Galili

Seeing Jason raise his gun, the students on the rooftop froze, unsure of what was happening.

"Quiet down. Stay over there and don't move. Simon, keep an eye on them," Jason ordered, pointing to a corner of the rooftop.

"Got it, Captain," Simon said with a cough, then turned to glare at the students. "Behave yourselves, alright? If I get mad, it won't end well for you!"

Jason turned his attention back to the girl and moved closer to her, checking for any injuries.

"Why did you come here?" the girl asked softly.

"Of course, we came to help," Jason replied.

"Now the place is crawling with those... things. Where else can we go?" she said, her voice tinged with despair.

"There's a shelter. We came from there. Once you get there, you'll see," Jason reassured her.

"Hmm..." The girl didn't seem particularly relieved. She knew there was still a dangerous road ahead.

"By the way, what's your name?" Jason asked.

"Galili," she replied.

"Galili... Strange name," Jason mumbled, then smiled at her.

Looking at the blood-stained girl, an idea suddenly formed in Jason's mind. He considered asking her to join their group as the fifth member.

"I'm Jason, and that's Sakura, Hank, and over there is Simon," he introduced the others.

"Hello, Sakura, Hank," Galili greeted them.

"So, did you kill all the zombies downstairs by yourself?" Jason asked, eyeing her dull-bladed knife.

"Mm. I come from a martial arts family. I've been training since I was little. I know a few moves," Galili answered in a soft voice, seemingly embarrassed by the praise.

Jason could tell that when Galili saw them being chased by the zombies, she must have decided to come down and help. If they hadn't drawn the zombies to the field and wiped them out, she likely wouldn't have made it back alive.

When he saw the determined look in her eyes, he couldn't deny that he was moved by her resolve.

"Thank you for coming down to help us," Jason said, patting Galili on the shoulder.

"I... I should be thanking you. We've run out of food," Galili said, her voice shaky.

"By the way, how have you survived since the outbreak?" Jason asked.

"There was a dense fog worldwide for over a week before the outbreak. The internet was full of theories, but we continued with our daily lives. I was just here to teach a martial arts class, as usual," Galili explained.

"Then we all started receiving messages on our phones, advising us to find a safe place and hide. So, we've been holed up here since then," she continued.

"Why weren't you infected, while most people were?" Hank asked, puzzled.

"There's a theory online that the fog was the cause. After inhaling too much of it, people started feeling dizzy and nauseous. We stayed indoors, so we were lucky to avoid that. But a lot of people got infected after being hurt by those... things. Some of our classmates..." Galili trailed off, unable to finish her sentence.

"I see. So you ran out of food? How long has it been since you last ate?" Jason asked.

"Two days... including today..." Galili opened her mouth as if to say more but hesitated.

Jason knew she wanted to ask him to share some food with her classmates, but she was probably reluctant to ask directly, especially with so many people.

The night was slowly descending, the darkness swallowing everything. The zombies were even more active under the cover of night, moving around with greater ease.

"We'll rest here tonight, and tomorrow we'll head to the restaurant nearby to find some food for them. If not, they'll starve," Jason said, turning to the others.

"Don't go! It's full of monsters there! It's too dangerous!" Galili said urgently.

"It's alright, we'll be careful," Jason reassured her with a smile.

Some of the students, having gone two days without food, were moaning on the ground, while others no longer had the strength to even make a sound.

"How about we give them half of our food first?" Hank said, glancing at the students, who were barely holding on.

Jason looked at Sakura. She seemed unwilling but didn't object. It was unavoidable. They couldn't just let these students starve to death. They had come to help, after all.

"Alright, let's give them some food. We'll keep more water for ourselves," Jason said, reluctantly pulling out some food from their backpacks and giving it to the students.

The students who had been lying on the ground suddenly perked up when they saw the food. They scrambled to their feet, desperately reaching for the rations.

Once the food was distributed, Jason called the others over, spreading a map out on the ground. They started discussing their plan for the next day.

The nearest place to them was still the western restaurant, located to the north of the field they had visited earlier. The four of them decided that their primary goal tomorrow would be to head to the restaurant.

After looking over the map, the group prepared to rest for the night.

"I'll keep watch with Sakura for the first half of the night. Hank, Simon, you two take the second half," Jason decided.

He had given it some thought before deciding who would keep watch with whom. If he paired Hank and Sakura together, the two of them, being opposites in personality, might clash. If he paired Sakura with Simon, Simon wouldn't be able to handle the responsibility, so it had to be him.

The night was dark, with the moon hidden behind thick clouds. The usual city lights were gone, and only the occasional crunch of glass beneath a zombie's feet broke the eerie silence.

Jason leaned against the rooftop railing, his mind wandering as he gazed at the students around him, curled up in misery from hunger. He couldn't help but feel a sense of sorrow.

If he hadn't joined the Dawn Tower, would he have ended up like them? Or would he have already turned into a zombie?

He pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his bag, lit one, and offered another to Sakura.

"Sakura, do you think we'll make it out of here alive?" Jason asked, taking a drag from his cigarette.

"Just do your best. There's nothing to miss in this world anymore. Every day we survive is another day gained," Sakura replied, blowing out a cloud of smoke.

Sakura seemed different tonight. Gone was her usual playful demeanor, replaced by a more melancholy air.

"Surviving another day is true, but that doesn't mean we should lose hope. If we're still alive, it means we have a purpose. If we can make it through, there are endless possibilities ahead. We could find a place with no people, live freely, without any rules. Isn't that what you want?" Jason said, imagining a future.

"Oh? You want to settle down with me in some quiet place, huh?" Sakura teased, suddenly back to her flirtatious self.

Jason sighed in exasperation. She was impossible to take seriously for more than three seconds.

"Anyway, we still have to hold onto hope. We have to look forward to the future, to what comes next," Jason said earnestly.

"Actually, before the apocalypse, I wasn't interested in any of those things—future, hope... but now, in this world, it doesn't seem so bad," Sakura said, her gaze distant as she stared into the void.