AVERY’S POV
I froze immediately, alarm bells blaring in my head as I looked around, the grip on my gun tight.
Whoever did this could still be lurking in the vicinity.
Declan was however already crouched next to the body, examining it closely.
“It’s fresh blood…” He looked up at me, his expression unreadable.
I scurried over to him, my eyes wide as I stared down at the body, the gun now pointed down, but my senses still at high alert.
What did this mean?
I signalled to the others to hurry over, and they jogged across the street to meet us, their expression going pale at the sight of the body.
“Oh fuck—” Hannah gasped, pulling Nadia closer to herself.
Derek looked pale as he stood there, his cheeks turning a whitish color.
“That note…”
Declan pulled the knife free, tucking the weapon in his belt before taking a closer look at the note.
“Could be a trap.”
“Or a warning.” Joel muttered under his breath.
Oh fuck, you had to be kidding me.
Declan held the note between two fingers, reading it again before handing it back to me.
I took it carefully, avoiding the blood on the edges, and slipped it into the map case in my backpack.
“If it’s a trap, we’ve already sprung it,” I said.
“Standing here any longer isn’t helping.”
Derek looked at me like I’d grown a second head.
“You’re seriously still thinking about HAVEN after this?”
I met his stare head on.
“I’m thinking.”
His expression twisted into annoyance.
“No, you’re ignoring what’s right in front of us.”
“Am I?”
He pointed at the body.
“Dead soldier and a glaring warning note. What else do you need?”
Joel shifted his weight but stayed quiet.
Hannah looked from Derek to me, clearly waiting for one of us to say something that made sense.
I wished I had something.
“What if it’s exactly what it looks like?” Derek continued.
“What if HAVEN’s gone? What if whoever wrote that note is the only reason we don’t end up like him?”
“And what if they’re trying to keep us away?” I asked.
“Why would they?” Derek looked at me with a confused frown. New chapters come out on g.com first.
“I don’t know.” I admitted, tongue darting out to wet my dry lips.
“Exactly.” Declan muttered.
“No,” I said, shaking my head.
“Exactly. We don’t know.”
Nobody spoke and I looked back at the body.
Nothing about it sat right with me.
If this had been scavengers, they’d have stripped him clean.
Ammunition was worth something now.
Food was worth even more.
Hell, people would kill for a decent pair of boots.
Yet whoever left him here hadn’t taken any of it.
They’d left the gear and every other thing.
Nadia broke the silence.
“Could it have been another HAVEN soldier?”
We all looked at her.
She frowned slightly.
“I mean… maybe whoever wrote the note was trying to warn people before… before something happened.”
Joel nodded slowly.
“Or someone who escaped.”
“Or someone who wanted us to think that,” I replied.
“It could’ve been another survivor group. It could’ve been someone who lost people there. It could’ve been a lie. We don’t have enough to decide which.”
“So what do we do?” Hannah asked.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the radio.
Static crackled for a second before the familiar voice returned.
“This is HAVEN Emergency Command. If you are receiving this broadcast, proceed to the designated safe zone. Medical personnel are standing by…”
This was still on loop.
Meaning the broadcast station was still active.
I let it play for a few seconds before switching it off.
“If that broadcast had stopped…” I said, “…I’d be worried.”
“You aren’t already?” Derek muttered.
“I am. But a note isn’t enough for me to throw away the only lead we’ve got.”
He sighed heavily, rubbing both hands over his face.
“I think you’re making a mistake.”
“I might be. Look, I don’t know what’s waiting for us at HAVEN. Maybe this note’s real. Maybe it’s complete bullshit. Either way, walking back doesn’t magically make us safer.” I slung my backpack over my shoulder and looked down the road.
“We keep moving.”
Nobody argued because nobody had a better idea.
Declan picked up his bat and unslung the rifle from the body, gave the surrounding buildings one last sweep, then started walking.
He already knew I’d follow.
And great, he was also armed now.
How comforting.
**********
By the time we stopped for the night, everyone was running on fumes.
We settled inside the second floor of a small insurance office after checking each room twice.
The front staircase was blocked with filing cabinets, the curtains pulled shut and every light source covered as much as possible.
Joel took second watch, Declan volunteered for third and I kept first.
The others fell asleep quicker than I expected.
I sat beside the window with the radio resting on my knee, watching the street below through a narrow gap in the curtains.
Every now and then a gust of wind sent loose papers skidding across the road.
Once, I caught movement and nearly raised my gun before realising it was nothing more than a shop sign swinging from one hinge.
I checked my watch and sighed.
It was almost midnight.
With nothing else to do, I flicked the radio back on.
Static.
Then the broadcast.
“This is HAVEN Emergency Command. If you are receiving this broadcast, proceed to the designated safe zone. Medical personnel are standing by. Food, shelter and emergency accommodation are available to all survivors…”
I’d heard it enough times that I barely listened anymore.
Then suddenly, barely half an hour later, it changed.
The voice cut out so suddenly I thought the batteries had died as static hissed through the speaker, then another voice forced its way in.
A woman breathing hard.
“… If anyone can hear me, do not come to HAVEN… they are not—” The transmission snapped and the original voice returned instantly.
“—follow all personnel instructions upon arrival. Remain calm. This broadcast will repeat.”
I didn’t move but I felt goosebumps scatter across my skin.
Had I imagined it?
No.
I knew what I’d heard.
I looked over at the others.
They were still asleep.
The broadcast continued as if nothing had happened.
I sat there long after it finished, waiting to hear the woman’s voice again.
But the loop played exactly the way it always had.
What exactly was going on in HAVEN?