By the time Elena arrived, the entire area had already been sealed off.
The streets that once carried life were now filled with fear, desperation, and loud cries of people who had nothing left but hope.
Parents crowded at the entrance, their faces pale, their eyes swollen from tears as they clutched sheets of paper that carried the same image of a face, saying, "Help us! Help us!! Call her!! Help us!!"
Elena stepped out of the car with a deep sigh, her gaze sweeping across them as the noise gradually quieted, attention shifting toward her the moment she appeared.
It always felt strange… being looked at like that. Like she was something more than human, or like she was the only answer left.
Before she could take another step, a woman suddenly broke free from the crowd and ran toward her.
"Elena!"
The desperation in her voice was enough to make anyone stop.
The woman dropped in front of her without hesitation, her hands trembling as she grabbed onto Elena like she was holding onto her last breath. "Please… please save my daughter, she's the only family left I have in my life…"
Elena's eyes softened immediately. "Mrs, please stand up." She recognised her—Betty's mother.
The same woman who had once cried with gratitude, the same one who had called her a blessing, who had looked at her like she was sent by God.
And at that moment, she was looking at her the same way again.
Hearing the word family…
Elena felt a kind of emotion she couldn't explain. She understood the pain of being left alone, and the feeling of having loved ones taken away wasn't something anyone could bear.
But she gave her a reassuring smile. The kind of smile that made people believe everything would be okay. "Your daughter will be safe," she said gently, nodding her head as if it were a promise she could never break.
The woman broke down even more, her grip tightening as tears poured freely from her eyes. Around them, the cries grew louder again. An old couple clutched each other. "Betty is a good girl who always puts a smile on our face… I wish she were my grandchild," the old man said as he cleaned his tears.
Hope… and fear… mixed together in a way that felt suffocating.
"Elena."
A voice called out from behind her.
She turned to see a man dressed in an army uniform approaching, his expression tired, weighed down by the situation they were all trapped in.
"The funny thing is…" he began, letting out a heavy sigh as he glanced toward the orphanage building in the distance, "these are the only zombies left. With your help, we've taken down the rest."
Elena frowned the moment he said:
"We've been thinking of bombing them."
"What about the kids?" she asked, her voice tight.
The man didn't answer right away. Instead, he shook his head slowly. "There are too many," he said quietly. "And these ones… they're different."
He clenched his fists. "They're too strong. And no matter how many times we kill them, they wake up again."
Silence fell between them for some seconds.
Elena's fingers curled slightly at her sides. "Get a helicopter ready at the roof," she said, leaving no room for argument.
"Wait… are you serious?" The man looked at her, studying her face as if trying to read something deeper, but in the end, he simply nodded.
"Understood."
As the soldiers began to move, preparing everything in a rush, Elena's hand instinctively reached behind her back—
And froze. Her sword wasn't there. She hadn't brought it… something like sadness flickered across her eyes.
It felt… wrong. Like going into battle without a part of herself.
Before she could dwell on it, a soldier stepped forward, holding out a set of guns toward her.
She stared at them for a second… then tiredly took them. They felt unfamiliar in her hands.
Heavy and cold. Then her phone suddenly vibrated. Elena sighed and glanced at the screen.
JACOB: Elena, I'm begging you, don't go. It's too risky! Wait for me!
Her grip tightened around the phone… she chuckled softly and threw it away. She lifted the short gun, bringing it close to her lips as her expression shifted. She whispered something to it softly, just like she always did with her sword, words no one else could hear.
Then she lowered it, her gaze lifting toward the orphanage gate. "Open the gate."
Her voice carried authority and finality. She reached for a small bomb from the equipment handed to her, holding it firmly in her hand. "In case I manage to escape…" she said calmly, "I'll need to blow them all up."
The man in uniform looked at her again for a long moment.
A strange emotion flickered in his eyes. He tried to look away, but not before it betrayed him.
He scoffed anyway as tears filled his eyes. He gave Elena a restrained smile. "The world won't forget this."
Elena was surprised. It was her first time seeing a soldier… crying?
But she didn't say anything, because deep down… she understood the situation was very risky, and they thought she might not make it. "I will try my best," she whispered.
As the massive gates slowly opened, a cold wave of air rushed out from inside, carrying with it the stench of death.
Elena took a deep breath, and her fingers tightened around the gun as she lifted her hand to wipe away the remaining traces of tears on her face.
By the time she stepped forward, there was nothing left in her expression but resolve.
She crossed the gate, and it closed behind her. The noise outside faded immediately. The silence swallowed everything.
The kind of silence that didn't feel empty. Her steps slowed as she moved further in, her eyes scanning her surroundings carefully.
The ground was covered with bodies of people, some rotten and ripped apart, some barely recognisable.
The air was thick with decay, heavy enough to make breathing feel like a task.
Elena swallowed, her grip tightening as a faint sigh escaped her lips.
"So this is where you are." Her voice echoed softly in the empty space. Then she finally entered the building. She walked up the staircase step by step, her gun pointed forward.
But deep down…
She knew they would recognise her, and she had walked straight into their world.