[Kao – 4:00 p.m.]
The road to the lake is stretching like a scar through the trees. Dust is clinging to my boots and my axe heavy in my grip.
The sun's low, bleeding gold through the branches, but it isn't warming me.
Nothing can.
My side throbs but it's nothing compared to the ache inside.
Lin's gone.
Her smile, her voice, her lips on mine— evrything about her gone.
I'm a zombie. A Naïve.
Whatever I am, it's why she's dead.
If I wasn't this…. thing, maybe I could've saved her.
Moans are huming in the distance, low, like a pulse but aren't coming near.
They never do.
But why?
Why do I walk while they rot?
Why do I feel when they hunger?
The questions choke me, heavier than the air.
[4:05 p.m.]
The lake glints ahead, a silver smear under the gray sky.
Lin's laugh echoes in my head bright, sharp, like it could pierce this darkness.
I failed her.
I knew I was…. this, but I hid it.
Thought I could be human for her.
Her kiss lingers, soft and warm, a memory I don't deserve.
"If you're out there, Lin,"
I whisper, voice raw,
"I'll find you. I'll make this right."
The words are feeling foolish, but they spill out anyway.
Like she's listening.
Like she's not gone.
I hope she'll come back to me.
[4:15 p.m.]
The road curves, the lake closer now, its water still and cold.
I think of Win and Palm, who're out there somewhere. Their hands clasped, eyes locked and fighting to survive.
I hope they make it.
I hope their love outlives this hell.
Not like mine.
[4:20 p.m.]
The air grows heavy and dusk creeping in.
a Screamer lurks near the trees.
Its throat is pulsing, but it doesn't wail.
It watches me, it's head tilted and then turns away.
Why am I different?
Why do I think, feel, remember?
I know I'm a zombie,
But who made me?
Why am I still me when others fall apart?
The lake might hold answers.Or it might hold nothing. But it's all I've got.
[4:30 p.m.]
The road ends at the lake's edge, water lapping at the shore.
I kneel, staring at my reflection, I see a scar on my cheek, my eyes too clear for a zombie.
I touch the water, ripples breaking my face.
"I'll find the truth,"
I whisper.
"For you. For me."
If she's out there, somehow, I'll bring her back.
Or die trying if I can.
But dying's not for zombies and unfortunately I'm one of them.
I'll find who made me.
Why I'm stable.
Why I'm still here when she's not.
[5:00 p.m.]
Dusk settles, the lake turning black.
I sit on a rock, axe across my lap, staring
Lin's laugh haunts me, sharp and bright, like it could cut through this night.
I failed her, but she's not gone.
Not completely.
Something in me knows she's out there.
I'll find the truth.
About Naïves.
About why I'm stable, why I feel her when she's gone.
It's a start.
A step toward her.
Toward me.
Towards the truth of all this.