While Mela's brothers fought to stay alive somewhere across their city, on the other side of the world Nigeria was already in motion.
Deliberate actions were being taken in place. Inside a secured government facility in Abuja, the room was filled with quiet urgency, screens showing fragments of a country slipping into chaos yet still resisting.
A man stood at the center, his voice steady as he spoke. "Update." An officer stepped forward. "Outbreaks confirmed across multiple states, sir. Civilian structures compromised. Schools included." Another added, "Infected are fast, aggressive, and highly reactive to sound. Containment is failing in several zones." The man nodded once. "And the team near the school?" "In position," came the reply.
"They're moving in." The man's gaze sharpened slightly. "Then proceed. " Have they Secured the area and extract survivors."
Orders moved fast, and within minutes the convoy had already reached the school.
Back at the gate, the moment the soldiers stepped out, tension wrapped around the group like a tightening grip. "Everyone stay where you are!" one of them shouted. Aren didn't move at first, his eyes scanning, reading positions, exits, weapons. He shifted slightly, placing himself just enough ahead of Alero and the kids without drawing attention. A soldier stepped forward. "You came from inside?"
"Yeah," Aren replied.
The soldier looked them over. "Any injuries?"
"Some," Celine answered. "Nothing critical."
The soldier nodded. "We're extracting survivors. You'll be taken somewhere secure." Aren's eyes narrowed slightly. "Where?"
"Temporary safe location." Again, not a real answer. Aren noticed, and this time he didn't let it slide. "I'm not going," he said. The words were calm, but they cut clean through the moment.
The soldier paused. "What?"
"I'm not going with you," Aren repeated.
Behind him, Alero tensed slightly. "Aren…" He didn't look back. "My mom is still out there," he continued. "I'm going to get her."
The air shifted immediately. The soldiers exchanged quick looks. This wasn't part of the smooth extraction they expected. The one in front stepped closer. "Listen, we understand, but this isn't the time to split up. We can relocate you first, then..."
"No," Aren cut in. His voice didn't rise, but the firmness in it was enough. "I'm not leaving without her." Silence hung for a second. Then from behind the line of people, a voice spoke.
"Let him go."
Heads turned...
The boy who had stepped out of the crowd earlier walked forward slowly, his expression calm, almost detached, yet focused.
He stopped a few steps behind the soldier.
"He's not wrong," the boy added. "If he goes with you now, he won't get another chance."
The soldier frowned slightly. He knew this was the person their supervisor told to extract for this mission, but it is also known that they should also bring in survivors too, then he spoke "This isn't your call."
"No," the boy replied. "But we already know forcing him won't work." His eyes shifted briefly to Aren, then back. "Look at him."
The soldier and others followed his gaze.
Aren stood there, steady, unshaken, not showing either a desperate or panicked looked just… unconditional confidence and strength in the eyes.
It was more dangerous than fear.
Another soldier muttered quietly, "Sir, we're burning time."
The first soldier exhaled sharply before looking back at Aren. "Fine. Then listen carefully. If you're going out there, you don't wander blind.
"Where is she?"
Aren answered without hesitation, giving the location he believed his mother would be. The soldier nodded slowly. "That area is already unstable. We were planning a sweep there after this extraction." The boy behind him spoke again, "Then adjust it. Let him move with partial support." The soldier glanced back at him, clearly annoyed but thinking.
After a brief pause, he looked at Aren again.
"You don't follow my orders, but you don't get backup. Understood?"
Aren gave a small nod. "Understood."
"You stay alive, you regroup at the next checkpoint we establish."
"Fine."
Alero stepped forward slightly. "We're coming with you," she said. Aren turned his head just enough to look at her.
"No!!"
"Aren....." he didn't let her finish.
"You stay with them," he said, this time more firmly. "They'll keep you safer." The younger ones clung tighter to her, already shaken.
Celine watched the exchange quietly before speaking. "She should stay," she said softly.
"They'll need protection." Alero hesitated, her eyes locked on Aren. "…You better come back," she said finally.
Aren gave a faint nod. "I will."
The soldier stepped aside slightly. "We move in two minutes," he said to his team before glancing at Aren. "Make it quick."
For a moment, everything settled into a strange balance. The soldiers preparing. The survivors uncertain. The world still broken.
Aren adjusted his grip on the metal pipe, then started walking past the soldiers toward the gate, not waiting for anything else.
As he passed, the boy near the vehicle spoke again, just loud enough for Aren to hear. "Try not to die before we meet again."
Aren didn't stop he didn't look back.
But a small smirk touched his lips.
"Same to you," he replied.
He stepped out past the gate, into a city that was no longer the one he knew, the air heavier, quieter, more dangerous with every step.
Behind him, the soldiers began moving.
Ahead of him, uncertainty stretched endlessly.
Aren exhaled softly, his eyes sharpening as he focused on the path ahead.