The cold bit harder at dawn.
Their breath hung in the air like ghosts trying to escape their lungs. Gavin tightened the straps on his patched boots as Varik checked the rusty grate leading beneath an old freight lane.
"It'll hold," Varik said. "Long as you don't step on the center."
"Good," Gavin replied. "Lux, you ready?"
Lux nodded. His hands shook slightly, not fear, just cold, but he forced them still.
They moved.
The freight lane was a forgotten scar of metal and abandoned tracks, partially buried beneath years of debris. The walls here were high, narrowing the sky into a thin strip. It kept wind out, which made it a useful route for quiet movement.
They crept along the shadows, staying low.
Gavin raised a hand, signaling a stop.
Voices drifted around the corner. He peeked.
Two guards stood near a pile of crates, one smoking, the other rubbing his hands to stay warm.
"Shift change," Gavin whispered. "They're late again."
Varik rolled his eyes. "They're always late."
Lux leaned closer. "Should we—?"
"No," Gavin said. "We wait."
Time thickened around them. Every second felt longer with adrenaline twisting their nerves. Gavin watched the guards closely, body language, rifles, stance. One looked bored, the other alert.
Bad combination.
Finally, they moved on.
"Now," Gavin breathed.
The trio darted across the lane, keeping close to abandoned crates. Gavin pried open the top of a container with careful leverage. Varik listened for footsteps. Lux watched every direction at once.
Inside were sealed packets—thin, silver, stamped with faded labels.
"Three," Gavin whispered. "Take only three. Looks untouched, if we empty it, they'll notice."
Varik nodded, pocketing two. Lux grabbed one carefully.
Something clattered nearby, a metal can tipping over.
Lux froze.
Varik cursed under his breath, drawing a rusted shiv.
Gavin grabbed Lux by the collar and pulled him behind the crate. "Quiet."
Footsteps approached heavy and deliberate.
A silhouette entered the lane. Not a guard. Taller. Bulkier. Wrapped in layers of scavenged armor.
"Shit," Varik whispered. "Scrappers."
Scrappers didn't steal food.
They stole people.
The man sniffed the air, scanning the shadows. "Thought I heard something…"
Gavin's grip tightened around Lux's arm.
Lux's breathing grew unsteady, too loud.
Gavin placed a hand over his mouth.
The scrapper stepped closer. Then closer.
Close enough for his boots to crunch frost right in front of their hiding place.
Varik tensed, ready to strike.
Gavin shot him a glare. No.
Varik's jaw clenched but he obeyed.
The scrapper paused, looking toward the opposite wall. "Hmph. Rats."
He walked away.
A long breath escaped all three at once.
But they didn't run right away, not until the scrapper's footsteps faded fully.
Gavin let go of Lux. "Good job holding still."
"I-I wasn't," Lux whispered. "I almost—"
"You didn't," Gavin said. "That's what matters."
They slipped back out of the freight lane and moved quickly toward their shelter. Halfway there, Varik sighed in relief.
"Not bad," he said. "We lived."
"That was luck," Gavin replied. "We don't depend on luck."
Lux swallowed. "Gavin… what if he saw us?"
"Then we'd be dead," Varik said bluntly.
"Enough," Gavin snapped.
Lux shot stiff
"Ok ok, no need to be loud about it" Varik grunted annoyed
Back at their shelter, they divided the packets evenly. Lux held his share like it was treasure.
Gavin leaned back against the wall, letting the brief warmth of the blue flame wash over his hands.
Varik exhaled. "Think the scrapper'll come back?"
"Yes," Gavin said without hesitation.
"Everything hungry comes back."
Lux shivered. "Then… what do we do?"
Gavin looked at both of them,his family, found in the ruins.
"We get stronger," he said. "We stay smart. And we never stop moving."
It wasn't hope.
It was a strategy.
Varik let out sighing "A strategy huh, sure."