Chapter 2

Audrey forced her anger down, speaking fast, as if time was working against us. "The base is under siege, Quinton! A full-blown horde! The safe door won't hold much longer! Get the outer high-voltage grid online now!"

Everyone's heart jumped into their throat.

"Mom, what are you talking about? The power's locked in for the hilltop lights. Not a second can go out. If I divert it to the grid, what happens to Maddie's birthday setup?"

He let out a dismissive laugh. "Is Selene feeding you panic again? She's that jealous of Maddie, huh? I'm just up here watching the sunrise with her. Yet, Selene has gone so far as to team up with you to spin a lie just to drag me back?"

Audrey was shaking with rage. "You foolish idiot! Do you have any idea—"

The line went dead, cut off without a second thought. The safe room fell into a heavy silence. Despair spread like an infection.

"It's over… We're done for this time…"

I stared at the door, which was already warped and buckling. My chest tightened. Even after being reborn, could I still not change the ending?

In a split second, an idea flashed through my mind.

"Wait, Mom," I said urgently. "You trained the entire squad yourself. There's a supply path behind the mountain. Take that route and find them. They won't ignore your orders!"

A flicker of hope flashed in Audrey's eyes. "I'll bring them back right now!"

She slipped out through the side door after adding, "Wait for my return."

The metal door finally gave, torn open under the relentless pounding of the horde. A rotting arm shot through the gap, reaching straight for the baby in the woman's arms near the entrance.

"My baby!"

The infant was dragged out before anyone could react. The crying cut off abruptly amid the chaos outside.

"My baby…" the mother wailed, collapsing to the ground. The light in her eyes went out in an instant.

As the people in the safe room slipped deeper into despair, the side door burst open, and someone rushed in. It was Audrey… drenched in blood.

"Quick—seal the breach!" she ordered.

I rushed over to steady her. She grabbed my arm hard. Her voice was shaking. "Quinton, that bastard… He's locked down every route, just to keep anyone from interrupting that woman's birthday sunrise."

Her eyes were bloodshot with rage. The room went dead silent.

A chill crept up from the soles of my feet as I staggered back. So, Quinton had gone this far, even blocking his own mother, just to keep me from reaching him.

"No. We can't just sit here and wait to die…" I looked up, continuing, "If we can't reach the squad, we call for outside help."

As I spoke, I kept tuning the communication devices, cycling through other bases' frequencies, quickly laying out our situation and sending out an urgent distress call.

There was a stretch of silence on the other end before they finally replied, "Sorry. We can't provide assistance. Three hours ago, Captain Morwood personally issued a warning.

"He said someone at your base might be spreading false intel. He ordered that all distress calls tonight are to be ignored."

I hadn't expected Quinton to go this far. For the sake of Madeline Moore's birthday sunrise, he had cut off every possible outside lifeline in advance, sealing off every escape route we had left.

Audrey's face turned deathly pale. "I'm Quinton Morwood's mother. I'm begging you—"

"Mrs. Morwood Senior," the person on the other side interrupted in a cold voice, "Captain Morwood emphasized to respect that order, especially regarding your instructions. Unless you or Mrs. Morwood comes in person to request aid, we will not deploy support."

The line went dead again.

Went in person? Crossing dozens of miles through a raging horde was practically a suicide mission.