Morning in the bunker always came with noise.
Metal lockers slamming shut. Boots scraping against the concrete floor. Low conversations between people preparing for patrols or supply runs.
I tied the final strap of my combat vest and looked down at the gear spread across the wooden bench in front of me.
Rifle—cleaned and loaded.
Sidearm—holstered on my thigh.
Extra magazines—secured in my vest pockets.
Knife—strapped to my boot.
Everything exactly where it needed to be.
Going outside the walls wasn't something you did half-prepared. One mistake out there could mean death. Or worse.
I rolled my shoulders slightly, testing the weight of the gear.
It felt familiar. Comfortable.
Like armor.
The training room had been turned into a temporary staging area for the team heading out today. A few people moved around the room quietly, checking equipment or loading extra ammunition into supply bags.
Sunlight filtered weakly through the small reinforced windows near the ceiling.
Another day outside Haven Creek.
Another day clearing infected.
I grabbed my rifle from the bench and checked the safety when a voice spoke behind me.
"Well, I'll be damned."
I turned slightly.
Alex leaned against the doorway with his arms crossed, watching me with an amused expression.
He looked far too relaxed for someone about to walk into a town filled with the undead.
"Something wrong?" I asked.
Alex pushed himself off the doorframe and walked toward me slowly.
"Not at all," he said casually. "Just... appreciating the view."
I raised an eyebrow.
"The view?"
He gestured loosely toward me.
"It's been a while since I've seen a pretty girl all geared up for combat."
I snorted quietly.
Of course he was the type to flirt before a mission.
Alex leaned slightly closer.
"Usually when someone looks that good in tactical gear," he added, "it's either a soldier or trouble."
I slung my rifle over my shoulder and met his gaze calmly.
"Well," I said dryly, "good news for you."
He tilted his head.
"What's that?"
"I'm both."
For a moment Alex blinked.
Then a laugh burst out behind him.
I glanced past his shoulder.
Oliver stood near one of the weapon crates, shaking his head with amusement.
"Careful, Alex," Oliver said. "Looks like you picked the wrong girl to flirt with."
Another deep chuckle followed.
Max stepped into the room beside Oliver, grinning broadly.
"That was brutal," Max added.
Alex looked between them and groaned dramatically.
"You guys are supposed to support me."
Oliver shrugged.
"You walked into that one."
I smirked slightly and turned back to my gear.
Alex rubbed the back of his neck.
"Alright," he admitted. "Fair enough."
He stepped beside me at the bench, his expression now more curious than playful.
"You really heading out with us?" he asked.
Before I could answer, Oliver spoke again.
"We were actually wondering that."
I turned toward them.
Oliver nodded toward my gear.
"You coming to help us eliminate the infected?"
The wording made me pause for a second.
Then I smiled.
Not sweetly.
More like someone about to correct a misunderstanding.
"You've got that backwards," I said.
Oliver blinked.
"What?"
I rested my rifle against my shoulder.
"You're not going out there so I can help you," I explained calmly.
I gestured toward the bunker door leading outside.
"You're going out there to help me."
Max burst out laughing again.
Alex shook his head slowly.
"Well," he said. "Confidence like that is either impressive or terrifying."
"Usually both," Oliver added.
A quiet voice spoke from the far side of the room.
"She's not wrong."
I turned slightly.
Xavier stood near the wall beside the equipment racks.
I hadn't even noticed him there.
He leaned casually against the concrete, arms crossed over his chest.
His dark eyes were fixed on me.
Observing.
As usual.
I looked away first.
Because something about the way he watched people made it feel like he was studying more than just their words.
Max clapped his hands together.
"Well," he said. "Looks like we're following the boss today."
I grabbed the final piece of gear—a pair of gloves—and pulled them on.
"Let's go," I said.
⸻
The air outside the bunker was cool and sharp.
Two vehicles waited near the outer gate.
Both were heavy-duty off-road trucks reinforced with metal plating along the sides. They were loud, bulky, and far from subtle—but they could handle the rough streets of Haven Creek.
And more importantly...
They could plow through infected if necessary.
The outer gate creaked open slowly as the team gathered near the vehicles.
I walked toward the first truck.
This one would be mine.
Or rather—
The one I'd be driving.
Dave had already told the others that I knew Haven Creek better than anyone else in the bunker.
Every street.
Every alley.
Every building we had already cleared.
And the ones we hadn't.
Which meant today's route was my call.
I climbed into the driver's seat and set my rifle beside me.
The engine roared to life as I turned the key.
A moment later the passenger door opened.
Xavier climbed in beside me.
He shut the door without saying anything.
For a few seconds the only sound inside the truck was the low rumble of the engine.
Then the back doors opened.
Alex jumped into the seat behind Xavier.
Oliver followed.
Then David.
Finally, my friend Jacob climbed in last.
Jacob leaned forward between the seats.
"Alright," he said. "Everyone ready?"
I glanced at him through the rearview mirror.
Jacob had been one of my closest friends in the bunker for years. We had survived multiple missions together.
If I trusted anyone watching my back outside the walls...
It was him.
"You riding with us today?" Alex asked him.
Jacob nodded.
"Yeah."
He hooked his thumb toward the second vehicle behind us.
"In the other car we've got Marcus, Sophie, Matt, Johnson, and Ted."
I nodded once.
Marcus was one of our best perimeter scouts.
Matt and Johnson were experienced fighters.
Ted was newer but reliable.
And Sophie...
Sophie was one of the few other women in the bunker who regularly went outside.
She was tough.
Smart.
And deadly with a rifle.
Oliver leaned forward slightly.
"Wait," he said.
"Two girls?"
Jacob shrugged.
"Yeah."
Oliver sat back in his seat and chuckled.
"Not gonna lie," he said. "That's impressive."
Alex smirked.
"What's impressive?"
Oliver gestured loosely.
"A mission team with two women leading the charge."
I rolled my eyes slightly as I shifted the truck into gear.
"Don't sound so surprised."
Oliver raised his hands in surrender.
"I didn't mean it like that."
Max's voice came over the radio from the second vehicle.
"You guys done talking?"
Jacob grabbed the radio.
"Almost."
I glanced in the side mirror as the second truck pulled up behind us.
Marcus was driving that one.
Sophie sat in the passenger seat beside him.
The rest of the team filled the back.
I tightened my grip on the steering wheel.
The outer gate began to open.
Beyond it...
Haven Creek waited.
Abandoned streets.
Broken buildings.
And infected roaming somewhere in the shadows.
Alex leaned forward between the seats.
"So," he said casually.
"Where exactly are we heading, boss?"
I glanced at the road ahead.
"Downtown sector first," I said.
"We cleared half of it last month."
Oliver nodded.
"So we finish the job."
"Exactly."
Xavier finally spoke beside me.
His voice calm.
Low.
"How many infected do you estimate?"
I thought for a moment.
"Hard to say," I admitted. "Could be fifty."
Jacob snorted.
"Or two hundred."
"Thanks for the optimism," Alex muttered.
The gate fully opened.
The road beyond it stretched into the silent town.
I pressed the accelerator.
The truck rolled forward.
Behind us, the second vehicle followed.
We crossed the perimeter line.
Leaving the safety of Haven Creek's bunker.
Entering the dead city beyond.
For a moment no one spoke.
The empty streets swallowed the sound of the engines.
Wind pushed loose debris across the cracked asphalt.
Broken storefronts passed on either side of us.
Then Alex leaned forward again.
"Alright," he said.
"I've got a question."
I didn't take my eyes off the road.
"What?"
"How long have you been doing this?"
"Five years."
He whistled softly.
"Damn."
I turned the wheel as we approached the first intersection.
"Welcome to Haven Creek," I said quietly.
In the side mirror, the second truck stayed close behind us.
And somewhere out there in the silent ruins of the town...
The infected were waiting.