For two days, Shihab and Jawad’s search for land felt like a cruel joke. Every promising spot, a community garden gone to w**d, a flat rooftop, a cleared lot on the city's edge was either swarming with infected or drew them like flies the moment they set foot near it.
They’d spent the morning sprinting away from a pack that had emerged from a ruined supermarket adjacent to a perfect, sun-drenched plot of land.
"Again!" Jawad snarled, bending over with his hands on his knees to catch his breath. "It's like they're guarding the stupid dirt! Every single time!"
Shihab leaned against a crumbling wall, equally frustrated. They were wasting energy and ammunition. He watched a lone infected shambling in a wide circle farther down the street, oblivious to them. An idea, desperate and dangerous,
