Walking back across the sandy beach, I quickly located my hand axe—still embedded exactly where I'd left it, buried deep in the skull of the Hybrid Infected I'd thrown earlier during the frantic pursuit.
Crouching down beside the corpse, I grasped the axe handle firmly and pulled the weapon free with a wet, sucking sound as the blade extracted from bone and decayed brain tissue.
I wiped the accumulated blood on the dead Infected's clothing—using the fabric to clean the blade then straightened back up.
Raising my head slightly, I took a moment to orient myself and assess our situation.
The sun was still burning intensely overhead, though its angle had shifted noticeably—indicating we were now in late afternoon rather than midday.
