[Lin – 7:48 p.m.]
The wind feels different tonight.
No crawling.
No clicking.
Just silence.
The kind that wraps around your throat, slowly.
I sit by the rooftop railing, nursing a bruised rib and a fever I can't let anyone notice.
Kao sits next to me.
Not touching.
But closer than she's ever been.
[7:52 p.m.]
Palm stands in the center.
Bloody sleeves rolled up. Eyes sunken.
"Okay,"
he says.
"We're not dead."
Jack groans.
"That's the only good thing."
"But we will be,"
Palm continues,
"if we don't start acting smart."
Everyone gathers in a semi-circle.
Even Dean.
Especially Dean.
[7:54 p.m.]
Palm begins listing.
"Zombies. Three kinds. Atleast we have seen only three."
1. Basics.
Palm glances at Win.
"Slow. Dumb. But they swarm. Don't underestimate 'em."
Win nods, silently clutching his blood-caked bat.
2. Screamers.
FahFah flinches.
"They call other zombies,"
Jack adds.
"Sound triggers them,"
Palm explains.
"They react to noise and smell. Hit the throat or the back of the neck."
Emily mutters,
"I still hear them when I close my eyes."
3. Human Locusts.
Dean finally speaks.
"Break their limbs. That's all that works."
Palm grimaces.
"They don't bleed right. Don't move like people. They're fast and crawl vertically."
Namtan whispers,
"They... liked the heat. Remember? They got faster in the sun."
Kao nods.
"They retreated at night."
Silence.
Everyone hears the unspoken question.
What happens when the sun rises again?
[7:59 p.m.]
I stay quiet.
Kao shifts a little closer.
Our shoulders brush.
I don't move away.
My skin still burns — not from the fever, from her.
[8:03 p.m.]
Lin:
"Any common weaknesses?"
Palm taps the cracked whiteboard.
"I made notes during the fights. Here's what we've figured out:"
Spine damage works on all three types
Fire slows down Basics, agitates Screamers
Headshots only work if the skull is penetrated
High-frequency sound attracts Screamers, repels Locusts
Locusts have no eyes, but track through vibration
[8:06 p.m.]
"I'll sketch a rooftop layout,"
Palm says. "Traps. Entry points. Escape ideas."
Best sighs.
"We're not leaving this rooftop anytime soon, are we?"
"Nope,"
Jack mutters.
"Isolation Protocol just began."
[8:08 p.m.]
Kao nudges a water bottle toward me.
"Drink."
I shake my head.
"You should rest."
She stares.
"You're burning."
I look away. "It's just heat."
She leans closer, whispering:
"Liar."
Our eyes meet.
For the first time, I see something softer behind her usual coldness.
Not pity.
Not suspicion.
Something else.
[8:10 p.m.]
Palm ends the meeting with six simple words:
"Instinct brought us this far."
"Now we need strategy to survive."
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