Chapter 3

"Alex, did you really think you were the only one Claire abandoned?" Logan Ash stood in the red mist, half his face rotting away. His name tag was stuck to his chest with blood and rust, the letters barely visible.

Three months ago, Logan had been the second strongest in the squad.

Now, he looked like a ghost clawing its way out of a grave.

The moment Claire saw him, she froze.

"No way..." Claire's voice shook. "You were dead."

Logan grinned, his rotting lips stretching to reveal blackened gums. "Yeah, I almost died. Thanks to you."

Ethan jolted back. "Logan, don't twist the truth. You chose to stay behind and cover our retreat."

"Is that so?" Logan raised his hand, his nails having elongated into sharp bone spurs. "I remember it clearly. You locked the doors and left me to the zombies."

He turned to Claire. "She was the one who locked the door on me."

Claire's face drained of all color.

I sat in the control room, my finger hovering over the weapons system. The smile faded from my face.

So it wasn't just me Claire abandoned. She had a habit of throwing others under the bus whenever things got dangerous.

I thought I was special, but I was another one of them.

Logan looked up at the camera, like he knew I was listening. "Alex, did you really think you were left behind because you were weak?"

I kept my mouth shut.

Logan went on, "Wrong.

"Claire left you because you're the only one who knows the top-level admin password for the safe house."

Claire's head snapped up. "Logan!"

Admin password?

All this time, I thought Claire left me here to keep an eye on the supplies and watch over the safe house.

But what if her real plan was to wait until things calmed down out there, then come back and claim the safe house for herself?

Logan laughed even louder. "Claire already made a deal with Northern Command.

"As long as she hands over the safe house coordinates and admin privileges, she gets a core zone access pass.

"You're the key she left behind."

I looked at Claire on the screen. This time, she didn't try to defend herself.

The safe house went dead silent. So quiet that I could feel the black veins under my left arm throbbing and burning.

So that was it.

Three months ago, I was still waiting for Claire to come back and get me.

But maybe all she ever wanted was to come back and take over everything I'd fought to protect.

Claire finally spoke up. "Alex, I never meant to hurt you."

I let out a bitter laugh. "You just wanted to use me, right?"

She bit her lip, tears streaming down her face. "Northern Command has doctors, antidotes, and proper defensive walls. All I want is for everyone to survive."

"Everyone?" I glanced at Ethan standing beside her, then at Logan's rotting face. "Does that include the guy you locked outside the car?"

Claire couldn't say a word.

Just then, Logan suddenly raised his hand, his bone spurs shooting out toward Ethan like daggers.

Ethan screamed as a burst of lightning crackled around him, but it barely made Logan stumble.

High-level infected. The system was right. Logan wasn't human anymore.

The system: [Outer wall defense system requesting fire authorization.]

I stared at the authorization prompt on the screen, my finger hovering, but I didn't hit the button right away.

Logan seemed to notice, looking up at me with a grin. "Alex, don't be in such a hurry to kill me.

"I didn't come here for her.

"I came for you."

I frowned. "Me?"

Logan raised his rotting hand, pointing straight at the control room where I was. "Whatever's on your left arm, it's the same thing that's inside me.

"The red mist didn't kill us. It's choosing new hosts."

The next second, all the lights in the safe house went out at once.

My left arm felt like it was on fire, and a flood of chaotic voices rushed into my head.

The water pump, the machine guns, the electric grid, the vents, the underground locks...

And then there was a voice I'd never heard before. It was deep and cold, like it was coming from the very depths of the safe house. [Red mist adapter detected.

[Hidden permissions activated.

[Underground level nine unlocked.]

I snapped my head up.

On the monitor, Claire, Ethan, and the woman all stared in horror at something behind me.

And behind me, the steel wall that had been sealed shut for three months was slowly cracking open.

Inside, a line of blood-red text glowed: [Welcome back, Alex Warren.]

As the steel wall split open, an elevator shaft stretched downward into the darkness.

A blood-red glow rose from the bottom, like an eye opening in the depths.

I stood in the control room, the black veins on my left arm burning so hot that it felt like my skin was about to split open.

The walls, the wires, the locks—they were all humming in my head, urging me to go down.

Outside, Logan suddenly laughed. "So, you finally opened it."

I glanced at the monitor. "You know what's down there?"