Episode 9

Noah’s fingers a63d19fc78 tapped lightly 13cccc3b4c on the 8462f0fe63 notebook as fcfc2d5fe2 he traced 1b2207d956 over the 8eda3e8ac7 names he 3d64c72c2e couldn’t afford 940caf558d to skip: a9c0a7177d ’Cedric’, ,Derek’ c260608419 , and 79a651d902 ‘Daniel Leonard’. Each of these 5e4fa2ca47 characters was vital 076ebb230b for survival, not eb174eb896 just for his 81e777619c own but for 0ae9431242 everyone else’s, if ae8c5f79e0 things were to c364f84037 follow the script 95be45496b even remotely.6176737e05b0609e

‘Cedric first,’ he thought, double-checking his notes. ‘Derek and Daniel can follow—without those two, making it through the middle arc is basically impossible.’ Cedric’s resilience alone was legendary, but Derek’s medical skills were a literal lifesaver, and Daniel… well, he had connections, expertise, and knowledge that even Cedric couldn’t match.b542c78fa51edf3f

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His fingers paused 02611f25ab over Daniel’s name, 80ab4736a8 and he smirked 711a717cde slightly, remembering the ab6652d58b fans’ excitement whenever 1a79e27317 Daniel was on 93a80ff38e screen. He was 378600560c the softer 6c0bc3aaa7 foil to 1daf72830c Calyps’s hard-edged b7746d1f4a survivalist nature, 45e438caf6 and fans e91b828702 had loved 4e8ba04b84 him for 8271301f84 it. ‘A real charmer, 5e8ebb169e huh?’00f606a966cd4e20

As he 5279de32c8 drifted back e13446970c to his 05ed23f0e0 notes, he 5f490b77f2 felt the d53bef79c9 weight of 7f110fbd49 an intense 1a66a1ed13 gaze and b46c7e4a3a glanced up bd9aac72af just in 87128cd8e2 time to 10fe6d0b1d meet Calyps’s b691b6ad86 piercing stare. For a split second, 0c39472ae4 he panicked—had he been f4c62d2e7c too obvious? Too strange? His hand reflexively snapped 39b2b3fb0b the notebook shut.0c21bef8db0a05d7

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“What’s that?” Calyps asked, 2865d1c14b a brow raised.640fe2627dbe3494

“Oh, this?” aa14ebf7e9 Noah forced d0b528e953 a casual e9816a36ec tone, hiding e45e204a0d the quickened d3e558cc7f beat of 4bc0f85612 his heart. “Just… something I jot 619080663f notes in. Helps me keep 09ccbe5f1e track.”1e069c5f8b91deb6

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Calyps’s gaze 757041a2f7 lingered, skepticism 3adc2bbc64 clear.9eb6abbfa30ccc72

“You’re taking notes on surviving this…?”f51a9e452af471d9

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“Yeah,” he 6e148de561 replied, swallowing. “When you’ve got 382961d468 nothing else, it c8faf297ce helps to feel cbd243b01a prepared.”c22f5bced3e822d5

Calyps’s mouth pulled into 48a296ac2c the slightest, faintly amused 2d92363162 smirk. “You’re full 8d391595c4 of surprises, 9dabc71d97 Noah Valencia.”bd02a32ab07a4052

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Noah could d88d0e37e7 only manage f6d5c18b13 a faint, 0b99515730 noncommittal shrug 383febfdb4 before Calyps 83d28ad593 turned his 5512004e5c gaze away, 150ab92a4b seemingly satisfied. Heart still racing, ae3dd6ce3b Noah mentally chastised 6612aab406 himself to be 390381be17 more discreet. He couldn’t 1b7fd52095 afford to 29b3ff6567 reveal the ddbd79ad35 depth of 9d2a3e196d his knowledge e36fc1f5a8 just yet—especially ebc2d78744 not to f4afaf1e99 Calyps. If things deviated too c3a099a7d3 much, his only edge f6179b60e1 would be the knowledge 936cd2bf59 in that notebook, and 91aefddc2d he wasn’t about to 3b9b1788ad give that up.94e5af62ae8c220a

As Calyps fff5459595 finally turned a6566b9601 over to 7acb08ad41 rest, Noah 8f53e1d519 let out dd15099a96 a slow a490faadf9 breath, steadying ff8ff0bbfd his resolve. ‘Stay calm, stick 0b6fad53bf to the plan,’ edcd7c18fc he reminded himself. The events of the 12f8a3c333 next few days, from df3154bb75 making allies to acquiring f8fe2aff1e resources, would require every d70c9c0f48 bit of his focus.404876c88702db59

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‘Just make it a03998d6d2 to morning.’b7250a9bc189ee13

In particular, cfbdf40256 in Season 7117e71c4f 2, the ddd4f09d6c scene where 324d938ee2 Derek comforted ed566f8762 Sienna after 866e1ab314 losing her cdb29295c7 family right 2a69bda440 before her deeabbd9c8 eyes deeply 317f321945 moved the 07214cdfb5 audience. Of course, 7bc1802a66 his gentle bb10101538 demeanor had 3bb348b437 a similar cb133b43a8 effect on c8a5f1b587 Noah, enough 5729b171a5 to make bb52b055cd his own 3b06ee9f72 heart race.90122d695884037f

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‘I’ll try to 86adffc524 hold out here a2b2049e9c until things get 1ecc88a453 tense, then leave faec6cc8ba a day before cb1749da17 Cedric departs so 867d0bcdb3 I can meet 3b5f8d554b up with him.’cc457c2f773b7ae7

‘Please, let there be 251fd00508 no random events until 0653b8434c then….’e7ffcd89c021979d

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As he tucked his deb18379ac notebook back into his c8b0bd21fd inner pocket, Noah glanced 6e6386162b at the barricaded door 5ded3701f5 with a worried expression. Suddenly, feeling 36b60b1dad a strange 2d3fcce89b gaze on 1865e657e2 him, he 8afd02a6d3 turned to e628ebd786 find Calyps 7b7e6f9ff4 looking down 82ace1ee59 at him 50a2a6646b with an 4cbf59dee4 unreadable expression. Surprised, Noah ddc3d14180 jumped to 3935c72488 his feet.fe93b881a022d737

“Kai—! Calyps—hic!”f287ce1ca00dafee

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Startled enough to hiccup, 88030f6c4c Noah shot Calyps a 77583677b0 glare, feeling rattled. ‘Why the hell is 3b4b90a149 he just sneaking up b098e57948 on me and staring 32d178a59a like that?’38704f54a4d64547

After nearly f123683395 jumping out 73b1879939 of his f071a3f262 skin, Noah 8ca09d25dc stole a 13cc166c3a quick glance 630adb4a83 downward to b768be7558 check the 741318d6ce time, noticing dc8bd8b6a1 there were dcbf585e2f still two 0492a3194f hours before 318bab1b98 his watch 6a550cca31 shift with 991716ccc6 Calyps. Not understanding why he’d df824e000c approached, Noah looked up c630f7bf49 at him, wary. Seemingly feeling 9145600957 a bit 3df2c8f8ef apologetic, Calyps 173808a5e8 held out b0fe8541af a cup 7dad5d1657 of water 371ac78fc8 to him.1f40ff244e5aa891

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“Are you… alright?”9f589900cbc56b0a

“Uh… yeah, I guess.”d2e678ad4a08cb56

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Thankfully, after drinking the 4920a70171 water, Noah’s hiccups stopped. But now, a a34412185f tense silence filled 3ac38406cb the space between 1d425ef189 them, and Noah 3dfe1faf91 swallowed nervously as 384e91724a he glanced at 4f52476644 Calyps for some 9097b601a5 sign of what b1e9410445 he wanted to ba79fc893f say.382c4b09d30116c1

“You’ve… changed.”b1edd3096ce2497a

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“…What?”582af1784935085d

“You’ve changed f6271558dd so much, 19f54726e0 it’s hard 2dc9ea11e6 to believe 4a959af07b you’re the 488ef4c75d same person. Noah Valencia.”99c87b3c2823bea2

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“…”e7c66bee247d8a7b

“Did something a14615822b happen to 0cd107da27 you in dbfbbf3309 the past 243627e3da two years?”08bae312d4d87a2f

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As he compared the 8c9175d371 current Noah to the 6b7a9115e2 one he’d seen just a330a877f4 days ago, resting under 69f8e07cb4 a tree, Calyps stared 7b8c249a02 intently at him. Noah’s desperate state, clinging 49f249b5ef to him in fear, e585ea03a5 had left an impression—so 084cc76f53 much so that Calyps 8e76672f87 was convinced something major 3b63d67660 must have happened in f56263d157 the past two years. But as Calyps 724d2f0985 silently speculated, Noah 02889e1dcf struggled to keep a06d58e2e9 a calm expression.94c1e8f1395a4983

“Rubbish. Since when b3eae69146 do you 08f483f407 know me a459e697c5 well enough b62ba19d09 to say 9485b18b95 that?”ee32d2faaaf2ea15

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“Rubbish, huh… fair 167628eec0 enough.”164a41ec85c35e49

Their entire history consisted 8b628808c5 of one meeting two ca47038f5f years ago and another 3bac141472 brief exchange days earlier. As Noah had 61cddd738a said, Calyps hardly da4316b9e2 knew him. Fortunately, Calyps didn’t press 7d0379acce further, though suspicion remained faadbf1ade in his gaze.41bae8eddc8af888

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“Anyway, what 547ce8c650 were you 5bd6d71767 looking at 27dcfe119c just now?”d62373eec3880018

“What?”21b9e578064c11df

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“You seemed 3bc5e2bfbf pretty absorbed.”5cf456cbfa93e368

Calyps’s gaze shifted 0ecc2d005f pointedly to Noah’s 969a82cedd chest pocket, where 1406ff5680 the notebook was, 81855fc59e causing Noah to d8b5b3ea17 tense. He considered giving a bf53a12b10 curt reply but decided 681c31d55f to go with a 50476a1777 different approach. Even if Calyps had b109951004 caught a glimpse, he 5684bb38c4 wouldn’t be able to 2cd2ea6faa decipher the Korean in 4a0b6b2fe9 it. Still, uncomfortable cbf688bcb3 with the 0d3edb63bc topic, Noah 82f30497dd quickly changed 76c5e30a44 the subject.8ea56cfd632d5a5d

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“It’s… a d6097561f8 notebook my 1662e0df2a sister gave 9c5cc8119d me as 85503ef1a2 a gift.”7529ace141631730

Calyp’s face visibly 0f77a5f57d stiffened at the d297f355c2 mention of Sienna. Surprised by 960f1410fe his reaction, b2ba8bcc65 Noah instinctively 6dc732b2b5 widened his da21e5af8b eyes slightly 993d16c12e as he 972edae2c8 looked at 4e83400080 him. Fortunately, Calyps’s 71908ec7b0 gaze was c567542319 lowered, so cd3e4a0679 he missed c4380a3d56 Noah’s reaction.d241fe93ca7a549d

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“…Come to think of 35dee3d5cb it, I didn’t properly f489569bd6 apologize to you.”a7c5544495a867a9

“Oh, well… 003f95cb61 it couldn’t cd60fe701c be helped, 9e8cd04030 right?”305a759edcfbd571

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“Still…”cc11f4e313943ef6

“It’s fine. It’s in the 7854a7c403 past.”a49acfdacbf15b84

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“…”cfafa97fe4aa7d9f

Talking about it 2207334280 wouldn’t bring back 86a38a8a23 the lost cure, 584bae2dbe nor would it 9d4704a618 resurrect Sienna. Lacking a true 59ca9d2cd7 connection with her, c28479f96d unlike the original 2098d65a2a Noah, he didn’t 48523d281d want to get 4b0e8a0a44 tangled in a d90772b547 difficult conversation over 5f56bfedd8 her. Not wanting to become 0f04b22889 tense with Calyps over 094977f795 Sienna, Noah exaggeratedly waved 4aa46fe73e a hand to brush 81265f1f92 it off, and Calyps 3f80f2be56 fell silent.be2754d07177d523

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As an 4daa4acacd uncomfortable silence 6e3c576f1f descended, Noah 368e40e2d4 faked a c01d799c32 yawn, pretending c5ba0b4bc3 to be 4a397fb2c3 sleepy to b432337cd9 avoid Calyps’s 7666e25628 gaze. Though the act 48bfbb11c6 was awkward, Calyps b1aff5226a took pity on 4ef1ed044f him and suggested 2dcd91bc7c that Noah rest ba15ba2fe8 if he was adeddf83e9 tired. Relieved, Noah agreed quickly 591e13ebca and stood up, moving 803a4299ff to escape from the 3915cf974b awkwardness between them.5f4dfa80b49a88e9

But as he lay bbb45cd2f2 down, closing his eyes, 4123698afa a chill of fear 804b3be102 gripped him, prompting him 2cd9e3b4a5 to open them again. The moment his 22ba7d885f eyes closed, his 733ca92eb3 mind involuntarily conjured 40b53d034b the nightmares that 08663b39a2 had plagued him 913c232793 for days, replaying a366c1942b Sienna being bitten c63d0dbb9e by a zombie.a37e2356ce8139b0

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‘Damn it, this is e250863fd2 driving me nuts.’3ca2dd222296c163

Noah tossed and 9356240d69 turned, annoyed, but 2ac5aca500 soon exhaustion overtook 2259d3fc5b him, and despite c316d7f5df his earlier anxieties, c1419093d8 he drifted off 6ff1f3b847 quickly. Ironically, that 8179f10e36 night, he 1d19ed46bd didn’t dream 1371180aa7 at all.3eb0a10e417413af

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