[Kao – Lake Edge]
The lantern's flickering across Vitcha's map like fireflies are mocking the dying light. The air inside this shed is heavy. Jay's sprawled on a tarp, fiddling with his camera's dead battery, muttering something about "lost subs" under his breath. Jane is perching on a crate with phone glowing dim, thumb scrolling through offline clips like they're lifelines. Vitcha leans against the barricaded door with crossed arms.
Vitcha tilts her head with steady eyes on me. "You said the lake's a start. For what? Answers about... this?" She nods toward the window, where the reeds rustle soft, a Basic's shadow shifting just beyond the light. It doesn't lunge. Doesn't even moan. Just waits, like it knows I'm not worth the chase but they're and it's still not attacking.
I trace a finger along the map's red X—the hospital, buried in the outskirts like a forgotten grave.
"Yeah. About why they watch instead of attack. Why I..."
The words snag. Naïve. The label burns, but spilling it here feels like handing over a loaded gun. Lin knew and loved me anyway. These three are just strangers with cameras and bullets. Useful, maybe. But trust? That's a crack I can't afford.
Jay glances up from his camera with crooked eyebrow. "Why you what? Spill the tea, axe girl. We're all in the deep end here."
Jane nudges him with her boot, but her eyes stay on me, "Ignore the hype beast. But yeah. You're not freaking out like most. And those things out there? They're acting weird around you. Like dogs spotting another stray."
The comparison stings. It fits too well. I shift, the axe's weight grounding me.
"I need to know why. Why it started at the school? Why they don't attack me and Lin..." Her name slips out and the shed goes still. Jay's fiddling stops. Jane's thumb pauses mid-scroll. Vitcha's arms uncross, just a fraction.
"Lin?" Vitcha repeats, soft but probing. "A freind you lost?"
I nod and let the truth slip, "She was... everything. She pulled me out of the numb. She made me want to fight for more than surviving. But then she got bitten and then she lured the horde so evryone else could get out."
Her memories flashes infront of my eyes, her final kiss, her forehead to mine, her "I loved you" like a goodbye wrapped in fire.
"I have to find her. Or atleast what's left of her. If there's a way to pull her back, reverse the turning, anything I can do. That's the answers I need."
Jay whistles low, camera forgotten. "Damn. That's some Romeo-Juliet zombie edition. Respectfor taste girl."
Jane shoots him a look but leans forward with dropping voice. "Pull her back? You mean like, cure? But it can be risky. It may turns people wrong sometimes."
Vitcha's gaze sharpens, "Cure's a myth most days. But if you're chasing threads..." She taps the red X again, finger lingering. "Sirin's your needle. She's a tech queen up in Nexus Spire, she has biotech empire and has labs that make gods jealous. If anyone's tracking a girl like Lin through this mess, it's her. Satellites, drones, encrypted nets. She has it all."
I want to try everything I can to try and find Lin, even if that means outing myself as a Naïve.
"She know about... people like me?"
Vitcha shrugs, but her eyes say she sees more than she lets on. "She knows about everything that crawls, walks, or glitches in between. We traded with her once. She's got eyes on the school blast, the camps, even the river runs. If Lin's out there, Sirin can point the way."
The offer dangles, tempting as a clear vein. I can get answers for Lin. Truth for me. But Nexus Spire's no lakeside rock, it's a hive, buzzing with secrets that bite back.
Jay's already nodding, camera charging with a beep. "Tower run? That's Epic. Our views would explode, 'Axe Girl vs. Tech Overlord' arc. Genre's changing guys."
Jane elbows him again, but grins faint. "If we don't get swarmed first. Outskirts are Locust nests, crawlers love the shadows there."
" Then we can move quietly and we can kill locusts by targetting their link between head and neck."
Vitch smirks, " You know too much girl, it can be hazardous in long term."
I don't know what she means by this but currently i need to go to find Lin.
" I'm in for Nexus Spire. For Lin"
And that's how our journey began but we didn't know yet that it was the biggest mistake we did in this zombiecalypse.