Call of the Infected
1407 Words
PART-5
The City That Breathes
Rahul didn’t wait for Aisha to finish her sentence.
“We follow them.”
His voice was low, steady—but inside, his chest felt tight. Every instinct told him this was dangerous. But something else, something deeper, pushed him forward.
Curiosity.
Or maybe fear of the unknown.
Aisha grabbed his wrist. “Rahul, this isn’t normal. Look at them.”
“I know,” he said. “That’s exactly why we need to understand it.”
The three infected at the end of the corridor moved in perfect rhythm. No jerking, no stumbling, no random aggression. Just slow, controlled steps.
Like they were being guided.
Rahul and Aisha followed at a distance, careful not to make a sound. The hallway stretched long and silent, broken glass crunching faintly under their shoes.
Then the whisper came again.
“…come closer…”
Rahul froze mid-step.
Aisha tightened her grip on his arm. “You heard that too, right?”
He nodded.
“That’s not possible,” she said. “They don’t talk.”
“They didn’t,” Rahul corrected.
The infected turned left at the end of the hall. Rahul leaned forward, peeking carefully.
And what he saw made his blood run cold.
The street outside was filled.
Hundreds of infected.
No—thousands.
They stood shoulder to shoulder, packed into every inch of space. Cars were surrounded. Lamp posts were climbed. Even the rooftops had movement.
But the worst part?
They weren’t attacking anything.
They were waiting.
Aisha’s voice trembled. “Why are they just standing there?”
Rahul didn’t answer immediately.
Because he noticed something else.
They were all facing the same direction.
The center of the city.
Before he could say anything—
One of the infected near the corridor suddenly stopped.
Its head tilted.
Then slowly turned.
Directly toward Rahul.
His breath caught.
“It sees us,” Aisha whispered.
Rahul shook his head, though he wasn’t sure anymore. “No… it’s…”
The infected’s eyes were not empty.
They were focused.
Aware.
Its mouth opened slowly.
“…join…”
Aisha’s grip tightened painfully. “Rahul, we’re leaving. Now.”
But before they could move—
Every infected outside froze.
At once.
The entire street went silent.
Even the wind seemed to stop.
And then—
They all looked up.
At the building.
At the corridor.
At Rahul.
A wave of terror crashed through him.
“RUN!”
They didn’t think. They just moved.
Rahul grabbed Aisha’s hand and sprinted down the hallway. Behind them, a sound exploded—
Screams.
Footsteps.
Bodies slamming into walls.
“They’re coming!” Aisha shouted.
Rahul didn’t reply. He could already hear them—faster than before. Smarter.
He pushed open a side door and dragged Aisha inside.
“Block it!”
They shoved a broken cabinet against the door just as the first impact hit.
THUD!
The wood cracked.
THUD! THUD!
“They’re stronger!” Aisha said, panic rising.
Rahul scanned the room.
No exit.
Except—
“Window.”
Aisha turned. “That’s a two-floor drop.”
“Better than staying here.”
The door began to splinter.
Rahul smashed the remaining glass and cleared the frame.
“You go first.”
Aisha hesitated for only a second—then climbed out and jumped.
She hit the ground hard but rolled, quickly getting back up.
“Rahul!”
The door burst open.
Three infected rushed in.
Their movements were different now—faster, sharper.
Hunting.
Rahul ran and jumped out the window.
The impact shot pain up his legs, but adrenaline pushed him forward.
“Move!”
They ran through the street, weaving past abandoned cars.
Rahul glanced back—and felt something worse than fear.
Understanding.
“They’re not chasing randomly,” he said.
Aisha looked back too.
The infected weren’t scattered.
They were forming lines.
Guiding them.
“Forcing us somewhere,” she whispered.
They turned into an alley.
Dead end.
Rahul cursed. “No way out!”
“Wait—there!”
Aisha pointed to a hanging fire escape ladder.
Rahul jumped, barely catching it, and pulled it down.
“Climb!”
They scrambled up.
The infected reached the alley just as Rahul pulled the ladder out of reach.
They gathered below.
Silent.
Watching.
Rahul leaned against the railing, breathing heavily.
“They’re not leaving,” Aisha said.
“No,” he replied. “They’re waiting.”
The whisper returned.
Closer.
Clearer.
“…you can’t escape…”
Aisha covered her ears. “What is that?!”
Rahul stared toward the center of the city.
And then he saw it.
A building.
Tall.
Dark.
And glowing faintly.
“That,” he said. “That’s where this is coming from.”
Aisha followed his gaze. “I’ve never seen that before.”
“Neither have I.”
The glow pulsed.
And every time it did—
The infected below twitched.
Reacted.
Like signals.
“They’re connected to it,” Rahul said.
Aisha shook her head. “This isn’t just infection anymore.”
“No,” Rahul agreed quietly. “It’s something else.”
They stayed on the rooftop until night began to fall.
The sky turned darker than usual, clouds swirling unnaturally.
Rahul couldn’t shake the feeling.
The city was alive.
Not in the way it used to be.
Something else.
Something watching.
Aisha sat nearby, cleaning a small knife.
“You’re thinking about going there, aren’t you?” she said without looking up.
Rahul didn’t deny it.
“If we don’t understand it,” he said, “we don’t survive.”
She sighed. “Or we go there and die faster.”
“Maybe,” he admitted.
Silence stretched between them.
Then Aisha stood.
“Fine,” she said. “If we’re doing this, we do it smart.”
Rahul nodded.
They waited until full dark.
Then they moved.
The streets were worse at night.
Not louder.
Not more chaotic.
But more… aware.
The infected moved differently now.
Less wandering.
More direction.
Rahul and Aisha stuck to shadows, moving from cover to cover.
Every step felt watched.
At one point, Rahul froze.
“What?” Aisha whispered.
“Listen.”
Footsteps.
Not random.
Behind them.
They turned.
An infected stood there.
Alone.
Not attacking.
Just watching.
Its head tilted.
“…closer…”
Aisha didn’t hesitate.
She threw her knife.
It hit the infected in the head, dropping it instantly.
But Rahul felt it again.
That connection.
Like something else had just noticed them.
“Go,” he said urgently.
They moved faster.
The glowing building grew closer.
And with it—
The whisper grew louder.
“…almost here…”
Rahul’s heart pounded.
Not just from fear.
But from something else.
A pull.
A strange, unnatural urge.
He shook his head, trying to fight it.
Aisha noticed.
“Rahul?”
“I’m fine,” he said quickly.
But he wasn’t.
Because deep inside—
A part of him wanted to go there.
Wanted to see it.
Wanted to understand.
They reached the edge of a wide open area.
And stopped.
The building stood before them.
Massive.
Towering.
Its surface looked almost… organic.
Like it was breathing.
The glow pulsed slowly, like a heartbeat.
And surrounding it—
Thousands of infected.
Standing still.
Facing it.
Silent.
Waiting.
Aisha whispered, “This is insane…”
Rahul stepped forward slightly.
And the whisper became clear.
“…welcome…”
His vision blurred for a second.
He saw flashes—
People screaming.
The outbreak spreading.
Something underground.
Something waking up.
He stumbled back.
“Rahul!”
“I saw something,” he gasped.
“What?”
“I don’t know… but it’s connected to all of this.”
The ground beneath them vibrated slightly.
A low rumble spread across the area.
The building pulsed brighter.
And then—
The infected moved.
Not toward Rahul.
Not toward Aisha.
But toward the building.
All at once.
A massive wave of bodies moving forward.
“They’re going inside,” Aisha said.
Rahul stared.
“This is it,” he whispered.
“What?”
“The source.”
He looked at her.
“We either walk away now…”
Aisha already knew the second option.
“…or we go in.”
Silence.
Fear.
The unknown.
Aisha took a deep breath.
Then tightened her grip on her knife.
“Let’s finish this.”
Rahul nodded.
And together—
They stepped toward the breathing heart of the city.
To be continue....
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD