The workshop doors groaned open.
Elias entered first.
Behind him came Noah, Sarah, Liam, and Emily.
Each carried heavy backpacks filled with medicine, food, and bottled water.
Relief spread across the workshop.
“They’re back!”
“They made it!”
Several survivors rushed toward them.
“Stop!”
Elias’s voice echoed through the room.
Everyone froze.
“No one comes closer.”
Confused murmurs spread.
Noah blinked.
“…Elias?”
“Stay where you are.”
Sarah noticed the dried black blood covering Liam’s sleeve.
“We fought infected…”
“…What if their blood carries the infection?”
The room fell silent.
No one had considered it.
Elias placed his backpack on the floor.
“We don’t know how this virus spreads.”
“It could be bites.”
“It could be blood.”
“It could be body fluids.”
“Until we know…”
“…we assume everything is contaminated.”
Emily slowly stepped back.
“So…”
“What do we do?”
Elias looked toward the workshop.
“Fortunately…”
“…we’re in an engineering building.”
Within minutes…
The workshop was divided into zones.
A yellow line of industrial paint marked the floor.
Beyond it…
No one crossed without permission.
The fabrication room became the Dirty Zone.
The assembly room became the Clean Zone.
The welding bay became the Decontamination Area.
Noah scratched his head.
“You just invented quarantine.”
Elias shook his head.
“No.”
“Construction sites use contamination control all the time.”
“We’re adapting it.”
Liam removed his backpack carefully.
Sarah inspected everyone.
“No bites.”
“No scratches.”
She checked beneath sleeves.
Behind collars.
Around boots.
Every survivor held their breath.
Finally…
She nodded.
“Clear.”
Elias wasn’t finished.
“Boil water.”
Emily frowned.
“For drinking?”
“For cleaning.”
The large industrial tanks were soon filled with heated water.
Buckets lined the entrance.
Soap.
Detergent.
Alcohol wipes.
Every item the workshop possessed was gathered.
Noah laughed.
“I never thought I’d be taking the world’s most stressful shower.”
“You complain too much.”
“I’ve been told.”
Even Sarah smiled.
The tension eased.
Just a little.
As Liam cleaned his boots…
Something caught Elias’s attention.
Dark liquid.
Not mud.
Not oil.
Black.
Thick.
The same substance he’d found wrapped around Kevin’s torn jacket.
He crouched.
“Don’t touch it.”
Sarah immediately handed him a specimen container.
Using metal tweezers, Elias carefully collected the sample.
“It followed us.”
Noah’s smile disappeared.
“You think one of them got close?”
“It got close enough.”
Everyone looked toward the workshop doors.
No one spoke.
That evening…
A new whiteboard appeared beside the entrance.
Elias wrote in bold letters:
SURVIVAL RULES
Rule 1
No one leaves alone.
Rule 2
Every supply run has a leader.
Rule 3
Every survivor is inspected before entering.
Rule 4
Weapons stay within reach.
Rule 5
If bitten…
Report it immediately.
Silence filled the room.
Everyone understood what Rule Five meant.
There would be no hiding.
No false hope.
No second chances.
Emily quietly asked,
“…Who decides?”
Elias looked at the names written across the whiteboard.
Then back at the people depending on him.
“I do.”
Noah stepped beside him.
“And if Elias isn’t here…”
He looked around the room.
“I will.”
No one objected.
For the first time…
The workshop wasn’t just a shelter.
It had rules.
It had discipline.
It had become a community.
Late that night…
Rain tapped softly against the roof.
The workshop was silent.
Elias sat alone, examining the sealed container holding the strange black residue.
It clung to the glass like living tar.
He frowned.
“You’re not normal…”
As if responding…
A tiny bubble rose through the black liquid.
Then another.
Elias’s eyes narrowed.
The sample…
Was still moving.