Chapter 5

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Zane and the others had made their way into the bunker. The first reports of a successful evacuation had already reached the lieutenant who was leading them.

"How is it going?" Asked Zero.

"The troops in the north and east have already evacuated the first civilians," he replied. "Unfortunately, I do not know anything else either. I only hear what is being said on the official channels. I do not have the authorization for higher information. "

"It's okay, thanks anyway," Zero nodded and looked at his PDI, which he pulled out of his pocket. It showed a series of text messages and a picture of Carol above them.

Zero's message: "Are you okay? Where are you?" was the last in line. That was more than an hour ago.

"I'm sure she's fine, Zero," Asagi tried to persuade him.

"Exactly! Maybe she just lost her PDI?" Added Zane.

"Yes ... thank you guys," said Zero in a calm voice when the lieutenant called them for attention:

"Attention, here we go!"

Passing the control room, they ran deeper into the bunker. Now they were standing in front of one of the doors to the various accommodation rooms.

The lieutenant knocked on the door, even if it was more like hammering, and said, "Is there anyone? We're here to evacuate you." But there was silence as he continued: "We're coming in".

The lieutenant pressed a button on the panel next to the door, which opened with a hiss. The door was wide, so two people could easily fit through it at the same time.

After a brief moment, the lieutenant entered and stared into the empty room, Zane and Nathan followed him.

"Where is everyone? Hello?" Zane's voice echoed around the room. It was a simple, rectangular room. Screens hung on the walls, benches were lined up on the walls and distributed around the room, and loungers were also visible in one corner.

Asagi, Zero, and one of the soldiers stopped in the hallway and looked into the room.

"Maybe after the explosion they fled into one of the more distant bunkers," Nathan looked around the room, which showed no signs of a fight or the like.

"Probably, yes," replied the lieutenant, who turned and walked out of the room again. "On to the next."

Zane and Nathan followed, and the group marched to the next room.

Zero, Nathan, and Zane were now each carrying one of the rifles that Zero and Asagi had taken from the control room. There were only six of them and no one knew what to expect in the depths of the bunker.

"Can you even handle it?" Asked the lieutenant when he saw Nathan wielding the weapon a bit awkwardly while they went deeper into the bunker.

"We had weapons science in the academy," Zero replied, who in contrast to the others handled the weapon just fine.

"Unfortunately, Zero is the only one who shows...", Zane replied, holding the heavy weapon a bit shakily, whereupon Asagi began to giggle, who was not carrying a weapon.

"As long as you don't shoot me or hit something, I don't care," said the lieutenant.

"There is the next lounge up ahead," reported the other soldier, who looked at the map on his arm.

It was the third lounge they went to. Earlier, in the second, same as in the first, no one was to be found. Something was gnawing at the group, but at the same time, it was a good sign. It meant that whoever was in the rooms was gone at this point. Also, there was no black sand to be found which indicated that they had survived.

When they arrived at the third lounge, the lieutenant repeated the procedure and pounded his fist against the door, signaling to the people that they would come in.

Meanwhile, Nathan noticed some cracks along the wall in front of them when the lieutenant opened the door. Immediately a draft of air rushed towards the group and black sand spread over the lieutenant's shoes.

The space that opened up before them was halfway destroyed. Almost a third of the room had simply disappeared. Instead, a huge hole opened up in the left corner. Light poured into the room through the hole and the wind blew over the debris and dust that was left in the room.

Everyone stood there and stared at the hole. "What happened here?" Asked Zane.

"Seems like the radiation directly came in..." the lieutenant looked around. "There are no signs of a fight or anything like that ... it must have been over quickly."

Asagi held two straps of the bag she was carrying on her back tightly.

"This is the hole from earlier ..." said Zero, who had gone to the edge of it and was looking up and down.

"What? This deep? "Asked Zane, who ran over to Zero.

Then the other soldier came to them too. "Did the explosion tear off the roof of the bunker?"

"I thought the bunkers could withstand bombing?" Zane paused.

"Unless the explosion didn't come from above the bunker ...", Zero shared his theory when suddenly another shock could be felt, but this time they also heard an explosion that seemed to go with it. Small parts began to break off the walls and fall into the depths, while the whole bunker shook slightly.

At the same time, a huge roller of fire broke horizontally through the rubble a few meters below them into the hospital hole.

"What was that?" Zero held on to the wall when the shock subsided and the fire roller disappeared again.

"Is it over?" Asagi asked, who had held onto one of the benches in the middle of the room with Nathan.

"Seems like it...", Zero carefully turned his gaze into the hole. A huge chasm had now opened up between the rubble. The metal on the sides of the rift had partially melted and a trail of debris was laying in front of the exit point.

"What the hell?" A bead of sweat ran from the soldier's forehead while he stared down into the hole like Zero. Then they began to hear gunshots.

"Someone's fighting down there!" Zero was startled.

"These are the connecting corridors to the other bunkers!" Remarked the lieutenant.

"But who's fighting down there?" Shouted Nathan.

"Are there any infected?" Zane looked at the lieutenant.

"They aren't any of our men," said the lieutenant, who had also gone to Zero and looked down.

"Are those some that belong to the colossus from earlier?" Asagi wondered.

"Whoever it is, all hell is going on down there," added the soldier who stood with them on the precipice.

"Anyway, let's continue the evacuation."

"But shouldn't we help them?" Zane asked the lieutenant, who turned away and was already on his way to the exit.

"As long as our troops are not involved, we will stick to our orders," he continued. "I'll report, until then we'll continue as before."

The group continued down the corridors on the way to the next bunker, which was even more destroyed than the one before.

"It's a miracle that the floor still holds ...", remarked Nathan looking at the damage in the floor and on the walls.

"Don't jinx it, Nathan," said Zero, visibly impatient. "How many bunkers are there actually?"

"Around thirty," replied the soldier.

"On how many floors?" He asked further.

"They are all on the same floor, it is only a very small bunker for short stays," replied the lieutenant.

"Shouldn't we meet the support troops soon then?" Asked Zane.

"They are probably busy with the smaller bunkers on the way here or most of the civilians have already rushed towards the exits," he pointed to one of the working displays on the wall. Evacuation was written on it in glowing letters. The display alternated between the word and a map showing the way to the next exit.

"The thirty bunkers are only those that are directly assigned to the hospital."

"Oh," Zane scratched his neck.

"What's the plan if we can't find anyone here?" Asked Nathan.

"If we can't find anyone here, we will also go to the next evacuation point."

"What about the corridors below?" Asked Zero.

"That's right, someone's fighting there!" Added Zane.

"As mentioned, these are the connecting corridors to the other bunkers," he began. "There are only a few smaller bunkers down there that lead to the buildings above, but there is nothing else."

"Then why is there a fight?" Zane asked when Zero suddenly interrupted him.

"Are we evacuating these too?"

"Everyone will be evacuated within a two-kilometer radius, but other troops will take care of that," he looked at Zero and paused. After a moment's hesitation, he continued. "You're looking for someone, aren't you?"

"A friend of ours was in the hospital when the outbreak started," Asagi explained.

"Oh, is that the real reason you're here? Now I understand", the lieutenant continued onwards. "I was wondering what you were doing here. But I am also glad that you are. Without you, many things would probably have gone differently and not for the better. "

"Exactly, thanks for that!" The soldier added.

"No need to mention it," laughed Zane and scratched his head in embarrassment.

"We rather have to thank you for taking us with you," countered Zero in return.

"But to your question, Zane ..." he stopped and turned back to them. "I have no idea what's going on down there, but it can't be good. As you have noticed, all the corridors to the west are damaged. If you ask me something is wrong."

Zane swallowed nervously as the lieutenant continued.

"But whatever's going on down there, we're not up to it ... at least we non-mages," he looked at Zane and Nathan. "But enough of that. The authorities should think about that, we rather rattle off the bunkers before we are dragged in," he continued ahead and the group began to follow him without a word.

I hope Carol is fine... thought Zero when they suddenly slowed down.

"I think that's about it," said the lieutenant who went ahead. The ground beneath them had gotten worse with every step and now it was clear why. The passage ended in an abyss. The wind blew towards the group as they slowly approached.

The bunker corridor protruded from the rubble at the edge of the hole, like a branch over the abyss. Due to the hole, the corridor opposite was around ten meters apart from them.

"And what do we do now?" Asked Zane, staring into the depths.

"You can jump over if you want," laughed the soldier.

"Can't Zane just build an ice bridge?" Asked Zero.

"That's a good idea Zero, probably only Asagi, Zane, and I can make the jump...", Nathan agreed while the soldier looked at Nathan in disbelief.

"No, we will withdraw," the lieutenant interrupted the conversation.

"Are we going to withdraw?" Wondered Nathan.

"But we haven't searched all of the bunkers yet," added Zane.

"That's true. But we need too much time until we have searched all the bunkers", he looked at the group, who seemed a little dismayed. "We're not giving up the evacuation. Our job was only to guide the civilians. But obviously, everyone has already left for the exits," he tried to encourage them.

"Right, the rooms that weren't destroyed were already empty," remarked Nathan.

"They have probably already been evacuated," added the soldier, who seemed a little relieved.

"Your friend has probably already been evacuated too," the lieutenant looked at Zero and Asagi.

Zane and Nathan also looked at Zero as if they were waiting for his decision. He turned to Asagi, who was looking at him with a smile.

They were all here for Zero. He knew that if he insisted on looking for Carol, they would follow him. But he had put them in danger enough already.

"You are probably right," agreed Zero to the lieutenant and turned away from the abyss.

Nathan looked at Zane, who seemed to be somewhat refusing to retreat, but at the same time, did not know how to counter the lieutenant's arguments.

"Are you coming, Zane?" Nathan asked as Zane turned to the opposite corridor again before finally turning to Nathan and walking to the others waiting for him.

"I'm coming."

The group ran along the arrows on the walls and floor and past cameras down the aisle. The damage to the corridor diminished as they moved further from the hole and the source of the explosion. The lights worked and illuminated the corridor, and the screens that were supposed to direct the civilians outside were also lit and showed the way to the exit.

"Where are we going?" Asked Zane, who was running behind the others.

"To the western exit," replied the soldier.

"What's next?" Asked Nathan.

"We should meet the evacuation troops soon, then we will probably support them until there are new orders," said the lieutenant, a little out of breath.

They ran on and passed one of the intermediate gates that shielded the bunkers inside the hospital from each other and from the outside.

Suddenly they heard a voice calling in the distance.

"Halt!" Responded the lieutenant. Immediately they all stopped and raised their weapons. Unsure of what they had heard, they looked around when the voice shouted out again.

"Help us!"

Zane looked in the direction from which the voice was calling them and saw a hand waving in the distance.

"Up there!" He exclaimed, pointing into the side passage.

"There's someone else," added the soldier.

"Please! Help us!" Someone shouted from the door. "We have injured people here."

"We're coming!" Zane immediately burst into a sprint without waiting for the others.

"Wait! Zane!" Nathan called after him.

"Thank the Architect for coming," said the voice through the crack in the door. It was a slightly older gentleman. "My name is Shaw, I'm one of the evacuation workers," he showed his ID, which he pulled out of his pants with a trembling hand.

"Don't worry, we'll get you out of here!" Zane began, while joyful voices of civilians could be heard from the bunker, who were happy about Zane's arrival and hoped to get out of the bunker soon.

"Why have you not been evacuated yet?" Asked the lieutenant in amazement when he and the others arrived at the door.

"When the explosion hit the bunker, some of the civilians were injured and while we were taking care of them, the doors shut and locked us in," he began to describe the events. "Shortly after that we heard terrible noises and when the doors opened again, we didn't dare to leave."

"But why?" Asked Zane, who was kneeling in front of the door.

"When we were about to flee west of the bunker ..." Shaw swallowed.

"Has something happened?" Asked the lieutenant.

"Some of us went ahead when we met them ... There they were ... the monsters!" He began to tremble.

"Monster? Infected? "

"They attacked us ..." he shivered. "We fled and ran back to the bunker, but ... but unfortunately not everyone made it ...", Shaw grabbed his shirt and pressed his hand together.

"You couldn't have done anything," Zane tried to calm him down.

"Yes ... we are powerless against these monsters ...", he said as he turned to the people behind him. All of them were under his protection and yet he had failed to protect some. Now they looked at him frightened.

It was then that he realized what the desperate words he had addressed to Zane and the lieutenant were doing to the people who heard them. Inadvertently he had dampened their confidence in a safe evacuation.

"Sorry," he said clearly so that the civilians behind him could hear it. "I didn't mean to unsettle you," he cleared his throat.

"It's okay," said Nathan.

"But now that you are here, we don't have to worry anymore," he began as he looked at Zane and Nathan. "You are very young, are you from the academy?"

"Exactly!" Zane replied with a grin.

"We're magicians from this year's graduation class," added Nathan.

"The magicians will save us!" Echoed from the bunker and people started talking to each other. Reports of Nathan's and Zane's fighting on the final exam spread across the room.

"Are there any more bunkers that haven't been evacuated yet?" Asked the lieutenant as Shaw led them into the bunker. The conversations were now silent and given way to a whisper, as some of the civilians saw Asagi walking behind Zero. Asagi was close behind Zero, almost hiding behind him. But her horns in particular seemed a bit unsettling to most people.

"Yes, some of the adjacent bunkers have not yet been evacuated either," Shaw explained as he led them into the bunker.

"Weren't the evacuation troops here yet?" Asked Nathan.

"No, but we have heard from other bunkers that some have already been evacuated. So we stayed here waiting."

Asagi, meanwhile, stayed closely behind Zero, who followed Shaw like the others. He directed them to the center of the room. In one of the corners, they saw a little girl crying.

"It was the right decision to wait for us," began the lieutenant. "Do you have seriously injured people? We have a paramedic with us," he pointed at Zero, who looked at Asagi, who in turn approached the little girl.

Shaw was startled and wanted to run to the girl when Zero stopped him with a hand gesture and also walked toward the girl.

"Shall we really ...", Shaw turned to the lieutenant.

"What is your problem anyway? Just because she's a demon?" Zane snorted at Shaw, who looked at him in amazement.

"Is everything okay?" Asagi leaned towards the girl.

The girl looked up with her watery eyes and shrank back at Asagi's horns, startled. Asagi also backed away a bit unsettled when Zero bent down to her and the girl.

"Don't worry, we won't hurt you," he smiled at the girl.

"What's going on?" Asagi continued hesitantly after Zero had nudged her. "Are you here alone?"

"Mmm," the girl sniffed.

"Where are your parents?" Asked Zero

"I don't know."

"She was separated from her parents during the evacuation," a person nearby told them. "They have reported, but we have not been able to see them yet because of the infected."

"Oh," Zero replied when he turned back to the girl. "Do you want to stay with us until we have can find your parents?"

"Mmm," the girl nodded, sniffing.

"OK, will you stay with Asagi then?" He smiled at her, who looked a little shyly at Asagi and her horns. Asagi began to look away as Zero continued.

"Don't worry, she's a lovely demon," he took the girl's hand and slowly led her to Asagi's, who after a delay also held out her hand. The girl grabbed Asagi's hand, held it tight, and looked at Asagi, who gave her a smile.

Suddenly the girl burst into tears and hugged Asagi, who was a bit startled at first but then took her into her arms. Asagi looked at Zero, who nodded with a smile and then went back to Zane and the others.

Thanks, Zero, Asagi hugged the girl and stroked her back to calm her down.

Shaw and the lieutenant looked at Zero. When the latter joined them again, the lieutenant continued, "Where were we? Yes, Zero is a paramedic... "

Shaw eyed Zero as if trying to remember something before the lieutenant's words snapped him out of his mind.

"Oh yes! We have them over there," he pointed to the furthest corner of the room, which was separated from the rest by a half-height wall. "I don't think there are any seriously injured people."

"OK, I'll check on them," Zero turned away.

"Wait, I'll help you," Zane followed while Shaw watched them go.

"Is there something wrong?" Asked the lieutenant.

"Ah nothing ..." he turned back to him. "Did you say Zero?"

Zero walked towards the corner where the injured were housed while everyone was looking at him. Then someone caught his eye.

"Carol?!" he ran off.

"What?" Zane looked after him in amazement when he saw Carol too.

Nathan and Asagi immediately went to Zero with the girl by the hand and saw Carol lying on the floor. Her left arm had been roughly bandaged. She seemed to be injured on the head and was covered by a blanket and sleeping on a sheet.

Zero knelt in front of her and immediately began to check her pulse when he sat down on the floor, relieved. A sigh escaped him as the lieutenant and Shaw joined them.

"Is that your friend?" Asked the lieutenant.

"Yes, we're here because of her," Nathan explained while watching Zero take care of Carol.

Zero looked around between the injured, it was mostly just scratches or small lacerations caused by falls or some fallen ceiling parts. Only Carol seemed to be much more wounded, which is why he prioritized her.

"Zane, take some bandages out of your pocket and distribute them to people with lacerations, they should put pressure on the wounds. When you're done with that, help them put the bandages on." He instructed him. "Should you need any help, let me know. Carol doesn't seem badly injured, but I still want to be sure. "

"Is Carol okay?" Asagi asked, who began to squeeze the girl's hand a little tighter. The girl looked at her in amazement.

"Yes, everything seems to be fine, but she is more injured than the others..."

"I can explain that," Shaw said. "She's not from this bunker."

"What?" Wondered Zane and turned to Shaw.

"We found her on the ground just before we met the Infected and had to retreat. She probably fled from them before falling. She had that with her," he pointed to the PDI next to Carol.

That's why she couldn't get in touch with me, thought Zero, looking at the bloodied PDI. The screen was torn and wasn't in good condition. The blood seemed to have entered the internal components through the gaps. It was questionable whether it would still work at all.

"Ah, then we have to thank you," Zane smiled at Shaw. "Thank you for saving Carol and the others!"

"Thank you very much." "Thank you." Added Asagi and Nathan and Zero nodded his thanks to Shaw from the distance.

"Nothing to thank for, that's my job as the person in charge," he waved them off.

"Still, thank you very much. Carol means a lot to us and especially to Zero," said Zane.

"I see ...", Shaw looked at Zero, who began to replace the frantically applied bandages.

"Have all the injured been taken care of?" Asked the lieutenant when Zero came back to them and wiped his hands with a cloth.

"Everyone is taken care of, yes. Fortunately, there are only bruises and a few lacerations. But I can't say anything for sure, they should be examined, maybe there are internal injuries after all. "

"Can they be moved?"

"Everyone except Carol is able to walk, yes, some might need a little help, but it shouldn't be a problem."

"All right, then we will begin the evacuation," said the lieutenant clearly so that everyone in the bunker could hear it.

"Are we evacuating?" Asked Zane.

"Yes, the support troops are not far away, we should be able to lead the people to them."

"What about Carol? She's still unconscious", Zane continued.

"I'll carry her," Zero replied.

"Are you sure?" Asked Nathan.

"Sure, it's not far," Zero assured him. "She's not that heavy after all."

"Now we will surely find your parents soon," Asagi leaned down to the little girl.

"Really?" Said the little girl, whose eyes began to shine.

"What about the Infected?" Objected Shaw, worried about the people's safety. "When we tried earlier, we were stopped by them."

"Don't worry, we didn't meet any infected people on the way and the other troops didn't meet any either," the Lieutenant tried to reassure Shaw. "We assume that they have already disintegrated. Everyone who can handle a weapon, please come here," he turned into the bunker.

"What about the fighting below?" Nathan whispered in the lieutenant's ear. While some men and students went to the other soldier, to whom he handed over the two remaining weapons that Zero and Asagi had brought with them after showing their PDI.

"If we leave the civilians here, they might be drawn in too, so we'll make sure they get out of the line of fire as quickly as possible. Perhaps we owe it to these fights that we did not meet any infected people."

"That's possible, yes," agreed Nathan and looked at Zane, who was obviously asking questions similar to Nathan, and nodded to him, assuring him that he had discussed everything with the lieutenant.

"All right, we're going to the western evacuation point now. It's only a few hundred meters before we should meet reinforcements. So, keep calm and please follow our and Mr. Shaw's instructions!" The lieutenant called to order on the assembled people.

Zero and Asagi stood with the civilians. Zero had tied the still unconscious Carol to his back with strings and a blanket, while Asagi next to him had the little girl by the hand.

Zane and Nathan, on the other hand, stood in front and supported the soldiers with the evacuation. Their task was to scout the way forward to identify possible dangers since the lieutenant had become a little unsure after the reports about Infected from Shaw and did not want to endanger the civilians unnecessarily.

Just before they left, the lieutenant took Nathan, Shaw, Zane, and the soldiers aside. "You know the process?" He asked for confirmation, whereupon everyone nodded. "All right, then we can start."

"We'll evacuate the rest of the bunkers later, right?" Zane asked.

"Exactly, we bring this group to the support forces and then join them and get the other civilians out," he repeated the process. "If we were more, we could evacuate everyone now, but unfortunately there are only four of us."

"All right, I understand," Zane confirmed with a nervous nod.

"Shaw, if you please."

"Of course, I will guide the people as soon as you have secured the first crossing."

"Thank you very much, let's go folks," the lieutenant ordered the march as Zane looked back at Asagi, Carol, and Zero.

Zero nodded confidently that Zane would make it and Zane followed the lieutenant.

After a few meters, they were back in the corridor from which they had come earlier. Just like the first time, the hallway was empty when they passed the cameras and looked around the corner.

"Safe!" Reported Nathan. Whereupon the soldier and Zane went into the corridor with rifles in hand.

The soldier turned to the right while Zane turned to the left and they both looked down the corridor, ready to fire, looking for possible enemies.

"Safe," repeated Zane and the soldier after aiming into the corridors in front of them for a while.

"OK, we're going on." The lieutenant turned to Shaw, who was slowly leading the people behind him.

The corridor ran straight to the exit and was correspondingly wide. Every now and then, side corridors led off, which Zane and Nathan initially secured, as ordered, before the civilians passed them.

In just a few minutes, they had covered most of the route. The lieutenant looked at his arm display when suddenly they heard a voice roar from a distance.

"Stop immediately!"

Everyone stopped abruptly and took a defensive position. The civilians, including Zero and Asagi, ducked at Shaw's command. Asagi hugged the girl protectively while Zero tried to shield Carol.

The lieutenant and soldier aimed in the direction the voice had come from, while Zane and Nathan neglecting their rifles had immediately started casting spells that they could cast at any moment.

"This is Captain Dubain speaking, I'm in charge of evacuation team four. Identify yourself!" Echoed a voice from afar, as well as from the group's communication devices.

"That's the evacuation team," Nathan realized.

"Lieutenant Fenon here," he grabbed the side of his helmet where the communication device was located. "From the first raiding party, we evacuated some civilians! We ask for help!" He reported.

"Stay there, Lieutenant, we're coming!" Came the echo as the display began to glow, showing information for confirmation.

Confidence immediately spread among the civilians. "We did it." "We're finally getting out of here!"

"Are we saved?" Asked the little girl holding Asagi's hand, who leaned down and nodded at her with a smile.

"Yes. The soldiers will get us out now, then we can look for your parents. "

"Really?" her eyes, which were still completely red from the tears, were shining brightly.

After just a few moments, soldiers emerged from the side corridors in front of them and Lieutenant Fenon hurried to them on a hand gesture. Shortly afterward, he waved to Zane and the others and they began to approach the soldiers.

The captain's soldiers also had civilians behind them mingling with the civilians Shaw was leading, when the little girl suddenly startled.

"Mom!" the little one let go of Asagi's hand and ran towards a woman.

"Mia! I was so worried!" The mother hugged her daughter.

"Asagi and Zero took care of her," Zane explained to the mother, who happened to be nearby, and pointed to Asagi and Zero, who were in the distance.

The mother turned in the direction Zane was pointing to thank them when she was startled at the sight of Asagi's horns.

"That's right, the girl took care of me," Mia announced proudly.

Her mother nodded thanks after a brief hesitation, Zero and Asagi returned the gesture and Asagi smiled. Immediately afterward, the mother turned away frantically with her daughter in her arms and went deeper into the crowd, while her daughter waved to Asagi and Asagi waved back to her.

"Uhm, don't you want ...", Zane tried to stop her before disappearing into the crowd. He looked at Asagi, who sadly took down her hand with which she had waved to the girl before. Zane looked at her sadly as Zero turned to her.

"Everything OK?"

"Yes, it's okay ...", she lowered her gaze. "I ... I've gotten used to it ..."

"I'm sorry", Zero turned his gaze towards the ground as well.

"Don't worry, Zero. It's ... okay like that ... ", she smiled at him a little forced. "I'm still a demon after all...".

Then the lieutenant approached them with Nathan and the soldier and interrupted Zero, who was just about to say something.

"Everything alright, Zero?"

"What's up?" He and Asagi turned to him.

"I wanted to talk through the next steps with you and the others," he looked at the two of them. "If it's okay, I mean," he asked carefully. The presence of an entire unit seemed to have visibly reassured him.

"No, no, everything is fine," Zero shook his head.

"She smiles," Zane mentioned when he approached them as well.

"What?"

"She seems to like being carried by you," laughed Zane.

"It just means that she feels safe with Zero," added Asagi.

As if awakened by the conversation, Carol suddenly uttered a sound: "Hmmm ..."

"Carol?" Zero turned his head backward and saw her open her eyes slightly.

"Zero ...", she said as if in sleep.

"Carol. You are fine again," Asagi said happily when Zero untied the knot of the cords that attached Carol to Zero's back and slowly set her down.

"What are you doing here? Is the examination over?" She looked at her friends with wide eyes.

"You don't remember anything?" Nathan wondered.

"No, why? What's going on?" Carol looked around while everyone watched her. "Where are we?"

"Don't worry, it doesn't matter now," Zero covered Carols' shoulders with the blanket. "Can you stay with Asagi for a bit?"

"Sure?" She looked questioningly at Asagi, who smiled at her.

"I'll be right back. OK?" Zero turned to the lieutenant.

"What's going on and what kind of bandage is this Asagi?" Carol held the arm with the bandage and looked at Asagi in amazement.

"OK, then everyone is here," said the lieutenant and looked behind Zero at Asagi and Carol, who seemed to be talking. "I've spoken to the captain, we're continuing the evacuation just like before. He asked that Nathan and Zane help with…", he began to explain when the sound of an explosion interrupted him.

Panicked, people held on to each other or braced themselves on the walls as the explosion rocked the hallway. Carol and Asagi held each other while they sat on the floor.

"Get out of here quickly!" Shouted one of the civilians, broke into a sprint, and immediately others began to follow him. Panicked, people ran down the aisle while the soldiers tried to control the situation and calm the people down.

Zane and his friends stood in the back of the hall with the lieutenant and could only watch the crowd running away from them.

"Is everything okay?" Zero immediately turned to Asagi and Carol.

"Yes, everything is OK," Asagi replied.

"What was that?" Wondered Carol.

"Was that from that fight below us?" Zane asked the group.

"Even if, we should get out of here now," Nathan explained.

"Can you get up?" Zero asked Carol, who crouched down next to her.

"I think so." She straightened up.

"OK, let's follow the others," said the lieutenant, who was looking down the aisle. Some of the soldiers who stayed behind seemed to be waiting for them when they suddenly pointed their weapons in the lieutenant's direction.

"Not so fast," suddenly they heard a familiar voice from behind them.

Zane turned to follow the voice when his gaze met a familiar face.

"Kouji?!"