Aoi - Survivor

Snow swallowed the village in silence.

Aoi moved along the edge of it, never through the center—past collapsed fences, frozen wells, houses stripped clean by hands that had smiled at her once. Betrayal of her friends still burned in her chest, dull and constant, but she didn’t slow down. Winter punished hesitation.

She angled toward the forest, where sightlines were worse but intentions were clearer. Humans hid. Infected hunted.

Her breath fogged as she stepped between bare trees. Then—

crack.

A branch snapped behind her.

Aoi stopped instantly. No panic. No run. She turned slowly, heart steadying into calculation.

Between the trees stood the infected.

Red eyes caught the gray light. Still. Watching.

She did not scream. She did not flee.

She lowered her shoulders, loosened her hands, and let herself be seen—small, quiet, deliberate.

And waited to learn what kind of mistake this would be.