paul, henry and elisa stood together, each one of them holding a weapon of some sorts. it’s been five days since the outbreak, and the three of them survived through sheer will power. and now, they were about to face their toughest challenge: saving henry’s brother in an apartment in ongpin.

paul surveyed the street, looking for movement. cars had jammed the roads, and the buildings were too close to each other. paul has called ongpin home for the longest time, but right now? “home sucks.”

henry and elisa turned to him, questioning. paul just shook his head, before motioning onwards.

according to the text message they got from henry’s brother earlier that day, he was in the floor above the bee tin grocery store. to reach him, the three would have to walk through the car-jammed street, cross a short bridge, and enter a heavily-barricaded store. paul sighed.

henry was leading their group, holding a pistol they relieved from a dead policeman they found at tomas mapua. it was empty at the time they found it, but they found ammo in a nearby abandoned precinct.

behind henry, elisa stood with their only long-range weapon: the shotgun. elisa was yet to actually shoot anything with it, but it’s been very useful as a head-basher.

and holding the rear position, paul was carrying an axe. an axe that was getting heavier by the minute.

“henry, can you hurry up a bit?” elisa seemed panicked. paul knew it only meant one thing: she has seen one of them.

“i’m moving as fast as i can.” and it was true. henry was doing his best to find the best path for them, where they wouldn’t have to pass open car windows. soon, they reached the bridge, and henry stopped.

paul turned to look at the street they had just traveled, and his heart sank. he could already spot three of making its way to them. he wondered how many henry had seen.

“there’s six of them in front of the grocery store.” henry said, as if reading paul’s mind. “so far, they haven’t sensed us. paul, you could dispose of them quietly with the axe.”

the three that had come from behind them moaned.

“too late, henry.” paul placed a hand on elisa’s shoulder, “ready to shoot, elisa?”

“as ready as i’ll ever be.” elisa pumped the shotgun, something she had been practicing for a couple of days now. the ones from the grocery store had already started moving towards them. “you, henry?”

henry already had the pistol trained at the nearest one. “ready.”

two successive shots rang out. henry had involuntarily backed into elisa from the recoil, but his bullet found its target. one down. elisa’s shotgun didn’t fire though.

“there’s someone else here.”

they heard five more shots, and the area was clear for them to get to the grocery store. the three ran towards the gates; paul used his axe to break through the padlock on the gates.

henry helped him pull at the gates, making a small opening to serve as an entrance.

“we have to thank whoever is helping us.” elisa said as she squeezed in through the opening.

henry went in next, giving paul some alone time to try to locate where help was coming. that’s when he saw her; hair cut short, shades covering her eyes. she gave him a salute, and motioned for him to close the gates behind him. paul nodded before he too entered the opening.

it was dark inside.

“henry? elisa? we need to get the gates closed first.” no one answered back.

“henry?”

“elisa?”

and then something pulled him from behind.