Chapter 10 I chuckled and waved my hand. "If you shoot her, you're only going to give her an easy way out. I say we let her feel what it's like to be torn apart alive. That's the kind of ending a traitor deserves!" The team roared their approval. However, Esmeralda, who was barely breathing, suddenly cackled. "If you don't save me, I'll destroy this sample! Then, you can kiss your new anti-virus serum goodbye!" Hugging the sample to her chest, her eyes were filled with malice. I let out a low chuckle before pulling an identical sample tube out from my pocket. "You mean this one?" "T-That's impossible!" Esmeralda's eyes went wide, her face twitching uncontrollably. "Then... What you gave me was..." "Fake." I shook the tube in my hand. "Why would I hand over something so important to someone as unreliable as you? I never trusted you, not for a second!" I paused before looking down at her terrified expression. "Esmeralda... The one you're holding is a decoy I developed. Hence, even though you ran along the safest route, you still ran right into the zombies." As soon as my words sank in, Esmeralda parted her lips to respond. Yet, the very next second, more zombies poured out of the darkness and swarmed over her like a tide. Her screams tore through the hallway, accompanied by the sound of flesh being torn. Soon, everything fell silent again. We had just rushed out of the laboratory when the sight before us made everyone gasp. Beyond the gates, a dense horde of zombies hemmed us in, their numbers easily topping a hundred. It would be impossible for us to reach our vehicles, unless... "I'll lure them away! Find a chance to escape!" With a determined look, I shoved the sample into the deputy's hands, urging him to get it back to base safely. Yet, he grabbed my arm, his eyes brimming with tears. "You can't go, Skyla! You're the virologist. The military needs you to develop that anti-virus serum! If someone has to die today, it should be me!" While we were still arguing, Noah appeared out of nowhere. Tear streaks still stained his face, but his eyes held a firm resolve. " I'll go.' He turned to me, remorse practically pouring out of his eyes. "I'm sorry... I was a fool. I can't believe I kept hurting you all for that worthless woman." With that, he slashed a deep cut across his wrist with his dagger. The smell of blood hastily drew the zombies' attention. Noah sprinted off, shouting at the top of his lungs to lure the horde away. We seized the chance to run to our vehicles and broke through the siege. Right before we escaped, I vaguely heard Noah's final words. "I'm so sorry, Sky. You have to... live on!" The End.