The moment the elevator doors opened, Aunt Mary and Aunt Lucy immediately stood up.
Relief flashed through their eyes.
Then—
They froze.
Because something was wrong.
Very wrong.
None of the four spoke.
No jokes.
No laughter.
No teasing.
Ben's face was pale.
Kai looked exhausted.
Penny quietly cleaned her katana.
And Erik...
Erik remained silent.
And a white wolf cub slept soundly in his arms, completely unaware of the heavy atmosphere.
Mary's expression changed.
"Erik."
Her voice was soft.
"What happened?"
No one answered immediately.
Lucy felt her heart tighten.
Because Ben refused to meet her eyes.
"...Ben?"
Ben lowered his head.
"We almost didn't make it home."
Silence.
The words seemed to freeze the room.
Lucy's face turned white.
Mary slowly stood up. "What do you mean?"
Kai finally spoke. "There were too many."
His voice was quiet.
Too quiet.
"The zombies woke up early. They followed sounds. We got trapped." He continued.
