Dawn never came.
Not really.
A blanket of ash covered the morning sky, turning the rising sun into a dull red glow.
The engineering workshop stirred to life.
No one had slept.
Elias stood before a whiteboard, sketching a rough map of the university.
“The cafeteria is here.”
He drew a circle.
“We’re here.”
Another circle.
“The main corridor is full of infected.”
He crossed it out.
“We’ll use the maintenance tunnels.”
Noah folded his arms.
“How many are coming?”
“Three.”
A murmur spread through the room.
“Only three?”
“The fewer people we take,” Elias replied, “the fewer chances someone makes a mistake.”
He pointed to Noah.
“You’re with me.”
Then to Sarah, a quiet biomedical student who had calmly treated the injured the previous night.
“I need someone who can recognize useful medical supplies.”
Finally, he looked at Liam, a broad-shouldered apprentice welder.
“I need someone who can carry heavy loads.”
The rest looked disappointed.
Elias met their eyes.
“Your job is more important.”
He turned toward the barricade.
“If we don’t return…”
“…you keep this place alive.”
No one argued.
The maintenance tunnel smelled of rust and damp concrete.
Flashlights cut through the darkness.
Pipes lined the ceiling, dripping steadily onto the floor.
Every footstep echoed.
Noah whispered,
“This place is creepy.”
“It’s also empty.”
“Let’s keep it that way.”
They moved slowly.
Every junction was checked.
Every door was tested before opening.
Halfway through the tunnel…
A metallic clang echoed behind them.
Everyone froze.
Liam looked down.
A wrench had slipped from his backpack.
The sound rang through the tunnel.
Silence.
Then…
A distant growl.
Another.
More.
Elias raised his fist.
Nobody moved.
The growls grew louder.
Closer.
Then…
They passed overhead.
The infected were in the corridor above them.
Drawn by the noise.
But not toward the tunnel.
Elias exhaled.
“They follow sound…”
“…not scent.”
Another piece of the puzzle.
He smiled faintly.
“Good.”
The cafeteria doors stood open.
Tables were overturned.
Food trays covered the floor.
Yet the storage room remained untouched.
Noah pushed open the heavy metal door.
His jaw dropped.
“Canned food…”
“Water…”
“Energy bars…”
Shelves stretched from floor to ceiling.
Enough supplies to feed dozens of people.
Liam grinned.
“We hit the jackpot.”
Elias didn’t celebrate.
“Fill your bags.”
“Only essentials.”
“No junk food.”
Noah sighed dramatically.
“So you’re saying no chocolate?”
“No chocolate.”
“This apocalypse sucks.”
Even Sarah laughed.
For the first time since the outbreak…
Someone smiled.
As they prepared to leave—
A faint cry echoed through the cafeteria.
“Help…”
The group froze.
Again.
“Please…”
“It came from the kitchen.”
Liam reached for the door.
Elias stopped him.
“Wait.”
“What?”
“It could be a trap.”
“A trap?”
“Not by people.”
He grabbed a metal serving tray and threw it across the cafeteria.
It crashed loudly against the floor.
Immediately—
Three infected burst from behind the kitchen counter.
Another climbed through a broken serving window.
They hadn’t been chasing a voice.
They’d been waiting for movement.
Noah stared.
“…You just saved our lives.”
Elias’s expression hardened.
“No.”
He looked toward the kitchen.
“The person who called for help…”
A frightened woman slowly crawled out from beneath a stainless-steel preparation table.
She was shaking.
But she wasn’t bitten.
She had hidden there for nearly two days.
Tears streamed down her face.
“I thought…”
“I thought no one was coming.”
Sarah rushed forward to help her.
The woman clung to her, sobbing uncontrollably.
Noah looked at Elias.
“You were right.”
“If we’d rushed in…”
“We would’ve walked straight into them.”
The return journey was slower.
Their backpacks were heavy.
Their new survivor could barely walk.
Yet every step back toward the workshop felt lighter.
When the barricade finally opened…
Cheers erupted.
Children ran toward the bags of food.
Adults stared in disbelief.
They had done it.
No one had died.
The workshop wasn’t just surviving anymore.
It had hope.
Noah dropped his backpack with a grin.
“You know what?”
“What?”
“I think this counts as our first win.”
Elias looked around the room.
People were eating.
Laughing.
Some cried with relief.
For one brief moment…
They felt human again.
Elias smiled.
It was small.
Almost invisible.
But it was there.
“Yeah.”
“Our first victory.”
Outside the workshop…
Hidden in the shadows of another building…
A pair of crimson eyes watched through a shattered window.
They did not blink.
They did not wander.
They observed.
For the first time…
Something was watching them back.