"Did you have a good night? " Mike asked.
"I don't remember having a better one in a long time. " Iñaki replied.
"If at any time you need to talk, I'm here."
"How did you end up here?"
"By accident. When I was escaping by car from the center of Buenos Aires, I crashed. Inside the other car were Victor and Eduardo. Mine was useless, but not theirs. Eduardo asked me if I was okay, and I said yes. Victor, looking at my car, wondered where I was going, I told him anywhere away from there. Then he yelled for me to get into his car since the infected were already meters away."
"I wouldn't call it an "accident" in this case."
"I guess not," Mike replies, shaking his head. "Anyway, I got in the car and they brought me here. I'm alive thanks to the generosity of a couple of strangers. That's why I intend to keep looking for survivors. Without realizing it, Eduardo and Victor taught me how to save this world."
"Generosity?"
"Yes, generosity and trust. We are going to survive, Iñaki, have no doubts. You and I may not, but "we" will survive."
"I didn't know you were a philosopher!"
"Me either! " replies with laughter. "Well, you better go see Victor now."
"Ok."
After going up to the 5th floor, Iñaki knocks on the door of Víctor's apartment.
"Come in!"
Iñaki opens the door and finds the figure of Víctor bent over a table, surrounded by papers.
"I went to see how you were this morning, but you were still sleeping. Come," he adds, looking up," sit down."
Iñaki closes the door and takes a seat in front of him.
"Did you say you're a doctor?"
"I'm missing a few subjects, but yes."
"Well, well, you're going to be very useful here."
Victor nods thoughtfully and Iñaki is not sure if he expects an answer or not.
"Anything else?"
Iñaki's words Iñaki's words wake him up.
"No, that's all. I'm sure Mike has some homework for you. Bye."
When Iñaki gets up, Víctor's eyes are still on nothingness. "What's wrong?" Iñaki thinks as he walks towards the door.
"Don't worry about him," Martina's voice greets him in the hallway, "he's a good person and keeps us all safe."
"As you say."
"How's the girl?"
"She´s good, I think Maria's taking care of her now."
"I can take care of her, too, if you want."
"Martina!" Victor's voice comes through the door.
"I have to go, we'll talk later."
The young woman disappears behind the door and Iñaki watches her, his mind tries to give her some meaning. After a few seconds, he gives up and returns to Mike's apartment.
A thunder roars in the distance and Iñaki is petrified between two steps. Rain.
His footsteps drown out the outside sound and he continues to Mike's apartment.
"How did it go?" asks Mike once Iñaki enters.
"I don't know…."
"I know, he's a strange man."
"Where's Sofia? " asks Iñaki as he scratches Rambo's ears.
"With Maria and Eduardo, they're feeding her."
"How was her?"
"Better than yesterday, but he's still not talking. Which reminds me, I have to ask you something."
"Tell me."
"I have a map in which I write down the places where I look for survivors."
"Very organized on your part, it will come in handy..."
"Not too much, I left it in the car when we got here. Will you come with me to look for it?"
"Let's go."
"Weapons?"
Mike walks over to the couch in the living room, opens it, and pulls out a pistol and two fire axes.
"Here," he says, offering one to Iñaki and putting the gun in his pants. "It's the only thing I have at the moment."
Iñaki feels the weight of the axe on his biceps, passes it from one hand to the other, and nods.
"Do the others know what's under the couch?"
"Eduardo knows it; Victor intuits it."
"I thought he was aware of everything."
"He thinks so too. Let's go."