Immune to the parasite that destroyed the world

Makami slumped against the cold, hard wall, his shotgun lying uselessly at his side. Blood pooled beneath him, staining the floor a deep crimson. His breaths came in ragged gasps, each inhale sharp and agonizing. The green-infected wolves circled him, their grotesque forms twitching unnaturally, glowing green eyes locked onto him with a predatory hunger. He had taken down several, their twisted bodies littering the ground, but there were still too many.

"Jin..." Makami muttered, his voice barely above a whisper. "Why are you so slow now? When I really need you... that's when you're not here."

His vision blurred, darkness creeping in at the edges. His strength was slipping away faster than he could fight it.

A memory surged forth, unbidden and raw.

The supermarket was dimly lit, its once-stocked shelves now barren and coated in dust. Makami's stomach growled as he cautiously navigated the aisles, hoping for anything edible. He had been weaker back then, his sickness draining what little energy he had. Every step felt like wading through mud, his legs trembling from exhaustion. Then, in the corner of a toppled shelf, he spotted it.

A bag of chips.

"Jackpot," he whispered, dropping to his knees and tearing it open with shaking hands. The crinkling wrapper was deafening in the silence, and his heart sank as a guttural growl responded from the darkness.

The infected came fast—too fast. Their bodies jerked unnaturally, bloodshot eyes locked onto him. Makami scrambled backward, knocking over cans in his panic. His breath came in quick gasps. He wasn't strong enough to fight—not alone.

Just as he braced for death, a blur of movement cut through the infected.

Jin.

His friend moved with brutal efficiency, fists slamming into skulls, breaking bones with sheer force. Blood splattered against the grimy floors, the infected collapsing one by one. The last one lunged, but Jin ducked, driving his knee into its gut before snapping its neck in one swift motion. The silence that followed was suffocating.

Jin turned, extending a hand to Makami. "Come on. We need to move."

For two days, they survived together—running, hiding, fighting. Jin carried the weight of their survival, making sure Makami never had to face the infected alone. Even then, he had been strong—stronger than anyone Makami had ever known.

Makami's hand trembled as he reached for his comms. Static crackled before he found his voice.

"Jin… you have to let everybody know. Before it's too late."

Jin's voice responded almost instantly, sharp and urgent. "Makami, hold on! I'm coming!"

"No," Makami murmured, coughing weakly. "There's no need to save me. Just… let everybody know. Before I die."

Jin's mind raced as he sprinted through the facility, memories of another loss haunting his every step.

It was supposed to be a normal day on the rooftop. Laughter filled the air as Jin sat with his friends, the warm afternoon sun casting long shadows over their small gathering. They were joking, sharing stories of better times, pretending—for just a moment—that the world wasn't falling apart.

Then, Jin left to use the bathroom.

When he returned, everything had changed.

His friends were different. Their eyes glowed unnaturally, their movements stiff and wrong. Blood stained the rooftop floor. They turned to him, hunger and madness twisting their faces. Their screams were no longer human.

Jin ran.

He never stopped hearing their voices, their cries for help that he had been powerless to answer. And now, history was repeating itself.

Jin burst into the room where Makami lay dying, his fists clenched so tightly his nails dug into his palms. The wolves turned at the sound of his entrance, their guttural growls filling the air.

"Get away from him!" Jin roared, his fury erupting in a battle cry.

One of the wolves lunged—Jin caught it mid-air, his mechanical arm crushing its throat until a sickening crack echoed through the room. Another charged from the side—Jin ducked, twisting his body to avoid its claws before delivering a brutal elbow strike that sent the creature crashing into the opposite wall.

The room shook with the force of his attacks. Wolves snapped at him, but he weaved between them with ruthless precision. One managed to rake its claws across his shoulder—Jin gritted his teeth through the pain and retaliated with a devastating punch, his mechanical fist caving in the wolf's skull. The last wolf hesitated, sensing the danger too late.

Jin ended it with a single, crushing blow.

As the final body hit the floor, he turned to Makami, his hands trembling as he reached for a small device—a medical injector designed to stop bleeding and stabilize injuries.

"Hold on, Makami," Jin said, desperation lacing his voice. "You're not dying on me."

He pressed the injector to Makami's side, but the blood continued to seep through. Too much. It wasn't working.

"Why isn't it working?!" Jin's voice broke, frustration and fear colliding in his chest.

Doctor Ashita's voice crackled over the comms, heavy with regret. "Jin, it's too late. Makami's lost too much blood. With his condition… his body can't recover from this."

Jin's hands curled into fists, his knuckles white. "No. There has to be something we can do!"

"There's nothing," Ashita said softly. "I'm sorry."

Makami's weak, trembling hand reached out, grasping Jin's arm. His grip was light, almost ghostly.

"Jin… make sure you tell them. Tell them… everything."

Jin's vision blurred with tears. "Tell them what? Makami, what are you talking about?"

But Makami didn't answer.

His hand slipped away, his chest rising once more before falling still. His eyes, once filled with warmth and mischief, stared blankly at the ceiling.

Jin knelt beside his best friend's body, his shoulders shaking. The room was eerily silent, the weight of his loss pressing down on him like an unbearable force.

Slowly, he stood, grief transforming into a white-hot rage. He pulled out his gun and fired a single shot into the air. The sound echoed through the facility, a raw, piercing scream of pain and fury.

His voice trembled as he whispered, "Makami... I'm sorry."