The group stormed in, firing nonstop.

  As they climbed the stairs, they ran into Iván and Adriano.

  "Report the situation, boys," Luke ordered, panting as he fired.

  "We’ve been holding out here for a few minutes," Adriano replied, his face drenched in sweat.

  "Are Miss Italia and Mabel safe?" Luke asked, rushing toward the room.

  Inside, he noticed Fermín’s bite and Felicia’s absence.

  "Luke, I’m so glad to see you… all of you, back safe," Italia said with relief.

  Cody entered and hugged his brother Josh.

  "Told you, little brother."

  "Cody! Ander… he’s gone," Josh said, tears streaming down his face.

  The group that had gone for supplies was stunned by the news.

  There was no time to rest.

  From the first floor, hostiles surged upward without pause.

  Everyone fired, cutting them down one by one, but their numbers kept growing.

  "Luke, we can’t go back down. Too many are piling up below," Néstor warned.

  "Not through the rooftop either… we’ve walked right into the wolf’s mouth," Carlo added desperately.

  A hostile burst through a hallway wall and bit Dante’s forearm.

  Tobias reacted instantly, shooting it in the head.

  "Damn it, it hurts!" Dante cried, clutching his arm.

  "Get inside the room and let them treat you," Tobias ordered.

  Carlo helped Dante inside, while Tobias shouted:

  "Let’s make these damned demons pay!"

  "I don’t like this—we’re trapped," Lix warned, his face tense.

  From inside, Fermín noticed the hallway ceiling starting to collapse.

  "Hey, the ceiling’s going to give! Get in, quick!" the butcher shouted.

  "Everyone fall back to the room!" Néstor ordered.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  As they rushed in, Tobias turned—and several hostiles grabbed him by the foot, dragging him down the stairs.

  Dragged to the first floor, Tobias was bitten repeatedly.

  With his last strength, he lit the dynamite he carried.

  He pulled out his lighter and sparked the fuse.

  "Come closer, you bastards!"

  BOOM!

  The explosion shook the building, taking several creatures with him and collapsing the ceiling.

  "Everyone inside, now!" Fermín shouted, trying to block the entrance with a bookshelf.

  The butcher braced it from outside the room.

  He pushed with all his strength, but the hostiles reached him and began to bite.

  "The shelf won’t hold long," Néstor said, holding it with Carlo.

  "What about Mr. Fermín?" Carlo asked.

  Fermín’s blood seeped beneath the furniture, horrifying everyone.

  Inside the room, panic reigned.

  Hostiles tried to break in from every side.

  "Here, brother. Hold it tight and aim for the head," Cody said, handing Josh a pistol.

  Josh, silent, prepared himself and fired alongside his brother, guarding the door to the room where Ander’s body lay.

  Everyone fought for their lives.

  Rogelio tended to Dante’s bite, trying to stop the bleeding.

  The furniture Gaspar and the others held against the window splintered, letting hostiles force their way in.

  "Cover the window too, don’t let them through!" Luke ordered.

  "They’re coming from three different points in the room. We need a way out or this ceiling will collapse too," Andrew warned, taking position at the window.

  With a swift move, Andrew gripped his knife in one hand and Josh’s iron tool in the other.

  A hostile poked its head through, and Andrew, with astonishing speed, drove the blade cleanly into its left eye, dropping it lifeless.

  "Next!" he shouted furiously.

  His movements were fluid and precise. Every strike was perfectly timed.

  With knife and iron tool, Andrew became an unstoppable machine, cutting down every hostile that tried to breach the window.

  Incredible… such speed, Luke thought, impressed.

  "I’ll clear this area, see if we can escape through here," Andrew added, never slowing.

  The building was under siege.

  Hostiles clawed and slammed in their desperate attempt to break through.

  Suddenly, loud noises erupted from the adjoining room.

  The beasts pulled back from the door.

  "They stopped?" Italia asked, confused.

  "Impossible… why would they?" Cody said.

  Josh pressed his ear to the wall.

  "There’s something… they’re doing something."

  The pounding grew louder, mixed with guttural growls.

  Then, a hostile rammed its head through the door.

  Adriano checked it.

  "It’s dead," he confirmed, surprised.

  Before they could speak, a wall exploded from an impact. Through the dust, two more hostile corpses fell—one with a knife lodged perfectly between its eyes.

  "That was Mrs. Felicia’s knife!" Mabel exclaimed in disbelief.

  Through the shattered wall, dust swirled, and within the haze, two golden eyes gleamed.

  Everyone quickly aimed at the hole.

  "Ready, hold position," Luke ordered.

  The eyes advanced.

  Josh steadied his aim, but as the dust cleared, he realized it wasn’t a hostile… it was his friend Ander.

  "What…? Ander?" Josh said, lowering his weapon, confused.

  Ander stepped forward.

  The golden glow of his pupils was astonishing.

  He walked to the hostile corpses, retrieved the knife, and began scanning the room as everyone stared in shock.

  Suddenly, a hostile lunged through the window, about to strike Andrew from behind.

  Ander reacted with impossible speed, kicking the beast so hard it flew out, shattering the window completely.

  "Kid… but how?" Néstor asked, bewildered.

  Ander looked through the opening and saw more hostiles trying to enter.

  Fury consumed him, his fists and teeth clenched.

  Josh tried to approach.

  "Ander… my friend…" he whispered, voice trembling.

  Without hesitation, Ander leapt through the window straight at the hostiles.

  As he fell, he roared with all his strength:

  "I’ve had enough of you!"