The safehouse Ava led him to was buried behind an old laundromat. You'd never know it was occupied—until she knocked a rhythm on the back door and a mechanical whir unlocked it. Inside, the air was musty, but it was a fortress compared to the outside.
"Lay low. Noise attracts things," she whispered.
Zane nodded and followed, the weight of his borrowed backpack still foreign on his shoulders. He scanned the place—dusty shelves, scattered supplies, maps pinned to a corkboard. A cot in one corner. Two sleeping bags in the other. Ava moved like she belonged here.
"You live here?" he asked, keeping his voice low.
"Temporary. Scouting this zone. Looking for a supply drop that went dark."
Zane sat on a crate. "You part of a group?"
She hesitated. "Was."
That was all she gave him.
[Bond Progress: +1 -]
It wasn't much, but it was something.
He leaned back. "Listen, I'm not trying to slow you down. I'm useful. I can pull my weight."
She glanced at him. "You don't even have a gun."
He grinned. "That's a temporary problem."
Ava opened her mouth to respond—but then froze.
A soft clicking echoed through the alley.
Zane's spine turned to ice.
Click. Click-click. Sniff.
Ava turned off the lantern instantly. "Shit," she whispered. "Clicker."
Zane had seen them in the game. But hearing one now—its throat gurgling, the sound like death learning to breathe—it was different. More real. More terrifying.
He barely breathed.
The clicking got closer. Scraping footsteps dragged across broken concrete. The door was shut, but Zane could see the handle trembling slightly. The creature was right outside.
Ava silently grabbed a shiv from her belt and nodded toward the side exit.
He followed her lead, heart pounding like a war drum.
They crept through a back hallway lined with old washers and dryers. Zane stepped carefully, avoiding loose screws and glass shards. But then—
Clank.
His boot hit a broken pipe.
The clicker screeched.
"Run!" Ava shouted, pulling him forward.
They burst through the back door and into the night. The clicker smashed through after them, its fungal face twisted and blind, but fast—unnaturally fast.
Ava spun, drew her rifle, and fired. The shot rang out loud—too loud—but the bullet struck true, dropping the monster mid-charge.
Its corpse twitched. Then stilled.
Zane stared, adrenaline still surging. "Holy shit… You saved me."
Ava wiped sweat from her brow. "You made noise. I cleaned up."
Zane laughed, breathless. "Okay, fair."
[Host Status: Heart Rate Elevated — Survival Surge Triggered]
[New Trait Gained: Adrenaline Pulse (Lv.1) — Temporary speed and reaction boost when in danger.]
He felt it fade—like someone unplugging a power cord. But it had helped. It was real.
"You alright?" Ava asked.
Zane nodded. "Yeah. Just… realizing how fast you can die here."
Ava looked at him, more seriously this time. "You've seen what's out there now. Still think you're useful?"
Zane held her gaze. "More than ever."
She considered him for a long moment.
Then handed him a pistol. "One mag. Make it count."
[Weapon Acquired: Semi-Auto Pistol]
[Bond Progress: +4 - "Trust in Crisis"]
They returned to the safehouse once the area was clear, stepping over the mangled clicker body.
No more words were spoken that night. Just the shared silence of survivors who saw death and spit in its face.
And in that quiet, Zane felt something spark—something worth protecting.