--Phase 13 “The Regret”--
On the other side of the tunnel, Kaien was struggling to use his bullet wisely because he had to admit, he gave Allen too much of his. Regret sat in his stomach and slowly ate him from inside and crawled up to his brain. He did not regret giving his bullets to Allen, but he regretted leaving Allen there by himself.
He was lucky, Nathan and Benji still got enough bullets and they could storm a bunch of zombies on their way out. Kaien had no idea where those zombies came from. He thought he already eliminated them before, but they just kept coming. If he had exchanged places with Allen before, it would not guarantee Allen could lead Benji and Nathan through all these numbers of zombies. But leaving Allen there did not mean he would be safe from the zombies as well. He hated this situation.
“Hurry up!” Kaien called as he let the two men ran in front of him. Taking the back cover, Kaien ran backward and could not see the front. He cursed when he slipped over someone. Getting up fast, Kaien threw a grenade to the zombies and some flash bomb. That would buy them some time.
“Kaien,” Nathan’s voice was dead worried and soon Kaien knew why. Benji was curling up like a ball as the man shivered, in a deep cold. Kaien got Benji on his back as he told Nathan to run fast. Benji was beginning to lose his temperature again, like before. Why was his symptom repeating twice? Kaien could help but wonder in his mind. His mind was a mess and he needed to calm down and focus.
“Is he going to be okay?” Nathan asked, interrupting Kaien’s deep thought.
“He’ll if he gets out from here before he transforms and gets the meds,” Kaien answered the obvious question. They kept running till they were out of breath but they did not stop. They were dead worried, especially Kaien because he wanted to turn back that moment to save Allen and Dominique, but he could not. Not yet, not now. But he surely will. He had promised.
“GRRR!” a hoarse deep scream came after them from behind as Kaien fastened the speed. He told Nathan to not look back and kept running. They managed to do so, at least before a huge monster broke the ground beneath them.
“Take Benji and go!” Kaien shouted to Nathan. “The exit isn’t far! I’ll take care of them.”
One by one of them was staying behind without any clue what would happen or what had happened to them. Nathan wanted to protest but he could not. He got Benji as he jumped from the broken ground, heading toward the exit. He was so scared. He was alone with Benji unconscious and they could encounter those monsters again. Moreover, he almost ran out of bullets. Breathing hard, Nathan did his best to keep running but his legs betrayed him as he slipped and hit the ground.
Getting up as fast as he could, he spotted some zombies near Benji as he madly shot them. Nathan got Benji back as he was on foot, heading for some light he spotted a few meters away. Yet, he lost his balance once again as the ground vibrated in tremor, sending him to hit the ground again.
“Nathan...” Benji mumbled as he hardly opened his eyes,” Are you...okay?”
“I’m…fine!” Nathan faked a smile as he coughed up blood. Damn, he had to break a rib or two as he felt some deep pain on his chest. Ignoring his pain, Nathan once again got up as he helped Benji. Both of them struggle to get into the light. The journey seemed like forever as they seemed to not move even closer to the light. Dominique, Allen and Kaien had stayed behind so they could go this far. They could not give up. He could not give up.
Their consciousness began to betray them as the light began to hypnotize their sanity. They wanted out but could this really be a way out? There was no zombie near them, yet, the pain and fear still did not leave them alone. Nathan coughed once again as he felt his breath begin to shorten. He felt like drowning all of the sudden as he realized what was really happening. His broken ribs had to stab his lungs and fill them with blood.
“Nathan...” In his blurry vision, Benji could see his childhood friend bleed out from his nose and mouth. “Please… Tell me you’re okay...”
“I’m---“ Nathan felt on the ground flat and so was. Terrified, Benji fought his coldness, numbness, and weak muscles to get up and move toward Nathan. He could see Nathan was barely breathing.
“Nathan. . . Please hang in there, Nathan!” Benji cried out. He suddenly had his strength back as he got up and took Nathan. He ran toward the light and this time it seemed the light began to blind them. Benji kept running till he was out of the tunnel and weapons were pointed to his head by the black-clothed army.
“Please save him! I beg you, please!” Benji screamed. “He’s drowning in his lungs of blood! Please!”
It did not take long before the army realized they were indeed human and called paramedics. Benji wanted to fight when they took Nathan away from him but his consciousness betrayed him. He lost his strength as he almost fell on the ground. Luckily, one of the soldiers caught him.
Benji could feel his numbness and coldness all over his body once again. He felt like dying from the pain that just got back to his body. Before he lost his consciousness, he spotted Nathan with some paramedic team trying to save him. Benji closed his eyes, hoping Nathan would be okay and if there was a miracle, he wanted to be alive as a human being when he woke up.
Deep down in the tunnel, Kaien was still busy shooting his last bullets. He knew Benji and Nathan should make it out now and he wanted to get back to save Allen and Dominique, yet, he needed to get more ammunition. That meant he had to get out first before returning in. Cursing, Kaien knew something was wrong from the unknown tremor that hit the ground a few minutes ago. His hunch was soon answered as he saw massive water flowing toward him.
Getting up and running as fast as he could, Kaien rushed toward the exits as he could hear the zombies’ scream behind him because they were drowned. Kaien cursed over and over again as his legs moved faster and faster. He eventually reached the exit and spotted his army waiting for him. All of them splashed by the water that eventually hung on the tunnel surface.
“Are you okay, Kaien?” one of the soldiers asked but Kaien could care less. He did not answer as terror hit him. The tunnel was full of water and no way was he going in, except diving. That meant, he could not imagine but the worst possibility of Allen and Dominique were still being alive and drowning somewhere inside the tunnel.
“Damn it!” Kaien cursed. “Get me diving equipment! Fast!”
The soldiers did his order as he tried to get some breath. Kaien got up on his feet fast as he reloaded his weapons. He felt so tired and he could feel his body shaking. His muscles began to give up, he knew it. He had reached his limit. Fighting his body with undying spirit and mind, Kaien managed to get his ammunition and diving suit ready in three minutes. He brought more stuff in his waterproof bag. He had to be ready for everything.
One of Kaien’s comrades was not sure whether Kaien should go back to the tunnel. The man said Kaien had to reach his limit already but Kaien did not give up. If there was a way to gain more strength, he could save everyone. Then, it hit him. It was the only way he could have his strength back.
“Where’re they taking Benji? I mean the infected one?” Kaien asked.