In the Municipal Office building, half an hour had passed since Ryan and Jasmine had disappeared into the darkness beyond the carefully constructed defensive perimeter. The night had settled into the comfortable routine that the community had grown accustomed to over the last weeks or rather successful survival—a routine built on confidence, preparation, and the reassuring presence of multiple layers of protection.
The building itself hummed with the quiet sounds of a sleeping community: soft breathing from converted office rooms that served as bedrooms, the gentle rustle of bedding as people shifted in their sleep, and the occasional creak of old building infrastructure adjusting to temperature changes. These were the sounds of safety, the audio backdrop of people who could sleep peacefully because they trusted in the defenses that surrounded them.
