"What's on your mind?"
"Nothing, nothing...I thought you wanted an apartment to be alone," says Iñaki as Martina's hands caress him under the sheets.
"And now that I have it, I just want to be here."
A tickle runs through Iñaki's right leg.
"That's enough!" says Iñaki, laughing. "Mike must be coming back, and Maria took care of Sofia all night."
"Okay, okay. You're boring."
"Iñaki?" he can hear Mike's voice muffled by the door.
"I'm going!"
"Wait here till we get down. I'll see you at Eduardo's apartment."
Martina looks at Iñaki with her brown eyes and abandoned face.
Iñaki leans over her lips and her scent enters his mouth.
"Iñaki?"
"I'm going!"
Iñaki steals another kiss and opens the door just enough so that Mike can't see in.
"Good morning, Iñaki, we are waiting for you downstairs."
"How's Sofia?" asks Iñaki.
"With Maria she always seems to be...calm.
"That's why I told her to watch her last night."
"Are you sure just for that?"
"Sure."
"Well, come on, the water won't go looking for itself."
They're coming down the stairs when a shadow gets in their way.
"Did you see Victor?"
Eduardo walks the steps that separate them.
"No," Mike answers for both of them.
"How strange..."
A trio of looks is exchanged on the staircase.
"Well, let's go to my apartment."
"How did my two beasts behave?" Iñaki asks as he enters.
The German shepherd jumps and barks at Iñaki's feet, sits on his hind legs, and scratches his ears as a prize.
"Pretty good until you got there," Maria replies. "And Sofia as a princess."
"Hi, Sofia."
"Hello," she replies as she waves at him.
"Although," Maria continues with a complicit look, "she told me that he missed his father."
Iñaki smiles insecurely.
The door opens again and Martina enters.
"Morning."
"Victor's coming with you?" asks Eduardo.
"No, I live alone now."
"Sorry, I forgot."
"We'll have to start without him," Iñaki says gladly.
"He's not at home either," Maria adds.
"I don't get it."
"Neither do I," Mike adds, "but the hours of light are consumed as we speak..."
"Okay," Eduardo summarizes, "let's start without him." "We have little water left, even rationing it. We have to get more today, yes or yes."
"Okay, is there any other store or supermarket around here?"
"The nearest stores have been emptied."
"So?"
"That's what we're meeting for, right?"
Maria looks at the window and then at Eduardo.
"The docks of Puerto Madero are across the bridge, right?"
Eduardo shakes his head.
"Yes, but that water is not drinkable."
"What if we boil it?" asks Iñaki.
"If we boil it..." Eduardo changes his expression. "Yes...we could filter it and then boil it. That would be enough!"
Eduardo unfolds his map on the table and studies the distance.
"The river will be about 300 or 400 meters away," his index finger draws a line. "We'll have to cross the bridge."
"Is it the most direct way?" asks Mike.
"Yes."
"Who's going?" asks Iñaki.
"There are only four of us: Mike, Martina, you, and me."
"We don't just have to go get water," Eduardo pauses briefly and glances at Iñaki. "The first thing we have to do is see where the zombies in the mall are going."
"If they followed the music of the church..."
"Exactly."
"I have some binoculars," Eduardo continues, "that will allow us to see the infected from the terrace."
"Perfect," Martina's voice sweetens the air.
"What's a terrace?" Sofia observes Eduardo confused.
He laughs, approaches the table, draws a building on a napkin, and highlights the top.
"This is a terrace."
"Okay, I'll see what the situation is. Who is coming with me? One will be enough."
"I'm going," Iñaki replies.
"Let's go."
Iñaki approaches the table, winks at Sofia, and kisses her on the forehead.
"Rambo, you have my permission to eat Mike's stockings."
The gringo laughs and promises revenge.
"Ok, let's go"
Iñaki follows Eduardo up the stairs.
"I still don't know where Víctor could have gone."
"Yeah, it's weird he's not messing with us.
"Do you think something might have happened to him?"
Iñaki remembers the lump in his throat.
"I don't know..."
"Well, here we are."
The light hurts Iñaki's eyes as he walks through the door. The sun warms his cheeks and closes his eyes as he listens to the wind.
"I know," Eduardo pats him on the back. "It's very good up here."
"Amen."
"I hope that by looking through the binoculars we will continue to enjoy this peace."
Iñaki opens his eyes remembering the reason for the excursion.
Eduardo approaches the edge of the terrace, approaches the binoculars to his face, and points in the direction of the shopping center.
'Shit...'
Iñaki's eyes only distinguish the reflection of light on the structure.
"What do you see?"
"Here."
Iñaki grabs the binoculars, puts them on his nose, and looks at the horizon. Light travels through the lenses of the instrument and reaches his pupils. Like a row of ants leaving an anthill, thousands of zombies leave the mall behind and advance toward the urbanization.
"Shit..."