Elias let the medic drag him up by the elbow and felt the world moving as he found his feet. Each small move would burn his shoulder, but the extra help steadied him enough to keep moving.
They walked a few meters in a crooked line, half supported and half dragged, past the cars with doors gapped open.
It was hollow in the wrong way. No crowd roar. Just engines left on.
The car alarms that had been ringing stopped as if someone had pressed mute on the city. The plaza noises thinned into distant.
For a moment, Elias imagined the silence as a held breath, the world might be coiling for something to begin again.
They did encounter a few infected on the way, some sluggish, some shockingly quick.
Elias learned to spot the wrongness in them without thinking: the blank flaring pupils, the half-moves that landed too late, the terrible, hungry focus.
Each time one lunged or staggered into their path, Elias slowed down and slid between cars, letting the medic handle it.
She did it in a way that both fascinated and set his teeth on edge.
Her hands were steady, sure. Her palm would blossom a sick green vein, then a thin throned vine would snap outward, fast... but not that precise.
Sometimes she was too fast and clipped air; sometimes too slow and the vine struck bone. A few times the vine missed entirely and skidded past, embedding in brick or tire instead.
Each miss made the medic flick her wrist as if tuning a fragile instrument.
Once, a vine whistled past Elias' shoulder and nicked the hem of his shirt. He flinched hard, and the plant retracted, color draining and embarrassed.
"Sorry," she said quickly, breathless. Sweat streaked her temple. "Sorry--- are you okay? I did not mean to do that!"
"I'm fine," Elias lied, heart hammering.
Another infected lunged from between two cars.
This time her vine drove clean through an infected's skull with a wet, abrupt sound that made Elias' stomach drop. The body convulsed, slumped, and stayed.
The medic did not celebrate; she looked nervous each time she fired. She wiped her palm on her thigh and scanned for the next infected.
"Sorry," she said, hurrying back to Elias quickly with sweat running down her face. "Le, let's keep moving please."
The medic pulled Elias up again. Elias hissed and the medic muttered another apology.
"My name's Mara, by the way," she said, half to him and half to the empty street.
Elias nodded once. He did not offer his own.
She straightened and pointed down the way they'd been heading. "The ambulance is right there."
Elias followed her finger. The ambulance sat three cars down, doors closed, hazard lights idle.
"Pretty close. Just a few more steps," Mara added with forced cheer, the kind people used to convince themselves moving toward safety was anything more than motion. "I hope they have needles and stitches."
Elias gave no answer.
They reached the ambulance. Mara moved first, sliding her hand along the driver's side panel, fingers finding the handle. The door swung open and she slipped inside.
Elias waited outside, back pressed to the ambulance. Seconds later, Mara leaned out from the driver's seat, one knee braced on the floorboard. In her hand, she held up the key she'd pulled from the ignition, its metal catching the morning light.
"The keys are---" She paused, holding up a ring of keys like a miracle. "They're still here!"
She slid fully back inside, twisting in the seat. Later on, from the back, the double doors were tugged open.
Mara jumped down from the ambulance, boots hitting the pavement in a thud. Turning immediately to Elias, she motioned urgently. "Come on. Step up, slowly."
She stayed close, ready to catch him if he faltered, one hand hovering near his uninjured side.
Elias braced himself on the cold metal frame and hauled himself inside, shoes scraping.
Inside the ambulance smelled of antiseptic and rubber. It felt cramped. Cabinets lined the walls, sealed and intact. A stretcher sat locked in place, unused, like it had been waiting.
Mara slammed the doors shut after him and moved immediately, pulling open compartments, checking labels with frantic efficiency. "Gloves, gauze, saline, suture kit--- phew."
Elias reached back and pulled the door handle down, locking it. The metallic click echoed louder than it should have.
Mara exhaled shakily and returned to him. "Okay," she said, forcing calm into her voice. She knelt in front of him, hands hovering for half a second before committing, as though bracing herself. "This is going to hurt."
"That's fine," Elias said.
She worked quickly, efficient despite the tremor in her fingers. She cleaned the wound, stitched, packed the gauze tight and applied pressure.
Pain flared. He grunted; fingers curled against the thin mattress. Elias bit down hard on his lower lip, stared at the wall across from his, focusing on breathing through the pain.
When she finally finished, Mara leaned back on her heels, shoulders sagging, chest heaving.
"Okay," she said softly. "Bleeding's controlled. Shoulder's… not looking great. But you're alive."
Alive.
Elias froze and stared at nothing. He let the word sit heavy, and felt relief seep in.
"Phew," Mara added with a weak, breathless laugh. "Now, I saw a duffle bag somewhere. I'm going to---"
The ambulance rocked.
Not hard.
Not enough to knock them over.
Just enough to send both of them completely still.
Something struck the side of the vehicle from outside.
Once.
Then again.
Before either of them could speak, the radio crackled to life. Static hissed thick and low, swallowing the channel. Beneath it came a sound that was not a voice.
Elias' heart skipped.
'You die here.'
Mnemonic Echo.
It hit like a switch being thrown. Pain tore through his shoulder as he lunged forward, ripping a muffled cry from the back of his throat.
Face flushed of agony; his adrenaline drowned him enough to reach the radio and snap it off with a sharp click.
Silence rushed in.
Too loud.
Pang.
Another dull impact against the ambulance. This time, what followed was worse--- a low scraping sound circled the vehicle.
Wet.
Searching.
Elias lifted his good hand, palm out. "Wait," he whispered.
Mara looked at him, eyes wide and startled--- but she listened, frozen where she was.
The scraping lingered, drifting along the side panel, then the rear doors. Elias barely breathed, every muscle locked tight. After a long, stretched moment, the sound moved on, fading into the distance.
Silence again.
Neither of them spoke.
Mara swallowed hard. "I, I think we should move," she said quietly, voice barely more than air. "Before more gather."
Elias nodded once, already bracing himself to stand.