Elena, Cindy, and Christopher stood together in the flickering, smoke-stained darkness of the ruined house, each of them battered and coated in a layer of soot and panic. The Enhanced Infected—its body grotesquely charred and still partially burning, a monstrous silhouette framed by scattered embers—loomed at the far end of the shattered hallway. Even grievously wounded, it was formidable; bits of muscle and melting flesh sloughed away with every movement, but its blank, lidless gaze remained locked on its prey. Pain was nothing to this creature—its injuries only made it more unpredictable, each tendon snapping taut as it prepared to strike.

A singed curtain swayed in a resurgence of heat from the burning room behind them as Elena wiped a line of sweat from her brow. She fixed her grip around the duct-taped handle of her lightning-charged crowbar. "Its strength is barely even human," she hissed, eyes narrowed. "If we don't disable it—cripple or decapitate—we're dead."

Cindy, breathing hard, nodded grimly, her knuckles white around the battered steel pipe she carried. The infected towered above them, immense and wild, empty eye sockets flickering with sickly orange light. Its left arm hung useless, burned down to blackened bone, but its right was still strong enough to shatter bone with a single blow.

Christopher's lips thinned as he checked his magazine with practiced efficiency, the metallic click echoing in the tense silence. "Blow the head off or take it clean—easier said than done," he muttered, frustration coloring his voice as he recalled the near-miss earlier. Five bullets left. Maybe six if he was lucky. Not enough margin for error.

The infected's head jerked suddenly, tracking movement like a predator sensing weakness. Its massive chest heaved with a sound like grinding metal, steam rising from the cracks in its charred skin where the fire had eaten through to muscle and sinew.

Suddenly, with no warning beyond a low growl that vibrated through the floorboards, the enhanced infected lunged with an eruption of kinetic fury. "It's coming!" Elena shouted as the thing's massive hand whipped toward them, trailing embers and ash like a comet of destruction.

Elena and Cindy dove aside in opposite directions, rolling over splintered boards and choking on dust. Elena's shoulder slammed into the wall hard enough to leave a dent in the drywall, pain radiating down her arm. Cindy hit the ground and rolled, her steel pipe clattering away before she desperately grabbed it again.

Christopher, thinking fast, sprinted low instead of retreating. The infected's burning hand whooshed over his head, close enough that he felt the searing heat scorch his scalp. He dropped into a slide, skidding beneath the creature's massive legs on the ash-slicked floor, and came up behind it with his gun raised.

BANG!

The bullet whipped past the infected's head at an angle, tearing away what little remained of its torn, rubbery ear. Black ichor sprayed across the wall, hissing where it landed. The creature howled—an unholy grinding sound like stone dragged across steel—and whirled with surprising speed, its good arm raking through the air where Christopher had been standing a heartbeat before.

"Damn it—I nearly had it!" Christopher barked, backpedaling rapidly as the infected advanced on him with lumbering but relentless steps. Each footfall cracked the burned floorboards beneath its weight.

Elena scrambled to her feet, catching her breath. Her face was illuminated by the orange-and-blue glow of the dying fire, sweat cutting clean lines through the soot on her cheeks. "You'll need to do better than that, Christopher! That skull is thicker than rebar. A single shot won't cut it—you need to empty the whole damn clip into its brain!"

"I know, I know!" He cut in, jaw tight with concentration as he sidestepped another wild swipe. The infected's fist punched through a support beam, splinters exploding outward like shrapnel. "I'm working on it! Kind of hard to aim when this thing won't hold still!"

Cindy pushed herself up from the floor, her arms trembling. The Dullahan virus hummed in her veins, lending her strength and speed beyond normal human capability, but she could feel the limits of her untrained body. Unlike Elena or Rachel, she had no special defensive ability—no barriers, no lightning aura. Just enhanced reflexes and durability. In a prolonged fight with this monster, even that might not be enough.

A beat of tense silence followed, filled only with the ominous crackling of timber and the distant roar of fire devouring the walls. The infected stood in the center of the hallway, head swiveling between its three opponents, calculating. Despite its ravaged state, there was still intelligence in its movements—twisted and alien, but present.

Elena's expression suddenly snapped into sharp focus. "Listen—I have a plan. But it's risky."

Cindy's eyes darted toward her friend. "What is it?"

"I can stun it—for maybe two, three seconds if I'm lucky." Elena's fingers crackled with blue-white electricity as she channeled power into her crowbar. The metal glowed, humming with barely contained energy. "If I hit its head or drive this through its chest with enough voltage, the shock should overwhelm its nervous system. That's your window, Christopher. You unload everything you've got into its skull while it's staggered."

Christopher nodded slowly, understanding the plan even as he recognized the dozen ways it could go catastrophically wrong. "And if it catches you before you land the hit?"

"Then you'd better have good aim anyway," Elena said. She knew the risk—one misstep, one moment too slow, and those massive hands would crush her skull like an eggshell.

Cindy's eyes widened as she considered the plan, her own heartbeat thundering in her ears. The monster tested its grip on a half-burned doorframe, the wood crumbling to ash in its grasp. "What about me? What do I do?"

Elena's expression darkened with worry. She turned to face Cindy fully, and for a moment the mask of determination slipped, revealing genuine fear beneath. "You keep it distracted. Keep it looking at you, make it commit to attacking you. If it grabs my weapon before I can strike, or worse—if it grabs me..." She didn't need to finish the sentence.

The weight of what Elena was asking settled over Cindy like a physical thing. Her enhanced body would give her speed and resilience, but she hadn't awakened yet her Dullahan power. No protective barriers like Rachel's crimson shields. No devastating electrical attacks like Elena's lightning. Just flesh and bone, slightly tougher than normal, facing down a monster that had already proven it could tear through walls.

Before doubt could take root and paralyze her, Cindy stepped forward, steel pipe raised in both hands. "I can take its attention." The words surprised even her with their firmness. "I can handle it long enough. Just... don't miss, Elena."

"Cindy—" Elena started maybe reconsidering it.

"I'm doing this," Cindy interrupted, meeting her friend's concerned gaze. "You said it yourself—I'm the only one here besides you who can fight and react fast enough to this thing without getting killed immediately. Christopher's our finisher. You're our striker. That makes me the bait."

Christopher looked between the two women, clearly torn between admiration and the desire to object. "You're both insane, you know that?" But there was respect in his voice, rough and genuine. "Alright. When you give the signal, Cindy, I won't hesitate. Just... don't let that bastard get close enough to grab you."

"I'll try my best," Cindy said with a weak smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

Elena gave her crowbar one last testing squeeze, feeling the accumulated electrical charge tingle and spark against her palm. The Dullahan virus allowed her to channel and amplify electricity through her body—a gift that had saved her life more than once, but one that drained her stamina rapidly. She'd get one good shot, maybe two before exhaustion hit. It had to count.

"Ready?" Elena asked, meeting both their eyes.

They nodded.

"Now move!"

Elena darted left with enhanced speed, her form blurring as she drew the enhanced infected's milky-white gaze for just a moment before vanishing behind the torn carcass of the broken staircase. Shadows swallowed her immediately, leaving only the faint blue glow of electricity as any indication of her position.

The monster's head swung back to scan for threats, and found its gaze locking onto the only remaining target in the open—Cindy.

She stood alone in the center of the destroyed hallway, illuminated by the hellish orange glow of the fires still consuming their home. Her blonde hair was dark with soot and sweat, her clothes torn and stained with ash and blood—some of it hers, most of it not. She looked small and fragile compared to the hulking abomination facing her.

But she didn't run.

"Come on, you ugly bastard," Cindy muttered under her breath, brandishing the pipe in what she hoped was a threatening manner.

The infected tilted its head, the movement disturbingly birdlike for something so massive. Then it charged.

The world seemed to slow down as Cindy's enhanced senses kicked into overdrive. She could see every detail—the way the infected's burned feet cracked the floorboards with each thunderous step, the arc of its massive arm swinging toward her like a wrecking ball, the shower of embers that trailed in its wake. Her body moved before conscious thought could catch up, diving into a roll that carried her under the sweeping blow.

The infected's fist smashed into the wall where she'd been standing, punching clean through the drywall and support beams. The entire house shuddered from the impact, a groan of stressed timber echoing through the structure.

Cindy came up from her roll, spun, and swung her pipe in a wide arc. The steel connected with the infected's knee with a satisfying crack, but the creature barely staggered. Its leg buckled slightly, charred skin splitting further to reveal blackened bone beneath, but it remained upright.

"Ha," Cindy breathed. She'd put everything into that swing—enhanced strength and all—and barely made it flinch.

The infected turned toward her with terrifying focus, and she saw Christopher moving into position behind it, gun raised. Not yet, she thought desperately. Elena needs more time.

"Hey!" Cindy shouted, waving her pipe. "Over here, asshole! Come on!"

It worked. The infected lunged at her again, both arms reaching this time. Cindy backpedaled rapidly, her enhanced reflexes allowing her to stay just ahead of those grasping hands. Her heel caught on a piece of debris and she stumbled, arms windmilling for balance.

The infected seized the opportunity. Its massive hand shot forward, fingers curling to grab her.

"Cindy!" Christopher shouted.

She threw herself sideways at the last possible instant, feeling the infected's fingers brush her shoulder hard enough to spin her around. She hit the floor hard, rolling through broken glass that sliced through her clothes. Pain flared bright and immediate, but the Dullahan virus dulled it to a manageable throb.

Before the infected could press its advantage, Christopher opened fire. BANG! BANG! Two shots in rapid succession, both aimed at the creature's head. One went wide, punching through the wall. The other caught the infected in the temple, snapping its head to the side.

The monster roared, distracted from Cindy. It turned toward Christopher with murderous intent, and Cindy used the reprieve to scramble to her feet.

"Three bullets left," Christopher called out, backing away as the infected advanced on him. "This better work!"

On the stairs above, Alisha gripped the railing so hard her knuckles turned white. Beside her, Liu Mei watched with unreadable dark eyes. Both wanted desperately to help but knew they'd only be in the way. All they could do was watch and pray.

Where was Elena? Cindy's eyes darted to the shadows where her friend had vanished. Come on, Elena. Any time now would be great.

The infected was fully focused on Christopher now, backing him into a corner. He fired again—BANG!—and the bullet caught the monster in the shoulder, black blood spraying but doing no real damage. Two bullets left.

"Running out of time here!" Christopher yelled.

Then Cindy saw movement in her peripheral vision. A flicker of blue light, growing brighter. Elena emerged from behind the ruined staircase like a vengeful spirit, her entire body wreathed in crackling electricity. The crowbar in her hands glowed white-hot with accumulated charge, sparks arcing between the metal and her skin.

"Now!" Elena screamed.

Everything happened at once.

Cindy rushed forward from the infected's blind side, swinging her pipe low. It connected with the back of the creature's knee—not enough to topple it, but enough to make it stagger backward a single step.

Directly into Elena's path.

Elena launched herself forward with superhuman speed, the Dullahan virus flooding her muscles with power. She drove the supercharged crowbar forward like a spear, aiming for the infected's chest. The curved metal punched through charred skin and muscle with a sickening crunch, sinking deep into the creature's torso.

Then Elena released every amp of stored electricity in one devastating pulse.

CRACK!

The sound was like a thunderclap contained within the house. Blue-white lightning erupted from the crowbar, racing through the infected's body along every nerve and blood vessel. The creature's back arched violently, muscles seizing, its jaw locked open in a silent scream. Smoke rose from its eyes and mouth as internal tissues fried. The smell of cooking meat filled the air, acrid and choking.

For two perfect seconds, the enhanced infected stood frozen, completely paralyzed by the electrical assault coursing through its system.

"Christopher! NOW!" Elena screamed.

Christopher didn't hesitate. He stepped forward, planted his feet, and raised his gun with both hands. The infected's head was perfectly still, a stationary target for the first time in the entire fight.

BANG!

The first bullet punched through the infected's left eye socket, exploding out the back of its skull in a spray of black ichor and bone fragments.

BANG!

The second bullet followed a heartbeat later, entering through the gaping wound left by the first and tunneling deeper into the brain.

The enhanced infected's body went rigid. The electrical surge faded, Elena stumbling backward and pulling her crowbar free with a wet sucking sound. The creature swayed on its feet, head listing to one side, smoke still rising from its ruined skull.

For a heart-stopping moment, it looked like it might keep standing. Might keep fighting despite the catastrophic damage.

Then its knees buckled. The massive body crashed forward like a felled tree, hitting the floor with enough force to shake the entire structure. Dust and ash billowed up from the impact, and finally—finally—it went still.

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