The silence in the dormitory felt almost unnatural after so much chaos.
The weight of battle still hung heavy on everyone's shoulders, but for the first time in hours, no one was running, shooting, or screaming—just resting.
Joel leaned against the wall, his leg stretched out, the improvised bandage holding for now, though his expression remained serious and unshaken.
Richard, as always, was the first to break the silence.
"Man, I can't believe we survived that shit… again." He sighed, playing with the laces of his boots, which he had reluctantly put back on.
"I think I'm gonna start praying, 'cause that's just too much luck."
Ryan scoffed. "You? Praying? That's something I'd pay to see."
Lee chuckled. "God would send you straight to hell after your first prayer."
"Fuck it, at least there's fire down there to keep us warm. All we got here is cold and misery," Richard grumbled.
Mark, as always, sat by himself, calmly checking his rifle.
He didn't talk much, but when he did, he always hit the mark.
Richard stretched. "Hey, you guys remember that mission in Syria? When that bastard informant sold us out and we had to run across the damn desert?"
Joel made a sound that almost resembled a laugh. "You mean when YOU dropped the supply bag halfway 'cause it was too heavy?"
"Hey, no one told me I was carrying the heaviest fucking bag in the world! I was sweating like a roasted pig."
Ryan laughed. "And we almost died of thirst because of you."
Richard raised his hands. "But we survived, right? Worked out in the end."
Lee shook his head. "Only because Ghost had to drag our asses back to base."
Everyone looked at Ghost, who remained silent, just observing them.
A brief silence settled in until Richard changed the subject.
"Alright, seriously now... What do you guys think caused all this shit? The virus, the zombies, the world falling apart?"
Lee was the first to answer, rubbing his chin. "I'm betting on some military experiment gone wrong. One of the big powers tried to play God and got burned."
Ryan crossed his arms. "I think it was the Russians. Or the Chinese. They're always messing with that bio-weapon crap."
Richard laughed. "Sure, Ryan, 'cause the US is full of saints, huh?"
Ryan scoffed. "I'm just saying someone fucked up, and it wasn't us."
Mark, who had been silent until then, murmured, "It wasn't an accident."
Everyone turned to him.
"What the hell do you mean by that?" Richard asked.
Mark adjusted the rifle on his lap. "I mean, it was intentional. This shit didn't just happen. Someone pulled the strings."
For a moment, silence hung in the air as everyone processed the thought.
Joel finally spoke, his voice firm. "Doesn't matter how it started. What matters is how it ends."
The world was rotten. And somehow, they all knew—the worst was yet to come.