The Red Zone was worse than Vega described.
Ash fell like snow, coating the broken roads in pale gray. The sky had turned the color of bruised bone. Structures sagged against one another like drunkards clinging to the edge of collapse. Something deeper than ruin clung to this place—a silence that screamed.
Vega hobbled over a rusted girder, her brace scraping metal. Ada moved ahead, scanning with her rifle, HUD mapping radiation pockets and structural hazards.
"Stay right," Ada said. "The left side's unstable."
"Yeah, got that after I almost fell into it," Vega muttered, catching herself on a concrete slab.
They made it to a collapsed overpass, the twisted rebar forming a skeletal arch. Ada knelt, examining the relay node embedded in a support beam.
"This is the source," she said.
The device was alien-tech embedded in human ruin—glowing blue conduits threaded through concrete. Ada reached out. Her system pulsed.
[Encrypted Relay: Dormant.]
[Override Key Required.]
She frowned. "Can you cover me?"
Vega nodded, already swiveling to watch the approach. "Go fast."
Ada knelt and pulled a multi-tool from her pack. Sparks flew as she sliced open the access port, fingers moving with calm precision. Vega's eyes never left the shadows.
Something moved.
"Contact," Vega warned, rifle up.
From the mist emerged a pack of infected—thin, twitching things with burned skin and distorted limbs. Their eyes were wrong—bulging, glowing, inhuman.
Ada kept working.
Vega fired.
The rifle cracked twice, dropping the first two. The third didn't fall. It sprinted, shrieking—
Until Ada stood, pistol raised, and shot it through the eye.
"Done," she said. The relay hummed behind her.
[Relay Reactivated. Signal Uplink Established.]
"Move!" Vega barked, already limping toward cover.
They ducked into the skeleton of a collapsed store. Ada sealed the door with a broken counter. Dust rained from above.
Inside, their breathing slowed. Both were coated in dirt, sweat, and blood not entirely their own.
For a while, neither spoke.
Finally Vega muttered, "You shoot well."
"You don't miss either," Ada replied, checking her ammo.
"Not bad—for a system puppet."
Ada glanced over. "And you're surprisingly cooperative for someone who doesn't like me."
"I don't like anyone," Vega said flatly. "But you didn't run. I respect that."
A moment passed.
Then Ada said, "We make a good team."
"Temporary alliance," Vega corrected. "Let's not get soft."
Ada almost smiled. "Noted."
The relay flashed once more.
[New Coordinates Unlocked: Bunker 09. Human activity detected.]
Ada stood. "Another base. Possibly survivors."
Vega tightened her brace and followed. "Then what are we waiting for?"
They moved out, but as dusk deepened, their pace slowed. The Red Zone changed when the sun dipped low—shadows thickened, and the cold grew deeper. Even the system went quiet, its voice dimmed under the weight of the dark.
Ada scanned the horizon. "We need shelter."
Vega nodded. "I saw a collapsed parking structure two clicks back. Looked like the basement levels were intact."
"Let's check it."
They retraced their steps through broken alleys and sunken roads, Ada sweeping ahead, Vega watching their flank. By the time they reached the ruins, the light had faded to a dull charcoal gray.
The parking structure was mostly rubble, but the lower level had held. They moved through slanted concrete, stepping over debris until they reached the lowest tier.
"No signals," Ada confirmed, checking her HUD. "Seems clear."
Vega slumped against a column, exhaling. "Not bad. Could use a roof."
Ada examined the space. "We can barricade this ramp. I'll set motion sensors."
While Ada worked, Vega pulled out a thermal blanket and a battered power cell. She tapped it against the wall—flickering blue light filled the space, dim but warm.
They didn't talk much.
Ada finished placing the final trap. "Done."
Vega offered a ration bar. "Dinner of champions."
Ada took it without hesitation. They sat a few feet apart, chewing in silence.
Vega broke it first. "So. You're not just following orders, are you?"
Ada glanced at her. "What do you mean?"
"This mission. Rebuilding. You believe in it."
Ada was quiet for a moment. Then: "I have to."
Vega nodded, slowly. "I don't believe in much anymore. But I trust movement. Anyone still moving in this world? They haven't given up yet."
They sat in silence again, the city groaning softly around them.
"Get some rest," Ada said. "I'll take first watch."
Vega hesitated. Then she curled up under the blanket, rifle close.
Before closing her eyes, she said, "Wake me if anything breathes wrong."
Ada nodded. "Count on it."
Outside, the wind howled like it remembered what the world used to be.
And underground, two strangers held the line—for now.