The last orange streaks of sunlight faded behind the trees as the truck crawled down the cracked highway. Matsumoto was closer now. The roads widened again, lined by the skeletal remains of guardrails and road signs riddled with rust.

Suzune sat in silence, eyes scanning the city skyline that loomed beyond the haze. "We're about two kilometers out," she said. "Should hit the industrial zone first."

"Good," Riku replied, his voice steady. "We'll camp there before nightfall."

Ichika leaned forward between the seats. "And if the locals aren't friendly?"

"Then we leave," he said simply.

The hum of the diesel engine was the only sound for a while. The wind had died, leaving only the soft rattle of loose metal against the truck bed. Hana sat beside her brother, her head resting against his arm, half-asleep but clutching her stuffed rabbit tightly.

Suzune watched her for a moment. "She's holding up better than most adults would."

Riku gave a faint nod. "She always does."

They reached the outskirts just as the light began to fade completely. Matsumoto's eastern industrial zone was a sprawl of rusted factories and collapsed warehouses, their rooftops split open like peeled cans. The air smelled faintly of smoke and stagnant water.

Riku slowed the truck near a row of delivery depots. "We'll take that one," he said, pointing at a building with intact walls and a fenced loading dock.

Suzune was already checking the perimeter through the window. "No movement. Looks clear."

"Then we'll sweep it first."

They parked by the gate. Suzune and Ichika got out, rifles ready, while Riku stayed behind the wheel to keep the engine warm. The two women moved quickly—checking corners, clearing doorways, sweeping shadows with flashlights.

Inside the depot, the air was thick with dust. Stacks of old pallets leaned against the walls, and an overturned forklift blocked the central aisle.

Ichika nudged a crate with her boot. "You think anyone's been through here?"

Suzune shook her head. "No footprints. Too quiet."

They finished their sweep in less than ten minutes. "All clear," Suzune reported.

Riku drove the truck inside and shut the gate behind them. The metal door groaned but held.

For the first time all day, they could breathe.

Hana climbed out and stretched, eyes wide at the cavernous interior. "It's big…"

Riku smiled faintly. "Big means safe."

They unloaded what they'd salvaged earlier—cans, water, spare fuel. Ichika dragged a tarp over the truck's windshield to block light, while Suzune set up a lantern in the center of the floor.

"Not bad for a night," Ichika said, dropping into a chair she'd found. "Could almost call it home."

"Don't," Suzune warned. "That word gets cursed around us."

"Yeah, yeah." Ichika pulled off her gloves and rubbed her sore wrists. "Still, I'll take a roof over open sky."

Hana settled beside her, nibbling on a piece of dried bread. "Can I sleep soon?"

"Soon," Riku said. "Eat first."

Suzune checked her rifle's chamber and began cleaning it by the lantern's glow. The air buzzed faintly with insects.

For a few minutes, everything was still. Peaceful.

Then the smell hit.

It crept in slow—rot and copper, faint at first, then stronger. Riku froze mid-bite. "Do you smell that?"

Suzune's eyes snapped up. "Yeah."

Ichika grimaced. "Please tell me that's not what I think it is."

"Everyone quiet," Riku said, voice low.

They listened.

At first, there was only silence. Then—something soft dragging against concrete. A faint shuffle, rhythmic and slow.

Suzune rose to her feet, rifle in hand. "West wall."

Ichika was already reloading her shotgun. "How many?"

"Can't tell yet."

Riku motioned Hana behind him. "Stay with the truck. Don't move until I say."

Hana nodded quickly, eyes wide.

Suzune crept toward the far wall and peeked through a narrow window. Moonlight spilled across the loading yard outside. Between the shadows, she saw shapes—three, maybe four—staggering toward the gate.

"Contact," she whispered. "Four hostiles, maybe more behind them."

"Standard crawlers?"

"No," she said. "Faster. They're not dragging."

Ichika's jaw tightened. "Sprinters."

Riku didn't hesitate. "Seal the gate. Suzune, you're lead. Ichika, right flank."

He moved back toward Hana. "Stay in the cab, keep low."

The girl clutched her rabbit and ducked behind the seat.

The first impact came seconds later. Something slammed into the outer fence—metal screeching under the force.

Suzune flicked her safety off. "They're testing the barrier."

Ichika took position by a stack of pallets, eyes fixed on the main door. "Hope it holds."

It didn't.

The gate buckled inward, hinges snapping as two of the infected forced their way through. Their eyes glowed faintly in the lantern's light—milky and empty.

"Targets inside!" Suzune barked.

The warehouse erupted into chaos.

Suzune fired first, the sharp crack of her rifle cutting through the dark. The first sprinter went down, its chest bursting open, but two more slipped through the gap, moving unnaturally fast.

Ichika swung her shotgun and fired. The blast took one clean in the neck, sending it spinning into a stack of crates. The other lunged forward, catching her by the shoulder.

She stumbled back, shouting, "Get off me!"

Suzune pivoted, firing twice. The rounds tore through its ribs, throwing it off balance. Ichika slammed the stock of her shotgun into its skull, cracking bone.

"Clear that corner!" Suzune ordered.

"On it!"

Riku stayed near the truck, ready to pull Hana out if they got overrun. He counted the shots, his mind keeping time with the echoes.

Two more figures burst through the fence—one crawling, one sprinting on all fours like a beast.

Suzune crouched, exhaled, and shot the crawler through the eye. Ichika waited until the other got close, then blasted it square in the gut, sending it tumbling backward into the dark.

"Reloading!" Ichika shouted.

"Covering!" Suzune snapped back, laying down two quick shots to keep the space clear.

The smell of gunpowder mixed with rot filled the air.

From the far side of the yard came more movement—shadows climbing over the fence, landing with wet thuds.

"They're coming in from the back!" Suzune yelled.

Ichika cursed. "How many?"

"Too many!"

Riku grabbed a crowbar from the truck's tool rack and slammed the side door shut, locking Hana inside. "Stay down!"

He turned back, scanning for the breach. Suzune was already repositioning, moving with trained precision. "We fall back to the center. Keep angles tight!"

Ichika grinned through the sweat. "You got it, boss!"

The next wave hit hard—six of them, fast and loud. Suzune dropped one, Ichika two. But the rest kept coming, bodies slamming into the walls and floor, claws scraping against metal.

Suzune kicked one back, drove her bayonet through its throat, and wrenched it free. Ichika caught another mid-charge and emptied both barrels into its chest.

The recoil threw her off balance. She tripped on a loose crate, landing hard. A crawler lunged over the rail toward her.

"Ichika!" Suzune shouted, spinning her rifle.

But before she could fire, Ichika rolled sideways, snatched a broken pipe from the floor, and jammed it upward through the creature's jaw. It twitched once, then went still.

She spat on the ground. "You're not ruining my night."

Suzune almost smiled. "Show-off."

"Team effort."

They fought until their magazines clicked empty.

When the final shot echoed, the warehouse fell quiet again. The only sound was their heavy breathing and the soft ping of cooling metal.

Ichika wiped her brow with a trembling hand. "You good?"

Suzune nodded. "Still standing."

"Barely," Ichika muttered, leaning against a crate. "That was… way too close."

Riku stepped forward, surveying the carnage. Dozens of bodies lay sprawled across the floor, black blood pooling beneath them.

Hana peeked out from the truck's window. "Is it over?"

Riku nodded. "For now."

Suzune lowered her rifle, checking the mag. "We'll need to move before dawn. The noise will bring more."

Ichika sat down on the floor, breathing hard. "At least we got a full workout."

"Shut up," Suzune said, but her tone was lighter now.

Riku looked over at them, eyes tired but proud. "Good work, both of you."

Ichika grinned faintly. "Still seven out of ten?"

He smirked. "Eight this time."

"That's progress."

Suzune crouched beside one of the corpses, studying the black veins that pulsed faintly even in death. "These weren't normal infected," she said quietly. "They moved too fast… coordinated, almost."

Riku frowned. "Mutations?"

"Maybe. Or something controlling them."

Ichika groaned. "Great. Just when I thought zombies couldn't get any worse."

Suzune stood and glanced toward the open gate. "We'll find answers in the city. Whatever caused this—it's spreading."

Riku nodded once. "Then we'll stop it."

The lantern flickered, casting long shadows over the floor. Outside, the wind had started again, carrying the faint sound of something moving far off in the night.

Hana climbed down from the truck and tugged on Riku's sleeve. "Are we leaving?"

"Soon," he said. "Get some rest while you can."

She nodded, curling up beside the rear tire with her rabbit in her arms.

Ichika slumped against a crate, exhausted. "You think Matsumoto's gonna be any better than this?"

Suzune's gaze hardened. "No. But it's the only way forward."

Riku looked at the dark outline of the city beyond the warehouse walls. Smoke still drifted from somewhere inside.

He exhaled slowly. "Tomorrow, we find out what's left."

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