Chapter 90: Deep shit

We smelled it before we fully saw it.

From a distance, the bonfire at the military base sent thick smoke into the sky. The scent carried across the wind and hit us hard—burning flesh, heavy and unmistakable. But beneath it, there was something else. Something sweeter. Wrong in a way I couldn’t explain.

The base was lit in deep orange. Flames swallowed what used to be military equipment, casting long shadows that moved like they were alive.

I signaled for the convoy to stop. Engines cut out one by one.

A man paced along the perimeter with a bloody rifle in his hand. His steps were uneven but purposeful. He wasn’t wandering. He was guarding.

When he turned slightly, the firelight hit his face.

His eyes burned with molten orange. Not fully red. Something else simmered there, glowing from inside.

He stopped pacing.

His free hand slipped into his pocket.

My body tensed.

He pulled out a syringe filled with amber liquid. Even from where I stood, I could see it catch the firelight. Thick. Almost luminous.

His breathing grew heavier. Desperate.

He pushed the plunger slightly, watching the liquid bead at the needle’s tip. His hand shook as he lifted it toward his arm.

I moved before he could finish, closing the distance quickly and driving my boot into the back of his leg. The impact forced him down onto one knee.

He barely had time to react.

I raised my gun and fired into the back of his skull.

His body stiffened, then collapsed forward into the dirt. The syringe rolled from his hand.

I stepped over him without hesitation. My soldiers moved in behind me, quiet and disciplined.

The heat from the fire brushed against my face as we advanced.

Lila…she was here.

Right now.

After months of believing she was dead. After months of searching ruins and abandoned towns. After forcing myself to accept that I would never see her again.

And now she was here.

I felt it in my stomach. A tight burn that wouldn’t settle.

“We do this quick and precise,” I said, keeping my voice low but steady. “They don’t want us underestimating them? Fine. We won’t. These aren’t regular infected.”

The team nodded and immediately began to spread out. We were going to circle the base completely. No gaps. No escape.

The lattice pulsed faintly at the back of my mind. I hated the feeling of it, like something cold pressing along my spine, but it gave me clarity. I could scan the terrain, track movement, measure distances, calculate angles.

I adjusted our positioning with short hand signals. Shift left. Hold. Advance slow.

Every movement around the fire became clearer.

My grip tightened around my rifle as we closed in.

I didn’t know exactly what I was walking into.

I didn’t know how I’d react— seeing her as one of them.

But I knew one thing.

I wasn’t leaving without seeing her with my own eyes.

We moved in from the dark without warning.

One second they were gathered around the bonfire, passing vials between them, laughing low, bodies tangled in things I didn’t want to fully look at.

The next second, we were there.

Guns raised.

Surrounding them.

The passing of the amber vials stopped immediately. Hands froze mid-motion. A few bottles slipped and shattered on the concrete. The fire cracked loudly in the silence.

Heads turned.

Dozens of eyes locked onto us.

Onto the muzzles pointed at their faces.

One of the infected shifted like he was about to run.

“Don’t even think about it, you fucking freak,” one of my soldiers snapped, finger tightening on the trigger.

The infected stilled.

“We’ve got you surrounded,” another soldier said, voice hard and clear. “We’re taking this place back.”

No one lowered their weapons.

A tense beat passed.

“You’re all gonna pay for what you’ve done…” the first soldier continued, disgust clear in his voice as he looked over them. Their black fingernails. Their stained mouths. Faces slick with grime and something darker. Some of them were smiling like this was a game. Others looked bored.

“You all will.”

I barely heard him.

My eyes were scanning the crowd, moving from face to face, searching. Counting. Dismissing. Searching again.

Dark blonde hair.

Shorter now.

Piercings.

Molten eyes.

Where was she?

A woman near the fire noticed where my attention kept drifting. She straightened slowly, brushing ash off her hands. A slow smile spread across her face.

“Looking for something, pretty boy?” she asked.

Her eyes glowed faintly orange.

“Where the hell is she?” I said.

Her smile widened.

I could feel a few of my soldiers glance at me. They heard it. They understood this wasn’t just tactical for me.

“You’re gonna have to be more specific,” she said lightly.

“Dark blonde hair. Around this height.” I gestured with my hand. “You know exactly who I’m talking about. Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”

She stepped closer to the fire, the light dancing across her face. She studied me carefully, her gaze dragging over my eyes, my stance, my grip on the rifle.

Then her eyes widened in exaggerated surprise.

“Ohhh,” she breathed. “You’re the boyfriend, aren’t you?”

My jaw tightened.

“I asked you a question.”

“It’s clear you want to see her,” she continued, ignoring my tone. “But how are you so sure she wants to see you?”

My finger flexed slightly on the trigger.

A long beat passed.

The fire popped behind her.

She tilted her head.

“After all,” she said softly, almost thoughtfully, “you abandoned her in cold blood. Left her there to be killed by the infected.”

My chest felt like it had been struck.

Silence fell over both sides.

The soldiers behind me didn’t speak.

The infected didn’t laugh.

They just watched.

Her smile sharpened.

“Don’t you remember?” she asked.

My throat went dry.

“Because I do.”

Before I could say a word—

Cold metal pressed against the back of my head.

Another muzzle dug into my spine.

The shift was so fast it didn’t make sense.

The sweet metallic smell grew stronger, thick in my nose, almost suffocating. I felt a body step in behind me, breasts pressed almost casually, close enough that I could feel their breath against my ear.

Then something cold brushed my throat.

A blade was just shy of breaking skin.

Wait… what?

“Ha…you fellas in deep shit now!”

The infected that had just tried to run spoke out.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

There’s no way I didn’t notice. The lattice should’ve picked it up, right?

How did they get behind us?

My men were still aiming forward, confused shouts breaking out around me as more infected emerged from the dark behind our lines. We hadn’t surrounded them.

They had surrounded us.

The woman by the fire smiled slowly.

“You shouldn’t be so quick to underestimate us,” she said calmly. “We knew you were coming.”

My jaw tightened.

She stepped closer, boots crunching over gravel, stopping right in front of me. Up close, I could see the faint orange glow pulsing in her eyes.

“Then again,” she continued, tilting her head, “you seem smart. Perhaps if they had sent you to take over the military base in the first place, there wouldn’t be so much…”

She gestured lazily to my left.

I forced myself to look.

One of ours was on the ground. Held down. An infected crouched over him, doing something I couldn’t fully process. The soldier’s face was twisted in pain and humiliation.

“…casualties,” she finished.

My vision tunneled.

“I’m gonna fucking kill you,” I said.

It wasn’t loud.

It wasn’t dramatic.

It was a promise.

She laughed softly. “Gee. Like I haven’t heard that one before.”

She reached out and tapped my cheek with her fingers, slow and mocking.

I jerked my head away immediately.

Her smile sharpened.

Then she turned her back to me like I wasn’t a threat at all.

“I know the person you’re looking for. Quite well, actually,” she said casually. “Unfortunately for you, she isn’t here.”

My pulse skipped.

She glanced over her shoulder at me.

“Since I’m so nice, though, I’ll take you to her.”

My stomach tightened.

“You know,” she added lightly, “for the closure.”

Closure.

The word felt like a blade twisting deeper than the one at my throat.

Before she could turn fully away, I leaned forward and spat in her face.

The world seemed to pause.

The infected behind me pressed the knife a little closer to my skin.

She froze.

A drop of spit slid down her cheek.

For a brief second, I smiled.

Her eyes pulsed brighter.

Once.

Twice.

Good. Show your true colors to me, you freak.

She inhaled slowly through her nose.

Then exhaled.

When she looked at me again, the smile was gone.

“Take him away,” she said quietly.

The knife pressed harder against my skin, drawing blood.

Hands grabbed my arms.

And for the first time since arriving—

I realized I might not be walking out of this.

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