in all directions.

Adelina was thrown back like a ragdoll, her body hurtling through the air with terrifying speed before crashing into Azumi. The force of the impact was bone-shattering, knocking both women to the ground with a violent force that left Azumi gasping for breath.

Pain erupted in Azumi’s chest, the wind knocked out of her as they slammed into the cold, unforgiving floor. She could barely process the chaos around her—the ringing in her ears, the dust and debris clouding the air, the taste of copper as it filled her mouth. But what lingered in her mind was the sharp realization that they hadn’t just been caught off guard. Someone had been waiting for them.

Azumi’s breath came in short gasps as she tried to push herself up, her body trembling with the shock of the explosion. Through the haze of dust and disorientation, she saw Adelina groaning beside her, clearly dazed but alive.

"A-Adelina!" Azumi called, her voice hoarse. She reached out, gripping her friend’s arm to pull her to her feet.

Adelina’s eyes fluttered open, the fog of confusion still clouding her expression as she slowly became aware of the danger. Her breath hitched, her pulse quickening as the unfamiliar surroundings came into focus. The dim, flickering light overhead cast eerie shadows across the cracked walls, the air thick with the scent of damp earth and something metallic—blood, perhaps.

Beside her, Azumi stirred, her wide eyes mirroring the same disbelief that tightened Adelina’s chest. They exchanged a fleeting look, their silent gazes speaking volumes, both grasping at the fraying threads of logic in a situation that made none.

Then, like a sledgehammer, reality crashed down on them. The heavy sound of footsteps echoed in the distance, deliberate and unhurried. A chill slithered down Adelina’s spine. Whoever had brought them here was coming.

"W-We have to hide," Azumi groaned, her voice barely audible over the chaos as she pulled Adelina toward the escape ladder Victor had made just for this kind of moment which she thought would never come.

The reality of their situation was crashing down on her—this was no longer just a matter of survival; it was a desperate scramble for their lives.

The ladder was nothing more than a makeshift contraption of ropes and wooden slats, hardly the best escape plan, but at the moment, it was the only option.

Azumi's hands trembled as she gripped it, her mind racing. She knew it would hold the two of them, but it was the uncertainty of what lay beyond that gnawed at her as the ladder didn't reach the ground floor.

They'll still need to jump to the windows of the lower floors to escape with fewer injuries.

The sound of unfamiliar footsteps echoed through the crumbling building, growing louder with each passing second. Azumi’s heart skipped a beat, the panic surging through her like a tidal wave.

She couldn’t afford to hesitate. She quickly, though unsteady, threw the ladder down, her hands slick with sweat.

"You go first," Azumi said, her voice shaking with a mixture of fear and urgency as she pushed Adelina toward the ladder.

The figures in black suits were closing in fast, their heavy footsteps like a drumbeat of doom. They were relentless, ruthless, and worse, they had come for them—whether to capture them or end their lives, it didn’t matter. Their mission was clear.

"N-No," Adelina stuttered, her voice trembling as she glanced down at the escape route, but her hesitation was brief as though she saw something else.

She looked up at Azumi, her expression a silent plea. Her gaze flickered briefly to the men in black, already swarming the area.

They were getting closer. And then, in a voice so resolute it seemed to echo in the empty space between them, Adelina spoke again.

"Y-You're humanity's last home, Azumi."

For a heartbeat, Azumi froze, caught off guard by the weight of Adelina’s words. The world around her seemed to blur, the distant echoes of battle, the crackling of fire, and the anguished cries of the wounded fading into an eerie silence. All that remained was the steady pounding of her own heartbeat and the unwavering gaze of the woman before her.

She saw it then—tears threatening to spill from Adelina’s eyes, yet her lips were curved into a smile, a sad, bittersweet smile that told Azumi everything she needed to know. It was a farewell, an unspoken truth woven into the trembling edges of her expression. The realization settled heavily in Azumi’s chest, a suffocating weight pressing against her ribs.

She could feel it—the overwhelming tide of fear, sorrow, and guilt. It surged through her veins, leaving her breathless, drowning her in emotions too vast to contain.

The burden of responsibility clawed at her, relentless and merciless. Adelina is entrusting her with everything, with the fate of those who remained, with the shattered remnants of a world teetering on the edge of oblivion.

A sharp gust of wind carried the scent of ash and blood, tangling in Azumi’s hair as she clenched her fists, nails biting into her palms. This was not a choice. It was a command, a plea, a desperate hope clinging to the last embers of humanity's survival.

Azumi reached out, her heart pounding in her ears, but before she could say another word, before she could plead for them to escape together, everything shifted. The world seemed to slow to a crawl, the air thick with tension, as though time itself had paused in anticipation.

Adelina, with the grace and strength of someone who had accepted her fate, turned to Azumi with a final, lingering look.

Before Azumi could protest, Adelina’s hands shoved her with surprising force, propelling her downward. Azumi barely registered the fall, her body tumbling through the air as the ground rushed up to meet her. She had no time to react, no time to process what had just happened. The world spun wildly, her heart torn in two as she screamed, "ADELINAAAAA!!!" Her voice echoed in the void, her words lost to the wind.

And then, everything went black.

Azumi’s body hit the ground with a sickening thud, the impact knocking the breath from her lungs—suprisingly, the ground was softer than she expected. Slowly, she pushed herself up and realized she landed on a damtruck filled with trash.

Adelina must have seen it.

The ringing in her ears drowned out everything else—the explosions of gunfire, the sound of men shouting in pursuit—until it was all just a distant hum.

Adelina.

Azumi's mind struggled to make sense of it, but her thoughts were clouded, the image of her friend’s sacrifice, of her final words, haunting her. For a moment, she couldn’t even find the strength to move, the weight of her loss settling on her chest like a leaden blanket.

But then, through the haze of her grief, the faintest sound reached her ears—footsteps, distant but growing closer. She forced herself to stand up, her body aching, her heart heavy with loss. The men in black, the ones who had brought this pain, were coming for her now. She couldn’t let them capture her.

Not when there was still hope, not when Adelina’s final words rang in her ears—the words, now a mantra, fueled Azumi’s resolve.