The river roared beneath them, loud enough to drown out thoughts if you stood too close to the railing. White spray rose in clouds from the hydroelectric dam, misting the air and slicking the concrete with cold water. The place was massive, an iron spine cutting across the canyon, humming with the dormant promise of power.
For the first time in years, Michael allowed himself to breathe without checking his flank every five seconds.
The dam was remote, surrounded by cliffs that made an ambush difficult. The river was too wide for infected to cross easily. The concrete walls were thick enough to laugh at gunfire. To any trained eye, this wasn't just a structure it was a fortress waiting to be claimed.
The system whispered in his skull the moment they set foot inside the control building:
> [Potential Base Detected: Hydroelectric Facility.]
[Condition: Habitable with modifications.]
[Quest Activated: Sanctuary Protocol Establish a Safe Zone.]
Michael closed his eyes briefly. He'd been expecting this. He didn't need glowing words to tell him what his instincts already screamed. In the military, you learned to recognize choke points, fallback positions, and strongholds. This place ticked every box.
The others explored with wide eyes. Sarah leaned over the railing, staring at the river below, while Lena tested the heavy steel doors that led into the inner levels. Alice ran her hand over the walls, muttering, "Solid. Real solid."
Kyle gave a low whistle. "Hell of a find. You could defend this with fifty people easy."
Michael said nothing. He didn't want to sound like a commander. Not yet. He just scanned every corner, mapping the place the way he used to map hostile compounds overseas. Entrances, exits, blind spots.
That night, they lit a fire in one of the service rooms. The group sat around it, exhaustion written in their faces, but for once the silence wasn't sharp with fear. It was softer. Hopeful.
Still, Michael's mind never slowed.
The quarantine zones fell. One by one, they all fall. This won't last unless we make it last. And if the Fireflies really are out there, they'll come sniffing eventually. Better to be ready.
The system hummed again:
> [Blueprints Unlocked: Reinforced Gates, Rainwater Collection, Greenhouse Modules.]
[New Objective: Train civilians in defense and resource management.]
He glanced at Sarah and Lena. The girls were laughing softly with Alice, their voices echoing against the steel walls. They looked younger than they had in months, the lines of fear easing from their faces.
Michael clenched his jaw. He knew the pattern too well. Give people hope, and the world will try to rip it away. That was why he couldn't treat this as a resting spot. It had to become something more.
The next morning, he began.
At dawn, he had Kyle and two others surveying the perimeter for weaknesses. Alice organized supply inventory food, tools, scrap metal, medical kits. Sarah and Lena followed Michael as he walked them through basic guard routines: sightlines, call signs, fallback points.
It wasn't glamorous. It was drills, sweat, repetition. But that's how survival worked.
By the third day, the dam didn't feel like an abandoned structure anymore. It felt like the skeleton of a sanctuary, its bones slowly being fleshed out by work and willpower. Wooden barricades rose at the access points. Tripwires were strung in narrow passages. A watch rotation was written on the wall in chalk.
At night, when the fire burned low and most had fallen asleep, Michael sat alone in the control room. The turbines below whispered with untapped energy. He knew with the right repairs, they could bring electricity back maybe even clean water.
But what weighed on him most wasn't the technical side. It was the people. The faces that now looked to him without even realizing it.
He remembered a voice from long ago, one of his old instructors: Leadership isn't a choice. It's a weight. If you don't pick it up, someone else will, and they might not carry it right.
Michael closed his eyes. He didn't want to lead. He didn't want to be responsible for what came next. But watching Sarah laugh by the fire earlier, seeing Lena's determination, hearing Alice's steady voice he knew he didn't have a choice.
The dam wasn't just concrete and turbines. It was the last line they might ever have and he would turn it into steel.