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.

It meant the safe room had completely fallen. There were no survivors left.

Everyone froze in place. The old squad member who had just been mocking us was the first to react. He stumbled forward and threw himself toward the cliff edge, staring down the mountain.

"It's the Maximum Alert… The Maximum Alert! My wife and kids are still in there!"

Julian's face turned ashen. His lips trembled as he stood there in shock.

In the heavy silence, I used every last bit of strength I had left and looked at Quinton. "Do you hear that, Quinton? They're all dead… That's the sunrise you bought for Madeline with everyone's lives. Are you satisfied now?

"Even your mother, whom you respect the most, was killed because of you!"

Back at the base, the safe door was already twisted out of shape, hanging open like a torn mouth.

Pools of bright red blood had formed on the ground. Shattered limbs, ripped clothing, and scattered organs were mixed in a grotesque mess.

A few zombies were already crouched over the bodies, tearing into the remains with wet, grinding sounds.

Seeing that scene, I finally couldn't hold it in anymore. I bent over and retched. Tears spilled out uncontrollably. We were too late. In the end, I had still failed to save them.

"I'll go in… and check…"

The old squad member's voice was shaking so badly that words barely came out. He staggered through the pool of blood. His legs were so weak that he could hardly stand.

"Yuri! Yuri!"

He started digging through the pile of corpses like a madman. His eyes were so red they looked like they might bleed.

"Mom! Mom, where are you?" Julian cried out.

Suddenly, the old squad member froze. With a dull thud, he dropped to his knees in front of a body. Only half of the body remained. His trembling fingers reached toward the pale face. Then, he pulled back as if he couldn't bear to touch it.

A heart-wrenching scream tore out of his throat. He pulled what remained of his daughter, Yuri, into his arms, holding her broken body tightly as he cried like he had lost everything in the world.

That sound kept ripping through everyone's hearts, again and again.

On the other side, Julian finally found his mother. She was lying beside the ruins. Her chest had been ripped open, and her wide eyes still held the terror of her final moment.

He stared at her, but no sound came out of his mouth.

I watched everything, and it felt like my heart was being torn apart. It was worse than having my fingers crushed.

I had been reborn. I knew this ending better than anyone. I wanted to change it more than anyone. So, why did I still fail to save them?

Julian's body shook violently. Slowly, he raised his head and pointed at Quinton. He finally forced his voice to come out. "Look at my mother, Captain! Look at her! She died with her eyes still open!"

His bloodshot eyes locked onto Quinton. "Why—tell me why! We all heard Mrs. Morwood telling you to come back! Why didn't you listen to her?"

He staggered forward and swung a punch at Quinton's face. "Why did you move all of us up to the mountain just for Madeline's birthday? Are you even human? Say something, Morwood!

"Look at all this blood? Doesn't your conscience hurt at all?"

He kept punching him again and again. Quinton didn't even try to fight back. He just let it happen.

However, his eyes were fixed on me the whole time. "Selene? Where's Mom? Where is she?"