The road to Sector 14-B was an open canyon between ruins and dead forest.
The kind of place where everything could go wrong — and usually did.
Elias walked with steady steps, eyes scanning the surroundings, alert to the movement of trees and the muffled sounds carried by the dry wind. Grimm led the way, sniffing old trails. Ash walked beside Elias, alert but calm.
The boy remained at the gas station, unconscious.
Elias had left him with water, blankets, and a knife within reach.
If he woke up... he'd have a choice. Stay or go.
But a voice inside Elias whispered that he'd return.
That he couldn't just walk away not knowing.
The sun barely pierced the clouds. The light was gray, heavy.
The world seemed tired.
They arrived at the rendezvous point in the middle of the afternoon. It was an underground shelter, hidden beneath the rubble of an old train station. The steel door was intact, marked with the symbol of the New Order: a circle crossed by three vertical lines — power, reconstruction, control.
Elias knocked three times. Waited. Knocked twice more.
The door opened with a metallic creak. On the other side, a woman stood guard, armed and cold-eyed.
"Name?" she asked.
"Thorne."
She checked a handheld terminal, then gestured him inside.
The hallway was damp and smelled of mold. Cracked walls. Flickering lights.
The meeting room was empty, except for one man in a dark uniform sitting at the table. Thin, with slicked-back gray hair and eyes that didn't seem to blink.
"Elias Thorne," the man said, unsmiling. "Our ghost."
Elias didn't answer. He sat down. Grimm and Ash stood by the door, like statues.
"We've got a job for you. And something tells me you'll want this one."
The man slid a file across the table.
Inside, yellowed photos. A name: Dr. Calvin Morrow.
"He was one of the scientists behind the Immortal Project. He… survived."
Elias's blood froze for a second.
Then he frowned.
"Where?"
"Heading north. With an escort. The New Order wants him alive.
But... not everyone within the Order shares that sentiment."
Elias stared at the man's photo.
Calvin Morrow. One of the names he'd sworn never to hear again.
"And if I say no?"
The man smiled. Slightly. Cynically.
"Then you no longer need fuel. Or antibiotics. Or anything else."
Elias remained silent.
Then, he took the file.
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