Chapter 5

It meant the safe room had completely fallen. There were no survivors left.

Everyone froze in place. The old squad member who had just been mocking us was the first to react. He stumbled forward and threw himself toward the cliff edge, staring down the mountain.

"It's the Maximum Alert… The Maximum Alert! My wife and kids are still in there!"

Julian's face turned ashen. His lips trembled as he stood there in shock.

In the heavy silence, I used every last bit of strength I had left and looked at Quinton. "Do you hear that, Quinton? They're all dead… That's the sunrise you bought for Madeline with everyone's lives. Are you satisfied now?

"Even your mother, whom you respect the most, was killed because of you!"

Back at the base, the safe door was already twisted out of shape, hanging open like a torn mouth.

Pools of bright red blood had formed on the ground. Shattered limbs, ripped clothing, and scattered organs were mixed in a grotesque mess.

A few zombies were already crouched over the bodies, tearing into the remains with wet, grinding sounds.

Seeing that scene, I finally couldn't hold it in anymore. I bent over and retched. Tears spilled out uncontrollably. We were too late. In the end, I had still failed to save them.

"I'll go in… and check…"

The old squad member's voice was shaking so badly that words barely came out. He staggered through the pool of blood. His legs were so weak that he could hardly stand.

"Yuri! Yuri!"

He started digging through the pile of corpses like a madman. His eyes were so red they looked like they might bleed.

"Mom! Mom, where are you?" Julian cried out.

Suddenly, the old squad member froze. With a dull thud, he dropped to his knees in front of a body. Only half of the body remained. His trembling fingers reached toward the pale face. Then, he pulled back as if he couldn't bear to touch it.

A heart-wrenching scream tore out of his throat. He pulled what remained of his daughter, Yuri, into his arms, holding her broken body tightly as he cried like he had lost everything in the world.

That sound kept ripping through everyone's hearts, again and again.

On the other side, Julian finally found his mother. She was lying beside the ruins. Her chest had been ripped open, and her wide eyes still held the terror of her final moment.

He stared at her, but no sound came out of his mouth.

I watched everything, and it felt like my heart was being torn apart. It was worse than having my fingers crushed.

I had been reborn. I knew this ending better than anyone. I wanted to change it more than anyone. So, why did I still fail to save them?

Julian's body shook violently. Slowly, he raised his head and pointed at Quinton. He finally forced his voice to come out. "Look at my mother, Captain! Look at her! She died with her eyes still open!"

His bloodshot eyes locked onto Quinton. "Why—tell me why! We all heard Mrs. Morwood telling you to come back! Why didn't you listen to her?"

He staggered forward and swung a punch at Quinton's face. "Why did you move all of us up to the mountain just for Madeline's birthday? Are you even human? Say something, Morwood!

"Look at all this blood? Doesn't your conscience hurt at all?"

He kept punching him again and again. Quinton didn't even try to fight back. He just let it happen.

However, his eyes were fixed on me the whole time. "Selene? Where's Mom? Where is she?"