Without care, Isla threw a tied up and muzzled Luka to the ground as she dug her heels into his head. "Explain." She ordered rather calmly.

"Well, are you aware of the zombie hierarchy?" I sound like a madwoman. Isla probably thought the same as she raised a questioning eyebrow at me.

"Are you fucking with me right now?" She spat out in annoyance as she wedged her heel deeper into Luka's head. He started to growl louder in retaliation.

"I'm being deadly serious! I guess it's just been kept a secret from all the humans until now..." I wonder, does this mean the zombies are secretly planning a bigger attack on the humans? I suppose you can never go wrong with the element of surprise...

"So, what. Are you trying to tell me that your friend here is part of this hierarchy?"

I slowly rolled my eyes as I nodded along. "Pretty much. It's been years since the apocalypse, right? So, they're bound to evolve overtime..."

As Isla cast her gaze downwards at Luka in intrigue, she picked him up by the collar. "In that case, it looks like we'll need to study him further then."

"Study?" I asked cautiously.

"We need to know what we're up against here." As Isla gave a small nod to the guard at the door, she tossed Luka into his arms. "Keep him locked up. We're sending him out to the clinic first thing tomorrow."

As Isla went to light another cigarette, I desperately went to clutch her hands. "What's this about a clinic now?"

Isla merely rolled her eyes in response. "It's where the infected go. It's good for observation." Isla proceeded to shove me off her. "Anyway, stop asking me so many damn questions!"

As I watched the guard drag, Luka, away while kicking the air, I felt despair set in. What do I do now? Nick probably pitied me as he guided me out of the room with him.

"You need him to complete your mission, don't you?" Nick said.

"Bullseye," I answered curtly.

As Nick proceeded to suck a deep breath in, he gave me a soft pat on the back. "Then our only option is to bust him out of here tonight."

I looked up at Nick in complete befuddlement. "Are you serious? I-I-I can't ask you to help me like that again!" I remember how awful it went last time, so I'd rather not take the chance so soon again...

As Nick firmly placed both hands on my shoulders, he gave me a serious look. "I want to help you. So, here's what we're going to do..."

By the time midnight approached, I quickly peered around the corner to check if Nick was still there. He was as he gave me a quick thumbs up and smile. That's reassuring!

Before making my way towards the side door, Nick quickly tossed me a set of keys. I'm glad he swiped this earlier. If it wasn't for him overhearing Isla guiding Luka and I to our room, then he probably would've never gone looking for us.

As I combed through all of the keys, I finally found one that fitted the locked door. Once inside, I cautiously made my way down the stairs. It was darker than I had expected, but that didn't deter me in the slightest.

Once I finally reached the bottom, I saw Luka locked inside a caged room. But unfortunately, the guard was still on duty as he sat on his chair reading a book.

Well, I anticipated this happening. So, I came prepared! As I made my way out of the shadows to make myself known, the man stood up to challenge me.

"What are you doing here? Entry is strictly prohibited!" He gruffly declared. I didn't stop as I continued to slowly approach him.

"I know. But I'm here to make you a deal you can't refuse!"

The man folded his arms dubiously as he looked at me with cocky pride. "Oh really?"

I pulled out my last remaining packet of emergency food. This better not go to waste! "Give me five minutes with him and this is all yours." The man stared at the packet in silence. "C'mon, you must be hungry. You've been guarding him all day after all..."

The man silently took the packet and unlocked Luka's room. Ha, food seems to always do the trick when it comes to negotiating! But now that I think about it, it's kind of depressing how valuable food is as a commodity now. Everyone here is probably finding it difficult to ration...

Once I was inside, the door was locked tightly behind me. Luka doesn't seem to be all that impressed...

"So, my life is only worth a packet of chicken curry?" Luka asked rhetorically as he wrapped an arm around my shoulder.

I shrugged my shoulders in response. "It's the best I could come up with." Once I was certain that the guard had left the room, I pulled out the revolver from my pocket.

"Uh..." Luka looked at me in uncertainty. C'mon, have more faith in me. I got this!

As I aimed the gun at the lock on the door, I shot it open with ease. A gun feels surprisingly snug in my grip. Maybe it's because part of me always hoped to use it on Bennett...

"Quick, they'll be back soon. We can't waste another second!" I said as I ran out of the room, hand-in-hand with Luka.

Once outside, I was suddenly pulled into strong arms. "Where do you think you're going?" The guard demanded.

Ugh, I thought he'd be longer! As I tried to wiggle my way out of his arms, Luka stepped forward to attack him. Uuuu... this is going to get bloody; I just know it!

As I clenched my eyes shut, I was suddenly yanked out of the guard's arms and into another. Wait, if I was face-to-face with Luka then who...

Turning around, I saw Nick attempting to strangle the guard. "NICK?"

Nick inched his head towards me to force a smile. "Don't worry about me, just get out of here!" Despite his words, the situation did NOT look good! His feet were dragging across the ground as he struggled to hold the guard back.

"I CAN'T LEAVE YOU!" I protested. "WE'RE ONLY AFTER REUNITING!"

"Don't worry..." Nick grunted. "We'll meet again in another world. I promise!"

As Luka slung me over his shoulder, I started to hit his back as I tried to reach out for Nick one last time.

...

I don't know what happened to Nick after that. Or what happened to base 18 for that matter either. But I trust Nick. We... we will meet again in the next world. I'm sure of it!