Inside the van, Alice moved with sudden, deadly intent. The knife she had secretly pocketed at the grocery store flashed in her hand as she lunged forward, plunging it into A.D.'s stomach. The van veered wildly, then careened off the road, crashing and overturning.
Blood stained the interior as the vehicle came to a halt. Giana, despite her own fear, instinctively pulled her daughter, Mia, close, shielding her from the impact. A.D stumbled out of the wreckage, one hand clutched to his bleeding stomach, blood already seeping through his fingers. A growing horde of zombies shambled towards them, their groans echoing as the van began to catch fire.
"Save Mia!" Giana cried, her voice hoarse with terror. Mia lay unconscious, while Alice had vanished into the chaos.
"No, you have to live for Mia!" A.D. pleaded, struggling to stand.
"You promised my husband," Giana insisted, desperation in her eyes. "Now promise me, you have to save Mia at all costs!"
With a last surge of strength, A.D. carefully pulled Mia from the wreckage. He turned back, trying to reach Giana, but the van erupted in a fiery blast. "No!" A.D. cried out, tears streaming down his face as he watched Giana disappear in the flames.
Clutching the unconscious Mia, A.D. stumbled away from the inferno, heading towards the distant wall. But it was so far. He changed direction, seeking refuge in a nearby house. He burst through the door, locking it behind him, and gently laid Mia on the floor.
After some time, Mia stirred, her eyes fluttering open. "Mom?" she whispered, then looked at A.D. "Where's Mom?"
A.D., his stomach throbbing with pain, could only say, tears choking his voice, "She has left us."
"No!" Mia sobbed, refusing to believe him, trying to push past him towards the door. "It's not true! Let me go, I want to go to my mom!"
"Be calm," A.D. pleaded, tears still falling. A wave of dizziness washed over him. "Ah!" he gasped, losing too much blood.
"What?" Mia asked, alarmed.
A.D. forced himself to speak. "Be strong. You have to live." He reached into his shirt, pulling out a locket his mother had given him. "I'm sorry," he whispered, pressing it into Mia's hand. "Keep it. You're like my sister."
"What are you saying?" Mia cried, her eyes wide with fear. "Don't leave me alone!"
Meanwhile, far away, David had made a decision. He would save A.D. and Mia. He abandoned the lab, found a car, and raced towards A.D.'s last known location.
A.D., remembering his promise to Mia's parents, tore off a strip of his shirt and tightly bound his wound. He grabbed a metal rod. "There's a water pond going through the wall," he told Mia, his voice raspy. "We only have to go to the pond. Mia, stand up. We have to go."
Mia, still sobbing, managed to stand. A.D. opened the door, smashing the heads of any zombies in their way, and they struggled towards the pond.
At the pond's edge, Alice was waiting. Her body showed signs of having been bitten, but she was disturbingly conscious. "You have to pay for rejecting me," she snarled, lunging at A.D.
A.D., weakened by blood loss, collapsed before she reached him. He struggled to hit her, but his strength failed. Alice's eyes glowed red as she fully succumbed to the virus, becoming a zombie. She lunged, snapping her jaws at Mia.
With a desperate cry, A.D. forced himself up and struck Alice's head with the rod. Just then, David's car skidded to a halt, the glader machine attached to it. "Come fast!" David yelled.
But then, a horrifying sight. Mia's mother, half-burned, half-transformed into a zombie, shambled towards them. "Mom!" Mia screamed, her face a mask of grief and horror.
"It's not your mom!" A.D. cried, trying to pull Mia away.
"Quickly!" David bellowed again.
Mia, unable to comprehend, pushed A.D. into the pond and ran towards her mother's zombie form. "No!" A.D. screamed from the water as the zombie grabbed Mia. He cried out once more, then lost consciousness.
David jumped from the car, pulled A.D. from the water, and sped away.
Chapter : The Aftermath
A.D. slowly opened his eyes. He was in a house, the pain in his stomach replaced by the dull ache of stitches. David appeared beside him. "Are you okay?"
"Where is Mia?" A.D. croaked, his voice filled with dread.
"I'm sorry," David replied softly.
Tears streamed down A.D.'s face. He snatched a knife from a nearby table and, in a fit of despair, began to cut his own arm. David quickly intervened, stopping him, but A.D. had already made three deep cuts, his sobs tearing through the quiet room.