The next morning brought no sunlight—just gray skies and a sickly wind that swept ash and dust over the safehouse roof like a funeral veil.
Zane stood in the common area, the blueprints for the next build flickering in his HUD. Medical Bay—basic. Enough for treating wounds, stocking medicine. Maybe more, in time.
[New Structure Unlocked: Field Clinic - Tier 0]
Materials Required: Wood (15), Metal (8), Medical Scrap (3)
Progress: 6%
They had the wood. Some of the metal. But not the scrap. Not the right kind.
"I can scavenge," Lily offered, weak but upright. "Don't give me that look. I'm not glass."
Zane shook his head. "Not until you're 100%. You almost didn't make it."
"I did make it," she snapped. "Because of you. So let me help you now."
Her voice cracked mid-sentence, and that shut down the argument.
Mason offered instead. "I'll check the old metro entrance near the hill. Lotta FEDRA crates down there. If it hasn't been picked clean, I can grab what we need."
Zane turned to look at him. "I won't let you go alone. It's too dangerous. I'm coming with you."
"You don't need to. Let me handle it. You've got enough to deal with here."
Zane nodded reluctantly. "Take the flare gun. Signal if anything's off."
By noon, Mason was gone.
And by dusk… he wasn't back.
⸻
Two Hours Later —
The flare never came.
Zane's nerves were frayed by the time he reached the metro ruins. Ava had stayed behind to protect the base. Lily begged to come. He didn't let her.
The metro tunnels were a grave.
Rotting posters lined the walls. Mold bloomed between tiles. Rats scattered from the sound of his boots.
Blood smeared the walls near the service stairs.
Not old.
Zane drew his pistol and crept lower.
The first thing he found was the bag—Mason's bag—ripped open, supplies scattered, the flare gun half-used.
[Alert: Proximity Danger Detected — Infected Present.]
The first one came from the ceiling. A stalker—silent and fast.
Zane shot it point-blank in the throat and it crumpled.
The second grabbed him from behind.
He drove a knife up under its jaw and kicked it down the stairs, panting hard.
[Health: 78%]
[Adrenaline Pulse Active]
Then he found Mason.
Or what was left of him.
Pinned beneath collapsed metal, his body half-crushed, his mouth open in a silent scream. No bite. No scratch.
Just crushed by debris, abandoned in the dark.
Zane knelt beside him, staring at the blood now pooling under the broken body of the first stalker.
"Mason…" he whispered.
There was a note clutched in his fist.
"Heard something deeper in. I had to check. Could be FEDRA. If I don't make it… tell Lily she's tougher than she thinks."
Zane sat in the dark for a long time before the System finally blinked.
[Subject Lost: Mason]
Population: 3
Morale: -12%
[New Trait Gained: Hardened - Tier 1]
Permanent: Slight resistance to emotional debuffs. Loss cuts deeper, but focus is enhanced.
[Base Trait: Memory Wall Unlocked - Buildable Monument for Lost Allies (Optional)]
Zane didn't cry.
Not because he didn't care.
Because this world didn't let you cry anymore.
⸻
He returned before dawn, carrying Mason's bag.
Lily was waiting at the door.
Her eyes locked on Zane's face.
She knew.
He didn't say a word.
She took the bag from his hands, sat down, and didn't speak for an hour.
Zane stood alone by the wall, looking at the new alert in his HUD.
[Warning: Underground Disturbance Detected - Origin Unknown]
Frequency Pattern: Synthetic. Possibly encrypted.
Link: Old Firefly Cache
Location: Directly Below Base - Hidden Storage Detected
He activated the blueprint scanner, revealing a sealed hatch beneath the old laundry machines.
A hidden chamber.
He tore up the floor and found it: a steel vault with the Firefly symbol faded on the lid. Inside? Old ration packs. Maps. Encrypted messages burned into old-style storage discs.
And one name, scrawled in permanent marker on a torn map of Seattle.
"Abby."
He stared at it.
⸻
Later — Rooftop
Ava found him staring out at the city skyline, wind cutting through the silence.
She didn't say "sorry." Didn't promise it wouldn't happen again.
She just stood beside him.
And after a long pause, said: "If this place falls apart… I walk. I don't do group funerals. "I've already had enough of them."
"I won't stop you," Zane said, "but I'll try my best to make sure it doesn't happen."
[Bond Status: Ava - Wary Allies (Solidified)]
Progress to Tier 2: 62%
Zane didn't look at her.
But for the first time, Ava didn't look like she was waiting to leave.