<h4>Chapter 555: 555-The Furious Fades</h4>


    <strong>Clementine:</strong>


    The bullet hit straight between the zombie’s eyes.


    One zombie was still moving with an arrow lodged in its neck.


    Ian yanked the arrow out and drove it into its skull, then swung his other arm and severed another zombie’s head.


    Everything was happening so fast that we had no idea how many more wereing.


    Then I heard noise from behind the building as well.


    "Okay, guys, this side is clear!" I called out.


    Only one zombie remained.


    Troy stepped forward, raised his weapon high, and drove it into the zombie’s skull with a sharp strike.


    "We need to move. More areing," I said. "We’re not staying here. We must keep going."


    I jumped off the canopy. Troy moved quickly and carefully helped Leysa down.


    We started stepping over the dead bodies.


    As we moved, they pulled out every arrow they found and ced them back into my quiver.


    We had just reached the road when we saw the drifters from the building spilling out.


    "Not now. We’ll deal with themter," I called to Troy and Ian when I saw them start to turn back, ready to fight again.


    We began running once more. The fight wasn’t over. There were more monsters ahead.


    As soon as we reached the main road, Ian shut therge gate behind us.


    We knew the gate wouldn’t hold them for long. It was heavy and solid, but not strong enough forever.


    Still, once we moved away from it, they would stop pushing against it. That much we knew.


    We had barely moved a little farther down the road when the sounds of the drifters began to fade.


    That was when Ian and I both looked toward Misty Corners. I pped my forehead hard.


    "What happened?" Troy asked, ncing around.


    "That ce ahead. We have to cross it," I said, staring at the corners.


    Leysa stepped closer and studied my face, then turned to look at Ian.


    She was probably noticing how exhausted we both looked.


    "If there’s something special about this ce, you should tell us," Troy said, holding Leysa’s hand to let her know he was still with her.


    "This is Misty Corners," I exined. "There are monsters here too."


    The moment I said that, Leysa rolled her eyes and snapped her head back, stretching her neck as if to show how tired she had be.


    "And what kind of monsters now?" Troy asked.


    "They’re called the Fades," I replied. "They’re like shadows. We can’t really attack them, but they can attack us."


    The two of them looked at each other, then back at us, their mouths slightly open.


    "So we just defend ourselves?" Leysa asked, her lips pulling downward.


    "Not exactly," Ian said, stepping forward to stand beside me. "They follow your breath. If they surround someone, that person starts struggling to breathe. Eventually, they die."


    "Oh no," Leysained, turning away again.


    One look at her face told me the Hollow man was showing up again.


    "Doesn’t this Hollow guy ever sit still?" Troy muttered, pointing ahead.


    "Why don’t you go ask him yourself?" Ian said, yfully pushing him forward.


    "Come on, I’m not scared or anything," Troy replied quickly. "I’m just a little tired. I mean, I’m about to get married. I’m nning a grand ceremony. I don’t want these things messing up my face."


    As soon as he said that, he nudged Leysa with his elbow in a teasing way.


    Her cheeks turned shyly red.


    "Listen," I said, pulling the attention back to the main topic. "There is a way to survive the Fades."


    We couldn’t afford to waste more time. We had already lost too much in Sector 13.


    "Really? You should’ve said that first," Leysa said, smiling.


    It looked like she had finally heard something hopeful.


    "As you pass through the streets, you’ll have to hold your breath," Ian added with a small smile, as if he were teasing her about how difficult that would be.


    He ced his hands on his waist and watched their reactions.


    Leysa looked at Troy, then said,


    "You know I can’t even swim because I can’t hold my breath."


    The moment she said that, the three of us pped our foreheads.


    It felt like everything was getting harder by the second.


    "Okay, guys, we really need to move. We can’t waste time. If we’rete, they might remove the second stone, and you know what happens then. The monsters will be released," Ian said, finally turning serious as he addressed all of us and exined the severity of the situation.


    Then he nced over his shoulder and pointed behind us.


    "And this gentleman ising toward us pretty fast," he added as he mentioned the hollow man.


    "Let’s go," Troy said, grabbing Leysa’s hand and giving her a nod.


    I didn’t tell anyone, but I was genuinely afraid of Misty Corners.


    Thest time I was here, I had almost died.


    My eyes shifted back to Ian, and a smile slowly formed on my face.


    I remembered how he hade for me and saved me that day.


    "What is it? You’re smiling at me a lot," Ian asked yfully, lowering his voice as we approached Misty Corners.


    "I just feel like you’re very special to me," I said, hugging his arm and pressing a kiss to his shoulder.


    The smile on his face was worth seeing. But it faded quickly.


    As soon as we looked ahead, we saw the Fades waiting for us inside Misty Corners.


    Shadows, dark blue in color, were beginning to form everywhere in the distance.


    "Okay, Troy, make sure Leysa stays safe," I said, giving him a firm look.


    It was a warning without words. Nothing should happen to my sister.


    The moment I said that, I noticed a shine in Leysa’s eyes.


    Probably because we had never been this close before.


    Yes, our childhood had been terrible.


    But I med her parents, my parents, more than I ever med her. They were cruel people.


    And whatever had happened back then, Leysa had redeemed herself.


    Especially after the way she had been treated by Yorick’s parents.


    The way she took care of me after that meant everything to me.


    She could have escaped with Troy. She had the chance.


    But she stayed. She stayed there for days because she wanted someone toe back for me too.


    The four of us took a deep breath.


    Ian took my hand, and Leysa held Troy’s. Together, we stepped into Misty Corners.


    We let Troy and Leysa go first while Ian and I stayed behind, keeping an eye on them in case they needed help.


    And then it began.


    The moment we entered, the Fades started gathering around us.


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