The city is burning.

Not literally, but in the way everything feels like it’s melting down. Sirens wail in the distance, and the streets are full of people running like their lives depend on it—because they do.

You’re running too.

Carter’s hand is locked around yours like he’s afraid you’ll vanish if he lets go.

His eyes are sharp, wild, scanning every corner. He looks like the old Carter Baizen—dangerous, unpredictable—but there’s something different now. Something more real. More human.

Behind you, Blair is running, her heels long gone and her hair a mess, but she still moves with that unbreakable grace.

Dan and Jenny are right behind her, breathing hard, faces pale.

A man stumbles out of an alleyway, eyes glazed. His mouth is open, teeth bared.

You freeze for a second.

Carter doesn’t.

He shoves you behind him and shoves the man back with a force that sends him crashing into a trash can. The man grunts, but his attention is already elsewhere—hungry, blank, deadly.

Carter doesn’t hesitate. He pulls you both into a side street and slams a dumpster lid down to block the path.

“You okay?” he asks, voice low.

You swallow hard. “I’m fine.”

He doesn’t believe you. He never does.

“You’re shaking,” he says.

“I’m not,” you lie.

Carter’s jaw tightens.

Then, without warning, he pulls you close and kisses your forehead—quick, protective, like he’s claiming you in a world where nothing belongs to anyone anymore.

“Don’t say you’re fine,” he murmurs. “Not when we’re running for our lives.”

You look at him. His face is set, determined, but there’s a fear behind his eyes you’ve never seen before.

“Carter,” you say softly. “What’s happening?”

He swallows.

“It’s the government,” he says. “Some kind of… mistake. They released something. People are turning—”

“Into what?” Blair demands from behind you, her voice sharp and controlled even now.

Carter looks over his shoulder.

“Undead,” he says simply.

Jenny makes a sound like she might cry, but she holds it back.

Dan’s face is pale.

Blair’s expression turns cold.

“Then we leave,” she says. “We don’t wait around for them to—”

Carter cuts her off, eyes hard. “We don’t go back to society. Not now.”

“What do you mean?” you ask.

He turns back to you, his grip on your hand tightening.

“We break out,” he says. “We find somewhere safe. Somewhere no one knows. Somewhere we can actually survive.”

You nod, heart hammering.

Blair stares at him for a second, then looks at you.

“You’re with him,” she says.

You can hear the question in her voice.

Not if you’re with him.

But why you’re with him.

You don’t hesitate.

“Yes,” you say.

Carter’s expression softens, just for a moment.

“Good,” he says. “Because I’m not losing you.”

He leads the way down a narrow alley, and you follow, every sense on fire.

Behind you, the city is collapsing.