A breeze ruffles Iñaki's sweatshirt as he watches the tiny figures of Mike and Eduardo exit the building. It's been a while since he heard a pair of turbines thundering in the sky. "The world is regressing…".
He is sitting in a chair on the southeast end of the roof, with Rambo at his feet. The binoculars and the walkie-talkie rest on his lap.
"Eduardo, can you hear me?"
"Loud and clear," the canned answer comes, "What do you see?"
Iñaki raises the binoculars to his face and looks into the distance. The treetops whisper underneath, but everything seems to be quiet.
Iñaki presses the button to talk.
"The street behind the door seems to be clear," he pauses, "but the trees on the sidewalk don't allow me to see much."
"Ok, from here it looks good: it´s clear" Inaki listens to the steps of both men on the pavement ", where are we going?"
Like a laser, Iñaki travels around the area around the urbanization until he finds the best route to get to the river. He still feels the wound throbbing under the bandage.
"Okay, turn left and continue to the park. There's a basketball court, go through it and you'll get to the highway."
"Understood."
"I see… I see a figure next to a discolored ball on the track."
"Infected?"
"I don't know, it doesn't move... it's sitting next to the ball."
"Okay, one won't be a problem. Anything else?"
Iñaki walks through the park with the binoculars.
"I don't see anything else."
"Okay, keep us informed."
"Ok."
Block 2 obstructs Iñaki's vision for a few seconds until the two figures reappear in the park. The sun lengthens their shadows and those of the trees. A bird chirps somewhere on the roof.
"Víctor?" iñaki suddenly thinks and refocuses the binoculars on the figure. He adjusts the lenses again and again, but he can't make out it´s face.
Eduardo and Mike are meters away from the figure. The world moves too fast staring at the binoculars. He peels them off for a second and inhales.
-!"What was that?!"
Rambo jumps and Iñaki feels the dog's hair stand on end between his legs.
"The man next to the ball," says Eduardo agitated, "was infected."
"It wasn't Victor, was it?"
"No."
"And why did you shoot? I heard the noise from here."
"He pounced on us. He was sitting there with his eyes on the ball and suddenly he jumped and pounced on us."
"As if he had been waiting for you..."
"I don't think so."
"Okay, wait a few minutes while I explore what's ahead."
"Understood."
The images expand and contract with each oscillation of Iñaki's wrists. The highway is an asphalt snake that stretches on both sides. His own movement confuses him and holds his breath to focus the binoculars.
Iñaki looks inside the scattered vehicles there and finds them empty. A blue sign on your left says <
Beyond the highway, stony terrain rises, covered by dry grass and a few trees. Finally, the riverbed appears meandering behind, flanked by a few shady plane trees. A wooden bridge connects both shores. If Iñaki is silent and closes his eyes he can hear the flow of water; which reminds him of his thirst.
"Okay, I only saw a group of infected to the northwest next to a bus. About 350 yards from your position."
"How many?"
"Give me a second."
Like a sniper, he aims at the blue bus and narrows his eyes.
"One…two…three…" The zombies collide, and it is difficult to differentiate them- four, five, and six. I don't see more."
"Ok."
"But I only see the back, I can't see inside the vehicle."
"I see."
Iñaki looks back at the river and draws a line with the binoculars until he finds the crouched silhouettes of Mike and Eduardo.
"Ok, go straight, cross the highway, and the terrain and you will arrive at the river."
"Perfect, let's move on."
Iñaki separates the binoculars from his face for a few seconds and observes the ants of his companions zigzagging along the highway. They leave behind an overturned car, a charred lamppost, and a motorcycle with no wheels, and head out into the barren terrain.
Iñaki sees them moving forward, struggling to survive, and feels he wants them to survive.
Something inside him wants to protect them. He knows well that they would (and have) done it for him. It is no longer just about his survival, that of Sofia and Rambo.
Mike and Eduardo are part of his community in that world of the dead, what happens to them happens to him. And, right now, it's time to protect them.