The world outside the barricaded warehouse was an ocean of silence. No infected groans, no monstrous howls, no gunshots or screams. Just wind and dust sweeping across the ruins of civilization. It should've been a relief—but instead, it was eerie. Too quiet. Too still. Like the world was holding its breath for the next calamity.
Inside the warehouse, the group sat in a loose circle, nursing wounds and shaking off the adrenaline of last night's ambush. The new survivors—Tess, Nolan, and the mute boy Liam—had proven themselves during the skirmish. For once, no one had died.
Yuki leaned back against a broken crate, wrapping new gauze around the slash across her thigh. "We were lucky," she muttered, not looking at anyone. "If they had come from both sides, we'd be dead."
"Luck doesn't win fights," muttered Garrett, polishing the barrel of his rifle. "Skill did. Planning did."
"You mean chaos did," Enzo corrected dryly. "And maybe desperation."
At the far end, Nolan checked on his sister Tess, who was resting with her eyes closed, a light fever tugging at her brow. The medkit they had recovered from the convoy had saved her life, but just barely.
"She's stable," Nolan said to no one in particular, rubbing his temples. "But she needs rest. We all do."
Silence settled again.
Mira sat apart from them, cross-legged with a folded notebook in her lap. She hadn't spoken much since the fight. Her mind kept drifting back to the old man from the medical convoy—the one who'd handed her that data chip before dying, whispering, "You have to show them…"
She hadn't told the others what was on it. Not yet.
Later That Night
They took shifts on watch, but Mira couldn't sleep even during her off hours. She sat by one of the high windows, the shattered glass framing the blood-red moon. Something about that crimson hue always made her stomach twist. Ever since the Eclipse…
She inserted the data chip into the solar-powered tablet Enzo had salvaged. It whirred softly, screen flickering to life.
PROJECT LUX: PHASE THREEConfidentialInitiate: Dr. N. RaventhorneSubject Classification: Type-E Infected / Cognitive Retention / Host Compatibility
Lines of code and video logs scrolled past, but Mira skipped through them until she hit one marked "Personal Log 47 – Day of Collapse".
The screen displayed a gaunt man in a sterile lab. His eyes were sunken, voice trembling.
"They lied to us. Project Lux wasn't just about containment. They were experimenting. E-class infecteds—those who retain partial cognitive function—are more dangerous than we ever imagined. They don't lose their minds. They evolve. Adapt. Learn."
Mira's chest tightened.
"The breach at Sector 12 wasn't an accident. It was orchestrated. Someone wanted the world to burn. I've hidden the last clean samples inside the old reactor facility near Hollowridge. If anyone finds this… you must not let them finish Phase Four."
The video cut off. Static.
Mira closed the tablet, breath shaking. The infected weren't just mutating. They were thinking.
And someone wanted it that way.
Morning
Mira gathered the group. "I need to show you something."
They sat on scavenged chairs and crates, expressions wary but attentive.
She played the log.
No one spoke for a long time after it ended. Even Garrett's jaw tightened—his usual bravado smothered by cold realization.
Nolan was the first to speak. "If this is true… then the collapse wasn't just a virus. It was a weapon."
"And Hollowridge might be the only place that has a way to stop it," Mira added.
Yuki crossed her arms. "That's suicide. Hollowridge is almost forty miles east. Through open zones."
"And we're low on food, ammo, and gas," Garrett muttered. "It's not just dangerous—it's impossible."
"But what if it isn't?" Mira pressed. "What if we're the only ones left who even can stop this? Everyone else is hiding. Running. Dying."
The room went quiet again.
Tess, pale but awake, spoke up from her makeshift bed. "Is it… worth it?" Her voice was soft, barely above a whisper. "After everything… is there anything left to save?"
Liam, the mute boy, walked forward silently and handed Mira a crumpled drawing. A sun above a green hill, stick figures holding hands.
A memory of before.
Mira swallowed the lump in her throat.
"Yes," she said. "There is."
Later That Day
They prepared quietly. Refilled water bottles. Checked ammo clips. Rewrapped bandages. It wasn't much, but it was something.
As Garrett started the rusted truck engine, Mira climbed into the passenger seat, tablet in hand.
She looked back at the others loading in—Enzo with maps, Nolan helping Tess, Liam curled beside a duffel bag—and something inside her hardened.
This wasn't just survival anymore.
This was war.
Against the monsters outside. Against the ones who created them.
Against the silence that had swallowed the world.