The flames surged like beasts unchained.
Car 2 was a wall of heat and smoke, windows bursting outward, metal groaning as paint blistered from the walls. Fire rolled across the ceiling like a living thing, a roar that swallowed all sound. In its wake, the faint screams of the infected could be heard—cut off by the crackle of burning flesh.
The hazmat soldiers were methodical. They advanced without hesitation, fire in hand, sweeping room by room with terrifying precision. They weren't checking for survivors.
They were cleansing.
"GO!" Jason shouted, yanking the rear hatch shut behind him as they scrambled back into Car 8. The heat had reached the walls, and already, the air inside felt suffocating.
"They're torching the train!" Jordy shouted, coughing as smoke poured in from the cracks in the vents.
"Why would they do that?" Leo whimpered, huddled close to Sienna.
"To erase something," Ethan said grimly. "And that means we're not supposed to get out."
Asher leaned against the conductor's cabin, breath ragged. Inside the secret floor compartment, Mia waited—safe for now. But with each second the heat climbed and the fire crept closer, he could feel the walls closing in.
He'd promised her she'd be okay.
He didn't know if he could keep it.
Beside him, Ethan paced, gripping his bat tight enough to turn his knuckles white.
"They're not just soldiers," he muttered. "They're following orders. Someone's watching. Coordinating this."
Jason slammed a fist against the wall. "We need an escape plan. Now."
Casey spoke up from the corner where she'd knelt, flipping open a hidden maintenance panel.
"There's one way," she said. "An emergency hatch. Leads down to the undercarriage. From there we can drop to the gravel and run along the tracks. But it'll be risky. And we'll have to move fast."
"How fast?" Malik asked.
Casey looked him in the eye. "Before Car 3 goes up. After that, the whole train's a furnace."
Asher stood. "We go for it."
Jason nodded. "Everyone packs light. Grab what you need—nothing more."
Five minutes later, they were ready.
Mia, awake and blinking up at Asher with sleepy confusion, didn't protest as he pulled her into his arms and explained what they had to do.
"You promised you'd come back," she said softly.
"And I did," he whispered. "And I always will."
"I love you, Dad."
He kissed her forehead. "I love you more, little star."
Ethan met his eyes, and no words were needed. In that look was a thousand unspoken vows, years of feelings wrapped in seconds of silence. They didn't need to say I love you—not yet.
But they both knew it.
Casey pulled the latch.
The emergency hatch opened with a clang and a hiss of rusted metal. Wind blasted up from below—the smell of scorched steel and ash filling their lungs. One by one, they began to slide down the undercarriage ladder, landing hard on the gravel-lined track.
They crouched low, hugging the shadows beneath the train.
Above them, the orange glow of fire spread to Car 3.
Behind them, Car 2 collapsed inward, spewing a column of black smoke into the twilight sky.
"MOVE!" Jason commanded.
They ran.
The old rails were overgrown, broken in places, weeds thick enough to trip over. The group stuck together, keeping low, their breaths ragged and legs burning. Ethan carried Mia on his back, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck, her face buried in his shoulder.
Asher ran beside him, scanning for movement.
Jason led from the front, with Casey at his side, guiding them toward a path she said would lead to a former maintenance station—something that might have supplies, maps, or even comms.
Behind them, Malik and Jordy kept lookout, turning often to check if they were followed.
But the hazmats weren't coming.
Not yet.
By the time they reached the station, the sun had begun to dip, casting deep shadows across the ruins.
It wasn't much—a rusted service building, half-collapsed, windows shattered, vines choking the roof—but it was shelter. And for the first time in what felt like days, they had silence.
Jason forced the door open, and the group filed in.
Inside, the smell of old oil and damp wood filled the air. The walls were lined with cabinets, broken lockers, and empty tool racks. A cracked map of the regional railway lines still hung beside the entrance.
Asher set Mia down and checked her for injuries. "You okay?"
She nodded sleepily. "Are we safe now?"
"For now," Ethan said.
They settled in, reinforcing the doors with debris and scrap metal. Malik found a few dusty bottles of water, and Sienna shared the last of her protein bars. Mia drew in the corner with her crayons, humming quietly to herself.
But the peace didn't last.
Jordy, rummaging through a file cabinet, froze. "Guys… come look at this."
Everyone crowded around as he unfolded a set of yellowed documents. At the top, bold letters read:
TOP SECRET – PROJECT DAWN – MOBILE STAGE 3 TESTING
"What the hell is this?" Leo asked.
Jason scanned it quickly. "This… this isn't a normal train manifest. This is a trial log."
Casey read aloud:
'Subject load complete. 26 experimental carriers. Civilian camouflage engaged. Behavioral response tracking initiated.'
Sienna's hand covered her mouth. "Oh my god…"
"They put infected people on the train," Ethan said. "Disguised as passengers."
"They were testing them," Asher whispered. "To see how the infection spread in a closed environment."
"And we were the control group," Jason growled.
Malik punched the wall. "Those bastards. They set us up!"
The room filled with horrified silence.
It wasn't random.
The apocalypse hadn't just happened.
It had been unleashed.
Later that night, Asher sat outside the station, knees pulled to his chest, staring up at the stars. The fire was distant now, just a haze on the horizon. But the burn inside him wouldn't go away.
Ethan joined him, sitting close, their shoulders brushing.
"You okay?" Ethan asked.
Asher shook his head. "We were just kids going to a baseball game. And now… we're survivors of a science experiment."
"Not just survivors," Ethan said. "You're a protector. For Mia. For everyone. And for me."
Asher looked at him. "You don't need protecting."
Ethan gave a small laugh. "No. But I need you."
They stared at each other. The wind whispered through the trees. The firelight flickered in Asher's eyes.
And then—as if time bent for a heartbeat—Ethan leaned in.
Their lips met.
Soft. Slow. Familiar.
Like coming home after a storm.
It didn't last long. Just enough.
When they pulled apart, neither of them spoke. They didn't need to.
The world was falling apart—but for now, they had each other.
The next morning came hard.
Casey woke them before dawn.
"There's movement in the forest," she said. "Fast movement."
Jason checked his scope. "Not animals."
They scrambled to gather what supplies they had, rousing the others. Asher grabbed Mia, still groggy, and bundled her in a jacket.
Then the shots started.
Not from them.
From the woods.
Automatic fire.
"RUN!" Jason shouted.
They bolted through the back exit as bullets ripped through the walls of the station. Whoever was out there wasn't just searching.
They were hunting.
The group ran blind through the forest, dodging under branches, splashing through shallow creeks, legs scraped by thorns and twigs. Gunfire echoed behind them.
A drone appeared overhead—buzzing low and loud, scanning with a red eye.
Malik hurled a rock and hit it dead-on. It spiraled and crashed into the trees.
But it had already seen them.
"They'll track us now!" Casey cried.
"We need a new plan!" Sienna shouted.
"There!" Ethan pointed. Up ahead, a crumbling watchtower jutted out above the trees.
They sprinted toward it, breath ragged, clothes soaked in sweat and blood.
As they climbed the tower's rusted stairs, Jordy slipped—and Jason caught him just in time.
But behind them, shadows closed in.
Hazmat soldiers.
Guns ready.
Asher shoved Mia through the final hatch at the top of the tower. Ethan followed, pulling up a steel plate and bracing it with his bat.
Then came a shout from below.
"DON'T MOVE!"
Everyone froze.
One of the soldiers stepped into the clearing—gun lowered.
Helmet off.
It was a woman. Mid-thirties. Blonde. Eyes dark with exhaustion.
She raised a hand. "I'm not here to kill you. I'm here to get you out."
Jason didn't move. "You expect us to trust that?"
"I know about Mia," the woman said. "And about Subject #17. I know this wasn't your fault."
Ethan lowered the bat slowly. "Then who the hell are you?"
The woman's face darkened. "My name is Dr. Elara Wren. I helped build Project Dawn."
Everyone tensed.
"And now," she said, "I want to destroy it."