For people standing one sneeze away from a zombie apocalypse, they were handling things with absolutely zero maturity.
Rain slammed against the cracked glass buildings, thunder growled overhead, and the distant chorus of undead moans echoed down the street. The eight survivors huddled under a half-broken neon sign that flickered: "Dr. Varex's Genetic Labs; Authorised Entry Only."
Apparently, that "authorised" part didn't apply to people being chased by zombies.
"Alright," Tango said, tapping the keypad beside the lab door. "If I just bypass the sequence..."
"....we'll all die slower?" Luna offered.
"Optimism. Love that for us," Tanya said, holding up a spatula like it was a sacred weapon.
Pluto groaned, trying to keep the rain out of his face. "If we could not die in the next ten minutes, that'd be great."
And then, as if summoned by pure stupidity, Tima (yes, still dressed as a girl) dramatically pushed forward in Luna's pink hoodie.
"Step aside, boys," he said, fluttering his lashes like some apocalypse fairy. "Allow me to charm the system."
Luna blinked. "Tim. This is a metal door, not a person."
Tima smirked. "You'd be surprised what responds to a little sweetness."
"NO!!!" Pluto started, but it was too late.
Tima leaned toward Tango, finger under his chin. "You know… smart guys are so my type~"
Tango completely malfunctioned. "I- wh- no-I'm- TYPING--"
Tima turned to Pluto next, giving him that exaggerated wink.
Pluto's face went red instantly.
"Oh no. Oh no no no!! LUNAAAA!!!!!!"
"What now...?" Luna started, before...
Pluto pointed at Tima in sheer panic, voice cracking:
"HELPP!!!!! I'M STRAIGHTTTTTT!!!"
Everyone lost it.
Tanya literally fell to her knees laughing. "Oh my god; he said it; he SAID IT...."
Luna was wheezing. "Pluto, you look like you just saw your report card."
Tango still hadn't recovered, mumbling at the keypad, "don't panic, don't panic, not blushing, just heatstroke.....totally heatstroke...."
Even Siara cracked the tiniest grin, whispering to Emmanuel, "Are they always like this?"
He just sighed. "I guess."
Suddenly-
CLICK.
The giant steel door shifted, hissing open like it had heard enough of their stupidity.
Everyone froze mid-chaos.
Tango blinked. "Wait.... did I do that?"
Emmanuel raised his glowing wristband key. "No. I did. While Romeo and Juliet 2.0 were performing."
Tima struck a pose. "You're welcome. My flirting is productive chaos."
Pluto glared. "It's a war crime."
Luna dragged both of them inside. "Alright, lovebirds, inside before I let the zombies decide who's for dinner first."
Inside was silent ..... the kind of silence that felt like holding your breath underwater.
The walls hummed faintly, lined with blue-lit tubes and half-dead computers.
The place smelled of metal, disinfectant, and… something rotting.
Tango's voice was barely above a whisper. "We're in Dr Varex's lab."
Siara's eyes narrowed. "Then we're not safe yet."
From the corner, something buzzed; a low, electric buzz.
A machine still awake.