Chapter 3

I waited until nightfall, enduring the burning pain.

People whispered that they’d seen unusual traces of large-scale zombie movement.

And all I could do was watch helplessly, praying Ethan would bring the Type III serum back sooner.

After the sun sank behind the jagged outline of the Rockies, scattered emergency lights flickered on around the camp.

At last, an engine’s roar came from the distance.

Three vehicles.

Not one missing.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

He was back.

I sprinted downstairs and into the center of the camp.

The doors opened. Ethan jumped out first. Then the other team members. Sophie came last.

My eyes locked onto their hands.

Ethan’s were empty.

So were Sophie’s.

The team unloaded a few supply crates, but there was no Type III serum.

My breathing stopped for a beat.

“Where’s the Type III serum?”

My own voice sounded hoarse, even to me.

The camp fell instantly silent.

Ethan’s eyes flickered, then slid away from mine.

“The Type III serum… we found it.”

My heart lifted.

He pressed his lips together.

“But on the way back, we ran into a horde. Sophie—she was protecting the supply truck, and she got scratched.”

“It was an emergency. I could only use the Type III serum on her first.”

I looked at Sophie.

She immediately raised her bandaged hand, guilt written all over her face.

“Deputy… I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to… If I could, I’d rather it had been me—”

She stopped, realizing she’d said the wrong thing, and only looked more pitiful.

“Which hand?” I asked.

Sophie blinked. “W-what?”

I stepped closer.

“How deep was the wound? How much did it bleed?”

“Have any signs of infection shown up?”

Sophie’s eyes darted in panic. She looked to Ethan.

Ethan moved in front of her.

“Vera! She’s already hurt, and you’re still interrogating her like this?”

I yanked my collar down, exposing the gray-white pattern crawling across my chest.

“Ethan. Look at me. I can hold on until midnight at best.”

“And your ‘injured’ Sophie? Her voice is strong. Her eyes are clear. That’s infection?”

A few team members lowered their heads.

A veteran named Garrison stepped forward, his voice steady.

“She could’ve avoided it. I saw it with my own eyes. She had a clear retreat route.”

“Garrison!” Ethan barked.

But it was too late.

I understood everything.

Sophie did it on purpose.

And Ethan had given her the Type III serum again—right in front of the whole team—choosing Sophie again.

I spoke softly.

“Ethan. Once again, you chose her over me.”

Ethan’s face went white.

“I didn’t abandon you! I just…”

I smiled. Quietly. The exhaustion in my voice outweighed the anger.

“Just because you’re the leader, you have to be responsible for every team member? No favoritism?”

“Or is it just that you stopped having me in your heart a long time ago?”

He opened his mouth.

No words came.

Sophie grabbed his arm, her voice trembling with tears.

“Ethan, does the deputy not believe me? I really was infected. Look…”

She made a show of reaching for the bandage.

Ethan pressed her hand down.

“Don’t.”

Then he turned back to me. His eyes were full of disappointment.

“Vera, you’ve disappointed me. Sophie is a team member. She was hurt. Was I wrong to save her?”

“Do you really want me to just let her die before you’ll be satisfied?”

“Right. You did the right thing. A captain should be like that. Fair. Just. Unbiased.”

Ethan froze.

I watched the way he shielded Sophie.

Watched the smug look Sophie threw at me from behind his shoulder.

Watched the surrounding teammates’ faces—some sympathetic, some avoiding my eyes.

The force inside me started to churn again.

But I held it down.

I kept speaking, my voice flat as dead water.

“So now this ‘team member’ is about to mutate too. How is the captain planning to take responsibility?”

Dead silence.

All eyes turned to Ethan.

His expression twisted again and again before he finally forced out—

“I’ll keep looking. There’s still one in the North District…”

“Too late.” I cut him off.

He went quiet.

Sophie spoke in a small voice—just loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Ethan… the deputy is too dangerous like this. What if she mutates all of a sudden…”

Ethan’s body stiffened.

I looked into his eyes.

Those eyes that once held nothing but love—now filled with struggle and hesitation.

The force inside me slammed against my ribs.

This time, I almost couldn’t hold it back.