Chapter 4

A knock came at the door, and Justin's voice carried through it, warm and full of feeling.

"Edna, are you okay? Are you hurt? Open the door and let me see you."

"Justin, did you get bitten? It's so dangerous out there. How did you even get here?"

"I came to take you to the hospital, and it turns out everything you said was real. Edna, you can't stay here, it isn't safe. In a minute I'll lure the zombies downstairs away, and you make a run for it and meet up with your dad and mom."

I called out toward the door, frantic.

"Then what happens to you? It's too dangerous, you can't do that. Come inside and hide with me."

I called, but I had no intention of opening the door.

In my last life, the very first infection source had appeared right here, downstairs in this complex.

Back then Justin had gotten lucky. On his way down he never ran into a real zombie.

This time his luck was going to run out.

"It's all right, Edna. As long as you live, I'll do anything."

Then footsteps faded away down the corridor.

I stayed at the window, watching every move Justin made.

Just as I expected, the moment he reached the bottom he started his performance.

A zombie in special-effects makeup lunged from the side and knocked him down. He wailed for a moment, then went still.

The "body" was left for a few zombies to drag off.

But I caught it with a sharp eye. In a corner not far off, a red-eyed zombie stood out from all the rest.

"There it is. The infection source."

I grabbed the car keys and went straight down, slipped into the garage, backed the car out, and drove it right into the crowd of zombies.

I steered close to Justin on purpose, rolled down the window, and put on a show, crying and screaming as if my heart were being torn out.

Once I was sure the real zombie had been drawn over, I hit the gas and drove hard toward Fox Pharmaceuticals.

On the way, Douglas called on video and launched into another round of scolding.

"You ungrateful girl, why aren't you here yet? Going to give me the zombie story again? I'll let everyone see your true colors right now."

"Dad, there really are zombies. Justin was protecting me and got bitten to death by one."

A strange smile spread across my father's face.

"Is that so? Then who is this, standing right beside me?"

The camera swung around. Justin was standing shoulder to shoulder with Lucia, the two of them a perfect match, handsome man and lovely woman.

But right now my eyes were fixed only on the streak of crimson under Justin's collar.

"Is that so? Then I must have been mistaken."

My reaction let them all down. After all, seeing Justin back from the dead, I was supposed to fall apart, to shriek like a madwoman.

In my last life they really had driven me to that. This time, the ones about to fall apart were going to be them.