Chapter 5 Don't Open the Door

Scarlett..."The voice outside sounded like Adrian.

Exactly like Adrian.My hand tightened around the knife.Daniel raised his weapon.

"Don't."

I looked at him."That's my husband."

"No."His answer was immediate.

"You need to understand something. Whatever is outside that door is not the man you know."

My heart hammered."How can you be sure?"

Daniel didn't answer.

The thing outside knocked again.

This time, it was gentle.

Almost desperate.

"Scarlett, please."I took one step toward the door.

Daniel grabbed my arm.

"Don't.""What if you're wrong?"

"I'm not."

Another knock.

"Scarlett?"

My chest tightened.Adrian's voice had always sounded like that when he wanted something from me.

Soft.

Patient.

Trustworthy.

In my first life, I had fallen for it countless times.But there was something wrong with this voice.

Something I couldn't explain.I moved closer to the door anyway.

"Adrian?"

Silence.

Then:

"Yes."

I looked at Daniel.

He shook his head.

I frowned.

"What?"

He pointed toward the door."Ask him something only your husband would know."

My mind raced.

I leaned toward the door without touching it."What did you give me on our first anniversary?"

There was a pause.

My heart pounded.

Then the voice answered.

"The silver bracelet."I froze.That was correct.

Daniel looked at me.

I whispered, "He knows."

"Ask another."

I swallowed.

"What did I say to you that night?"

Silence.

Longer this time.

Then the voice answered:

"You said you loved me."

My stomach twisted.

Wrong.

I had said something else.Something stupid.Something private.Something only Adrian could remember.

I had told him that I was afraid of losing him.

I hadn't said I loved him.

Not that night.I stepped away from the door.

"That's not him."

The thing outside suddenly became silent.

Then it laughed.My blood ran cold.It wasn't Adrian's laugh.It was something deeper.

Broken.

Hungry.Daniel raised his weapon.

"Get away from the door."I moved backward.The next impact nearly tore the door from its frame.

Boom!

I jumped.

Another impact.

Boom!

The hinges screamed."How strong are these things?" I whispered.

"Strong enough.""What does that mean?"

"It means we leave now."Daniel pointed toward the hallway.

"Back door."

I didn't argue.

We ran.

The house shook behind us.I grabbed my bag from the table.

My phone.

My keys.

The notebook.

Nothing else mattered.We reached the back door.Daniel opened it slowly.

Cold night air rushed inside.

No vehicles.

No people.

Only darkness.

"Go."

I stepped outside.

Daniel followed.

We ran toward the trees.Behind us, the front door finally broke.A roar echoed through the house.

I didn't look back.

I didn't need to.I could hear footsteps.

Fast.

Too fast.

My lungs burned.

"Faster!"

"I'm trying!"Branches slapped against my face.

I nearly fell.Daniel grabbed my arm and pulled me forward.

"Keep moving!"

We reached the edge of the property.A black vehicle suddenly appeared between the trees.

I stopped.Daniel pushed me down.A burst of gunfire tore through the darkness.The vehicle's windshield shattered.

The driver swerved.

The car crashed into a tree.

I stared.

"Who are they?"Daniel looked at the wreckage.

"Not the same people who attacked the house."I stared at him."How many people are after me?"

"That's what we're trying to find out."

I almost laughed.

"You're telling me you don't know?"

"No."

"Wonderful."

We moved away from the vehicle.

Then I heard a sound.

A low growl.

Daniel froze.

I froze too.Something moved between the trees.

"Don't run," he whispered.

"Why?""Because it can hear your heartbeat."

I stared at him.

"What?"

The branches moved.A figure stepped into the moonlight.

It looked human.At first.

A man.

Tall.

Thin.

His clothes were torn.His skin was pale.Blood covered his mouth.

He lifted his head.

His eyes found us.

I took a step backward.The infected man didn't rush toward us.He simply watched.

Then he tilted his head.

Like he was studying me.

Daniel whispered:

"Don't move."The infected took one step forward.Then another.

I could hear my own breathing.

My heart was pounding.

The creature suddenly smiled.

I felt sick.

It knew.

It knew we were afraid.

Then a gunshot exploded through the forest.

The infected's head snapped backward.

It collapsed.

I stared at the body.

Daniel lowered his weapon.

"You shot it."

"Yes.""But you told me not to move.""I changed my mind."

I almost screamed at him.

"You could have told me!"

"There wasn't time."

He grabbed my arm.

"We need to go."

We ran again.This time, we didn't stop until we reached a small road.An old pickup truck was parked beneath a tree.

Daniel opened the driver's door."Get in."

I climbed into the passenger seat.He started the engine.

The truck roared to life.

We drove.For several minutes, neither of us spoke.I stared through the window.The city lights were still visible in the distance.They looked peaceful.

Beautiful.

Normal.

But I knew what was coming.The first life had taught me something.The world didn't end all at once.It happened piece by piece.

One hospital.

One street.

One city.

One family at a time.

I turned toward Daniel.

"Tell me everything."

He kept his eyes on the road.

"I already told you what I know."

"No."I shook my head."You know too much."

He said nothing."You knew about the hospital."

Silence."You knew about the pharmaceutical company."

Nothing."You knew the infected would appear early."His hands tightened around the steering wheel."And you knew someone was watching me."

Still nothing.

I leaned closer."Who are you really?"Daniel sighed.

"My brother worked for Helix."I waited."He was a scientist."My stomach tightened.

"What happened to him?"

"He died during the first outbreak."

"Was he infected?"

Daniel shook his head."No.""Then how did he die?""He was killed.""By who?"

Daniel looked at me.

"People who wanted his research."

I stared at him.

"What research?"

He looked back at the road."The original infection wasn't supposed to create zombies."I felt a chill."Then what was it supposed to do?""Regenerate damaged human tissue."

I remembered the photograph.

The laboratory.

Claire Morgan.

The patients.The strange behavior.

I swallowed."Then what went wrong?"

Daniel's expression darkened.

"They discovered something they weren't supposed to.""What?"

He didn't answer.

"Daniel."

"Not yet."I slammed my hand against the dashboard."Not yet?"My voice shook with anger.

"I woke up today after dying in a world full of monsters. Someone is following me. People are shooting at me. Something that looks human just tried to hunt us through the forest, and you're telling me you're not ready to explain?"

He glanced at me.

"You want the truth?"

"Yes."

"You won't like it.""I stopped caring about that a long time ago."

He was quiet for several seconds.Then he said:

"The infection doesn't kill the brain immediately."

I frowned.

"What does that mean?"

"It changes it."

"Changes it how?"

"We don't know."

"Then why are you so afraid?"

Daniel looked toward the road ahead.

"Because the creature outside your house wasn't supposed to exist for another twenty-nine days."My blood went cold.

Twenty-nine days.

That was almost exactly the amount of time I had thought remained.

But if the creature had appeared already...

Then my memories were becoming useless.

Daniel continued."Something has accelerated the infection."

I stared at him.

"Who?"

"I don't know."

"Helix?"

"Maybe."

"Voss?"

His head snapped toward me.

I noticed immediately.

"You know that name."

He didn't respond.

"You know Elias Voss."

Daniel's silence was enough."Who is he?"

Daniel's jaw tightened.

"The scientist who disappeared three days before the first outbreak."

My heart skipped.

I remembered that name.Not from the beginning of the apocalypse.

From much later.A name whispered by survivors.

A name connected to the worst infected creatures.

A name I had never understood.

"Why was he important?"

Daniel's eyes remained fixed on the road.

"Because everyone thought he died."

"And?"

He finally looked at me.

"He didn't."

The truck suddenly slowed.

I frowned.

"Why are we stopping?"

Daniel didn't answer.

I looked through the windshield.

A line of abandoned vehicles blocked the road.

Dozens of them.

Cars.

Trucks.

Buses.

All left in the middle of the road.

There was no traffic.

No people.

No lights.

Just silence.

Then I noticed something on the nearest car.

Blood.

A lot of it.

My stomach dropped.

Daniel switched off the headlights.

"What's happening?"

He whispered:

"Nothing."

I stared at him.

"That isn't an answer."

He looked toward the dark road ahead.

Then I heard it.

A distant scream.

Another answered.

Then another.

Not one voice.

Many.

My fingers slowly tightened around the knife.

Daniel reached for his weapon.

"How many?"

I whispered.

He didn't answer.

The darkness ahead suddenly moved.

One figure stepped onto the road.

Then another.

Then another.

My heart stopped.

There were dozens.

No.

Hundreds.

The infected stood across the road, blocking every direction.

But they weren't running toward us.

They were standing still.

Watching.

Waiting.

Then the one in front slowly raised its head.

Its cloudy eyes met mine through the windshield.

And it smiled.

I stopped breathing.

Because I recognized that face.

I had seen it in my first life.

But it wasn't supposed to become infected for another twenty-nine days.

Daniel whispered beside me:

"Now you understand."

I stared at the creature.

"What?"

His voice was barely audible.

"Someone has changed the future."

The infected suddenly screamed.

Every creature behind it screamed with it.

And then they charged.