Mike walks to a reinforced steel door and pulls a key out of his pocket.
"No garage?" Iñaki asks as he tries to cover Sofia from the rain.
"Now you'll see," he replies.
Then he sees it. Behind the door stands a landscape of cars, scrap, furniture, and rubble that merge into a kind of barricade. On his left, a gray apartment block forms one of the "legs" of the urbanization "U", on his right the other one and in front of him is the building that forms the base.
The path leading to the pool is clear in a straight line. It continues until it comes to the door of the central block. On the sides, the passage is blocked by the "barricade". The only way in is through the pool.
While Iñaki soaks up in the rain, still shaking from the cold that reaches his bones, Mike looks at him with a semi-smile.
"Time for a swim."
The raindrops hit the barricade around the pool composing a macabre symphony. Sofia's body is a cold rock in Iñaki's arms. Roco does not detach from his heels.
Even with the cold and tiredness, Iñaki enjoys the moment. The rain washes him inside and out. He doesn't remember when was the last time he took a shower; the grime had become a part of him.
Iñaki covers the 50 meters that separate the door from the pool and stops in front of it. Mike covers his face and looks from Sofia to Iñaki repeatedly.
"Put the girl down and grab her right hand!" He yells at Iñaki in the rain.
Iñaki puts Sofia on the floor and grabs her hand, Mike grabs the other and - without waiting a second - starts running...
The sound is extinguished when they disappear underwater. Mike starts kicking and swimming with his free hand. Iñaki imitates him. At that moment Iñaki looks over his shoulder and meets Rambo's snout advancing at the same time.
After reaching the other end, Iñaki comes out of the pool with all his limbs numb. Once outside, Sofia begins to cough.
Iñaki is about to speak when he hears Mike. He doesn't understand what he's saying but he knows he's not talking to him. Iñaki turns in the direction Mike is speaking but doesn't see anything. The rain hides everything, he can barely distinguish the building in front of him.
Iñaki frowns and manages to distinguish a man wearing a black coat. He approaches slowly.
"I found people!" Mike says.
"How many?" Iñaki hears a male voice in the wind.
"Two...three!" he corrects instantly.
"Healthy?" he's getting closer and closer.
"Yes."
The man stops 15 meters from Iñaki. He can feel his gaze.
Suddenly, he turns around and signals them with his hand to follow him.
"Come on," says Mike, crossing his arms to cover himself from the cold.
"Where are we going?" asks Iñaki.
"Let's go see the others."
"How many?"
"Five."
Each step burns Iñaki's thighs. Sofia in her arms looks at a fixed point without blinking. Rambo behind him, his ears twitching with each step. A light illuminates the upper steps, he hears voices.
"It's here," Mike announces after arriving on the first floor.
A door opens and suddenly a light from within illuminates Iñaki's feet.
"Welcome."