Audrey forced her anger down, speaking fast, as if time was working against us. "The base is under siege, Quinton! A full-blown horde! The safe door won't hold much longer! Get the outer high-voltage grid online now!"

Everyone's heart jumped into their throat.

"Mom, what are you talking about? The power's locked in for the hilltop lights. Not a second can go out. If I divert it to the grid, what happens to Maddie's birthday setup?"

He let out a dismissive laugh. "Is Selene feeding you panic again? She's that jealous of Maddie, huh? I'm just up here watching the sunrise with her. Yet, Selene has gone so far as to team up with you to spin a lie just to drag me back?"

Audrey was shaking with rage. "You foolish idiot! Do you have any idea—"

The line went dead, cut off without a second thought. The safe room fell into a heavy silence. Despair spread like an infection.

"It's over… We're done for this time…"

I stared at the door, which was already warped and buckling. My chest tightened. Even after being reborn, could I still not change the ending?

In a split second, an idea flashed through my mind.

"Wait, Mom," I said urgently. "You trained the entire squad yourself. There's a supply path behind the mountain. Take that route and find them. They won't ignore your orders!"

A flicker of hope flashed in Audrey's eyes. "I'll bring them back right now!"

She slipped out through the side door after adding, "Wait for my return."

The metal door finally gave, torn open under the relentless pounding of the horde. A rotting arm shot through the gap, reaching straight for the baby in the woman's arms near the entrance.

"My baby!"

The infant was dragged out before anyone could react. The crying cut off abruptly amid the chaos outside.

"My baby…" the mother wailed, collapsing to the ground. The light in her eyes went out in an instant.

As the people in the safe room slipped deeper into despair, the side door burst open, and someone rushed in. It was Audrey… drenched in blood.

"Quick—seal the breach!" she ordered.

I rushed over to steady her. She grabbed my arm hard. Her voice was shaking. "Quinton, that bastard… He's locked down every route, just to keep anyone from interrupting that woman's birthday sunrise."

Her eyes were bloodshot with rage. The room went dead silent.

A chill crept up from the soles of my feet as I staggered back. So, Quinton had gone this far, even blocking his own mother, just to keep me from reaching him.

"No. We can't just sit here and wait to die…" I looked up, continuing, "If we can't reach the squad, we call for outside help."

As I spoke, I kept tuning the communication devices, cycling through other bases' frequencies, quickly laying out our situation and sending out an urgent distress call.

There was a stretch of silence on the other end before they finally replied, "Sorry. We can't provide assistance. Three hours ago, Captain Morwood personally issued a warning.

"He said someone at your base might be spreading false intel. He ordered that all distress calls tonight are to be ignored."

I hadn't expected Quinton to go this far. For the sake of Madeline Moore's birthday sunrise, he had cut off every possible outside lifeline in advance, sealing off every escape route we had left.

Audrey's face turned deathly pale. "I'm Quinton Morwood's mother. I'm begging you—"

"Mrs. Morwood Senior," the person on the other side interrupted in a cold voice, "Captain Morwood emphasized to respect that order, especially regarding your instructions. Unless you or Mrs. Morwood comes in person to request aid, we will not deploy support."

The line went dead again.

Went in person? Crossing dozens of miles through a raging horde was practically a suicide mission.

The breach in the safe room was patched up for now, but everyone knew it wouldn't last for long.

I reached out to steady Audrey. "Mom, I'm going with you!"

I glanced at the blood on the floor. My voice was firm. "Everyone's counting on us. If we push through, we still have a shot!"

Audrey looked at me for a long moment, then finally nodded. I helped her along as we moved forward. A zombie had torn off her left arm, and blood was pouring out of her.

"Once we get over this ridge… we're almost there…"

From halfway up the mountain, we could already make out the outline of the distant base. Hope flickered back to life. And then…

A flare shell exploded right in front of us. The blast wave slammed into us, sending us flying.

I looked up in shock. Through the haze, I could make out Quinton with his arm around Madeline. A second later, his voice boomed from the loudspeakers on the hilltop, dripping with mockery.

"Just as I predicted, Selene. Your little act didn't work, so now you're forcing your way through, huh?"

His tone turned cold. "I knew you wouldn't give up and that you'd come to ruin Maddie's birthday. Not today, Selene. I won't let you get what you want."

The bombardment grew heavier. Blast after blast shook the slope. Blood poured even faster from the stump of Audrey's left arm.

"Mom, tell Quinton it's you!"

She forced every bit of strength she had into a scream toward the hilltop. "It's me, Quinton!"

There was a brief pause up there. Then, Quinton's laughter rang out again, this time louder and more unhinged. From this distance, he was just a silhouette.

"You really went all out just to ruin Maddie's birthday, Selene. When getting my mom to talk me down over the comms didn't work, you hired someone to act? My mom, missing an arm—you think I'd fall for that? Stop trying to fool me!"

At that, Audrey trembled with rage. "I am your goddamn mother! Can you not even recognize my voice anymore?"

A flicker of hesitation crossed Quinton's face.

Beside him, Madeline quickly grabbed his sleeve. Her voice was soft and aggrieved. "Q, I know Selene has never liked me. Maybe we should just skip the birthday party tonight and go back. It's fine. I'm used to being treated like this, anyway…"

At that, Quinton's expression softened instantly before slowly twisting into anger. "Keep going!"

At his command, more flare shells rained down, cutting off every possible route in and out. The night sky above us grew heavier, almost suffocating.

"We don't have much time. I'll hold them here—you go!" Audrey said, grabbing my shoulders tightly. "You must bring back reinforcements! Everyone's waiting for you to save them!"

Before I could respond, she shoved me away and forced herself forward toward the hilltop where her son stood. I rushed after her, trying to pull her back. "Mom, they don't even recognize you. You'll die!"

From the hilltop, Quinton's cold voice came again. "Selene, if you're dead set on ruining Maddie's birthday, even if it means sacrificing your life, then by all means, I'll grant your wish."

A rocket launcher was already on his shoulder, aimed straight at me. In the next second, a massive flare shell screamed through the air toward me.

"Watch out, Selene!"

Audrey lunged at me and knocked me to the ground, shielding me with her broken, bloodied body.

The explosion nearly shattered my eardrums.

Thick sticky blood splattered across my face. Audrey's body collapsed on top of me. Her back had been torn open by the blast. A massive gaping wound started oozing blood nonstop.

My hands trembled as I reached for her. She was still warm.

I shook her slightly, but there was no response at all. A broken wail tore out of me.

"Mom!"

Madeline's soft voice came through the loudspeakers. "Selene, just throw the body off the cliff! If the zombies catch the scent, they'll come swarming, and you'll die, too!"

Several of the squad members who had witnessed everything showed hesitation and unease on their faces.

A young soldier, Julian Stone, leaned in and whispered to his teammate, "Mrs. Morwood doesn't look like she's faking it…"

He hesitated briefly, then finally voiced what had been stuck in his mind for a long time. "Could something actually happen at the base? What if what she said was true—"

Before he could finish, another teammate cut him off. "How could Captain Morwood not know what's going on at the base? I bet his wife is just jealous of Ms. Moore and staged a scene. Women like that always let jealousy get the best of them."

Still, Julian wasn't quite convinced. He muttered under his breath, "But what if, though? What if something did happen back at the base? Our families are all still there!"

A squad leader nearby snapped at them, silencing the discussion immediately.

I was dragged roughly up the hillside. My entire body was ravaged, as no patch of skin was intact. Blood and mud had mixed into a thick, filthy mess that clung to me as I was hauled forward.

Madeline walked over. She carefully arranged her features into a pitiful expression. "Oh, no, Selene. You're bleeding so much. Here, let me bandage you."

She reached out, pretending to touch me.

"Don't touch me!" I snarled, slapping her hand away. The force was enough to make her stagger back.

"Selene!" Quinton roared. "I can't believe you're this petty! Maddie is showing you kindness even after everything, and this is how you treat her?"

He stepped forward and stomped down on my pinky finger. "If I don't teach you a lesson, you'll never learn to behave!"

The crushing pain shot through my entire body. My muscles spasmed uncontrollably.

I curled up on the ground, barely able to think of myself at all. The people in the base were still waiting for me to bring help back. Their lives were still hanging in the balance!

I forced myself to look up, locking eyes with Quinton. "The safe room is about to be breached! Every minute you waste, another person dies!"

Each word came out like spilled blood. "Can't you hear the zombies down the mountain? Can't you hear them at all?"

Madeline burst into tears the moment she heard that. "Q, I'm so sorry… It's all my fault. I never should've asked to celebrate my birthday today… I never should've existed!"

Quinton immediately pulled her into his arms. His expression softened with pity. "When are you going to stop this absurd performance, Selene? The base has the most advanced defense system. There's no way—"

I cut him off, my voice breaking. "All the elite forces are here protecting you and Madeline! You even diverted the high-voltage grid power up the mountain! You're going to regret this, Quinton!"

Several members of the security team instinctively looked down the mountain. Unease passed between them as they exchanged glances.

"Captain, should we… send someone back to check?" Julian asked hesitantly.

An older squad member immediately scoffed. "You really have no idea, huh? Mrs. Morwood's always been jealous of Ms. Moore. This isn't even the first time she's made things up."

Another chimed in. "Yeah! Last time, she even pushed Ms. Moore down the stairs!"

Quinton's expression darkened even further after hearing that. "Someone, tie her to the tree! I want her to reflect on everything she's done!"

In his arms, Madeline's lips curled into a satisfied smile.

A few squad members stepped forward and handled me roughly. I struggled with everything I had. "You're going to regret this, Quinton!"

The moment I was dragged to the base of the tree, a piercing alarm echoed from the base's direction. It was the highest-level emergency siren, the Maximum Alert.