They stood inside the safehouse, dust swirling in the pale light slanting through cracked windows. Zane knelt near a broken wall, studying it like a mechanic eyeing a stubborn engine.
Ava leaned in the doorway behind him, arms crossed. "You gonna fix that with positive vibes?"
Zane didn't answer. He pressed his hand to the jagged edge of the wall, and something in the air shifted—like a static charge. Wood creaked. Metal clinked softly. Slowly, the wreckage began to pull together, piece by piece, reshaping itself.
Ava blinked. "What the hell?"
The wall slid into place, cleaner and stronger than before. Zane stood, brushing dust from his hands.
"I've been learning," he said.
"That wasn't 'learning.' That was… what? Magic?"
"Call it intuition." He gave a faint, almost guilty grin. "Figured out a few tricks. Guess I'm handier than I thought."
She stared at the reinforced wall, then at him. "Right."
They spent the rest of the day scavenging. Zane led them through back alleys and ruined shops, somehow always knowing where to look. Ava didn't ask how he spotted the caches of scrap metal or the hidden bundles of wiring under collapsed shelves. She didn't ask how he turned junk into usable parts with barely a tool in sight.
Instead, she kept her rifle ready and watched their backs. Clickers were out there, shrieking in the distance. But they moved smoothly, efficiently, like they'd trained together for years.
By nightfall, the safehouse had real walls again. Reinforced doors. Even a solar-powered light above their makeshift table, cobbled together from parts Zane "just found."
They sat on reworked crates, eating canned beans. The warm glow from the overhead lamp softened the shadows.
"You staying?" Ava asked.
"Yeah," Zane said. "I'm done running."
She nodded once, slow. No jokes. No sarcastic cracks. Just quiet acceptance.
Outside, the night howled.
Inside, the safehouse stood solid.
⸻
Status:
[Bond Progress: +3 - "Settling Trust"]
[Kingdom Status: "Outpost - Tier 1" Created]
[Population: 2]
[Morale: Stable]
[Next Upgrade Goal: Water Supply + Defense Turret (0/2)]
⸻
Ava stood and looked out the window, rifle in hand.
"If we're building something," she said, "we'll need more people. Fighters. Builders. Survivors."
Zane nodded, keeping his voice steady. "We'll find them."
He didn't say how. Didn't tell her about the glowing screens only he could see, the crafting queues, or the invisible system charting a kingdom from ruins.
The wasteland didn't care if you dreamed of more.
But Zane did.
And he'd build it. One wall, one light, one survivor at a time