The bus rumbled deeper into the ruins, and the signs of danger thickened with every metre.
Shadows flickered between collapsed walls.
Something kept brushing against the metal—soft at first, then harder.
Growls.
Scratches.
Dead hands?
Inside the bus, the atmosphere shifted. Even the thugs they had brought along for muscle had fallen silent, gripping their seats as more and more zombies dragged themselves toward the road.
That was when Malisha finally stood.
She bent down, lifted the massive black field speaker from under the sofa compartment, and placed it gently on the floor.
The entire crew stiffened.
Everyone knew what that meant.
When the Captain pulled out the speaker, it meant one thing:
The mission was officially starting.
And things were about to get real.
"Stop the bus," Malisha said.
The driver obeyed instantly.
Malisha reached for the door—
But the satellite radio crackled to life with a sharp hiss.
"Malisha! Don't go in," Raj's voice burst through, frantic. "It's worse than we expected. Give me your location. Stay where you are, I'll send a rescue team. Malisha, do you copy? Mal—"
Malisha sighed like someone interrupted her nap.
She walked to the radio, tapped it once, and said,
"Of course I copy. I just fixed this shit. If it doesn't work then what is the problem?"
Raj exhaled in relief—too soon.
"And no," she continued calmly, "I'm not sending the location. And you are NOT sending a rescue team. There will be no one to rescue them if you send them now."
A beat.
"We'll check for survivors, if any," she said.
"Then retrieve."
"Bye."
Raj tried again, "Malisha—"
"Oh, and YOU are the one who gave me this mission," she added, bored. "So unless you want my success rate ruined just because you got nervous, stay off the line."
She cut the signal.
Malisha turned back to the door.
The dogs were already waiting.
"What did you do?! Did you just cut off the only connection to the safe zones?"
Siya's voice cracked.
"Are you out of your mind? Why didn't you obey orders?"
Dweep, trembling, forced himself to speak.
"W-why on earth didn't you send the location? Because of you we'll be stuck here… we might even die—"
Malisha looked at him vaguely, almost amused.
"Oh, so you are learning. Don't know if I should be impressed or surprised, Dweep."
She rolled her eyes, then turned to the front.
"Raghav. Why do you think I did that?"
Raghav exhaled sharply.
"As Captain and First Mate, we could judge this way before reaching here. The place is too dangerous. If there are survivors, they can turn into zombies any minute. Delaying even a few minutes could cost lives."
Aditya picked up smoothly, voice steady.
"And you denied the rescue team because if the situation is worse than the report, the supervisor can't send a squad without exact coordinates. Even if they tried, they wouldn't find us. You did it to minimise casualties. If we're going to die, that's our mission. But calling another team would mean they die because of us."
Siya and Dweep fell silent, guilt and fear mixing on their faces.
Malisha noticed.
"Or maybe," she added casually, "they're practically useless and I'm lucky to have a decent team. Or maybe because I've done this… oh, fifty times?"
Even in this suffocating tension, she gave the nurse and helper her calm, signature smile.
Then she crouched beside the speaker again.
"Well, Dweep," she said, "you didn't ask what this is for."
Dweep swallowed.
"I know. Zombies use two main senses—smell and hearing. Smell helps them when they're close, but they react to sound from far away. So we place these speakers at a safe distance from the mission spot to attract them there. Then we activate it after moving away so we stay out of danger."
He paused.
"But… this distance seems too far."
"Good," Malisha said. "At least you know something. And yes, it's too far. But you're forgetting our condition—there are too many zombies. If we place it at the usual distance, our path will get blocked. So we place it here. The range is high, so zombies from far away will hear it, and even if they don't—"
She smirked.
"—zombies love following each other. If they see one running, they all run."
She placed a drive in the speaker.
"This isn't the OG sound drive," Siya said. "Those are more effective."
Malisha stared at her flatly.
"And why would I use those stupid sounds? Baby screams, women screaming—how long do you expect me to listen to that nonsense? Pop, rock-pop and electric music give the same decibel range. And they don't make my ears bleed."
With no hesitation, she pulled the bus door open for exactly one second and shoved the speaker outside.
But in that single second, a zombie lunged toward the opening.
Malisha didn't even blink.
She drew the gun she still carried from the Scavenger incident and fired a bullet straight through the zombie's forehead while slamming the door shut with her other hand.
The brief opening gave everyone a glimpse outside—
rotting faces, grey hands, hollow eyes, bodies pressed together.
Dweep forgot to breathe.
Siya clutched the seat, shaking.
Even Raghav and Aditya stiffened, terror written across their faces.
Malisha didn't look at anyone. She simply nodded at Raghav.
"Move."
As she took her place beside him, she muttered,
"God, I hate this smell. It's so strong out there."
Even that one-second opening had filled the bus with the stench—
rotting meat, dried blood, and pure death.
A smell that clung to the lungs.
After driving nearly two or three kilometers away from the speaker, Raghav finally pulled the vehicle to the side. Malisha pressed a button and instantly loud, thundering rock music exploded from the speakers in the distance.
"Oh, this one is my favourite," Aditya grinned.
Within moments, the distant groans grew louder—the zombies had begun moving toward the planted speaker. Raghav, with the steady hands of a seasoned driver, restarted the engine and rolled forward slowly… slow enough that nothing outside noticed the vehicle.
"You're doing great. Good thing we had you available," Malisha told Raghav with her pleasant, unbothered smile.
Still humming the lyrics under her breath, she glanced back and noticed the two rookies stiff with panic.
"What? Didn't like the song?" she asked casually. "Here, take the remote. Set it however you want."
She tossed it over her shoulder with zero ceremony.
"We can change it? Really? Ohh this is good—let's see!" Dweep's voice cracked with excitement, and the mood in the bus finally loosened. Siya managed a small laugh.
Malisha stood up and disappeared into the tiny washroom. When she stepped out moments later, everyone froze mid-sentence.
It was like they had witnessed a mythical creature materialize.
She didn't react to their expressions. She simply walked to the storage cabinets, opened them, and began gearing up with terrifying efficiency.
Two katanas across her back.
Twin pistols strapped to her thighs.
Knives tucked into her boots.
And finally—an AK-47 slung across her shoulder.
She looked like a storm given human form.
Before anyone fully processed that, Raghav announced, "We've reached."
Aditya began suiting up. Siya arranged medical supplies. Dweep helped her in a rush. Raghav shut the engine off and moved to his position.
Malisha turned to her squad and, in a calm, deep, commanding tone that dropped the room temperature, said:
"Listen carefully. No one— I repeat, no one—except me steps on the ground. Not even if you see or hear something strange."
She pointed sharply.
"Aditya, get to the roof. Cover me. If needed, use decoys.
Raghav, you do not move from the driver's seat—be ready to leave at any moment.
Siya, keep the meds ready like you're doing.
Dweep, you stay at the gate. Keep it closed no matter what unless I order otherwise. And after 5–6 minutes… let the dogs out."
Aditya exploded, "There is no way you're going in alone! What do you think this is—you can't just keep me like a showpiece!"
"And do what?" Malisha snapped, voice dropping even lower. "We have a limited team. If you don't cover me, I can't go in. If Raghav leaves the driver's seat—who drives out? Dweep? Stop the nonsense and follow your captain."
Then she added, quieter but heavier:
"If I don't come out in 10 minutes… you're in charge. You already know this. And if I really don't come out… you leave immediately."
The gate creaked open.
Malisha stepped out.
Dweep slammed it shut behind her.
A heavy silence settled.
"I've done fifty missions," Siya whispered, hands trembling. "Twelve of them very dangerous. But no captain—no one—has ever gone in alone. And this… this is the worst situation we've ever seen. Do you think she'll really make it out alone?"
Aditya ignored her and climbed to the roof.
Raghav finally answered, voice steady but eyes serious.
"Anyone can walk in. But only she can walk back out. Even if we had ten buses full of captains and crew, there's still only one person with real chances."
He exhaled.
"She may be the youngest. But from every captain I've ever worked under… Malisha is the best. No doubt."