Chapter 18: Ep 18 - Ashes of Us
The air reeked of ash and rotted wood. What was once a towering office complex now leaned sideways like a dying tree, its upper floors crumbling inward. Smoke drifted in heavy plumes, black against the overcast sky.
Kanata was the first to hear it.
A sob.
Not a groan. Not a scream. But the distinct, trembling cry of a child.
"That way," he muttered, gripping the bat tighter despite the searing ache in his ribs.
"Kanata, wait!" Serizawa called out, but he was already moving.
They found her near the stairwell, curled beneath a collapsed beam. She looked no older than eight, her knees drawn to her chest, dirt smeared across her cheeks. A stuffed rabbit was clutched in one hand. Her other arm bled from a shallow cut.
Zombies loomed near the entrance. Five of them, shambling and snarling.
"Dammit," Kanami hissed. "Too many."
Kanata didn’t stop. He charged forward.
Serizawa’s eyes widened. "Kanata!!"