The Ones Who Remain

Jason barely slept.

He lay awake on the cold floor, his back against the wall, rifle within reach. The underground facility is quiet.. too quiet. Every now and then, he could hear distant scuttling, the sound of something moving in the ventilation shafts. He isn’t sure if it is rats or something worse.

Across from him, Ryan is curled up in a sleeping bag, his breathing slow and steady. The kid is exhausted. Jason didn’t blame him.

A few feet away, the stranger.. who still hadn’t given them a name.. is sitting on a crate, sharpening a knife. The slow, deliberate scraping sound filled the room.

Jason exhaled. “So, are you ever gonna tell us your name, or do we keep calling you ‘that guy’?”

The man glanced up, smirking. “Names don’t mean much anymore.”

Jason frowned. “They do to me.”

A long pause. Then, finally: “Call me Cole.”

Jason let the name settle in his mind. “Cole, huh? That your real name?”

Cole chuckled. “Close enough.”

Jason didn’t push. He isn’t in the mood for games, but he isn’t going to iste time arguing, either.

“Where exactly are we going?” he asked.

Cole set his knife down. “There’s a settlement about twenty miles from here. Small, off the grid. They don’t take in outsiders, but I know someone on the inside. If I’m right, a few of them might be like you.”

Jason processed that. “And if you’re wrong?”

Cole shrugged. “Then we move on.”

Jason hated the vagueness of it, but he didn’t have a better option. They needed supplies. They needed a direction.

“We leave at first light,” Cole said, standing up. “Get some rest.”

Jason didn’t respond. He just sat there, listening to the faint hum of the underground, waiting for the sun to rise.

⸻

Dawn

They left the facility as the sky shifted from black to a dull gray. A thick mist clung to the streets, wrapping around the broken remains of the city. The air is cold, carrying the scent of damp concrete and decay.

Jason kept his rifle close. Ryan walked beside him, pistol tucked into his jacket. Cole led the way, moving with purpose, always watching the shadows.

The city is a graveyard.

Abandoned cars littered the roads, their windows shattered, doors hanging open. Some had dried blood smeared across them. Others are nothing more than burned-out husks.

They passed a collapsed overpass, where chunks of concrete lay scattered like broken bones. Somewhere in the distance, a metallic groan echoed.. something shifting, something alive.

Ryan walked closer to Jason. “You think the monsters are nearby?”

Jason scanned the rooftops. “They’re always nearby.”

Cole led them through an alley, stepping carefully over debris. “Keep moving. We don’t want to be out in the open when the sun fully rises.”

Jason didn’t argue. He could feel it too.. that strange, uneasy awareness that they are being watched.

And then they heard it.

A scream.

Not an animal. Not a monster. A person.

Jason’s grip tightened on his rifle.

Ryan’s eyes widened. “Someone’s out there!”

Cole didn’t stop walking. “And they won’t be for long.”

Jason clenched his jaw. His instincts told him to run toward the sound. To help.

But the last time he did that, it nearly got them both killed.

Another scream. This one cut short.

Ryan looked at Jason, waiting for a decision.

Jason exhaled. “We keep moving.”

Ryan looked like he wanted to argue. But he didn’t.

They turned away from the noise, stepping deeper into the ruins.

And behind them, something dragged across the pavement.

Something that had finished feeding.

They walked for miles, never stopping for too long. The city had become a hollow shell of what it once was.. just ruins, dust, and the distant echoes of things best left unseen.

Ryan is quiet, his face tense. Jason knew he is still thinking about the scream. About the choice they made to leave someone behind.

Jason felt it too.

But this is the world now.

Cole led the way, sticking to backstreets and alleyways. He moved like a man who had done this a hundred times before.. calculated, efficient. Jason didn’t trust him yet, but at least he knew what he is doing.

“We’re close,” Cole said after a while. “The settlement is just beyond that ridge.”

Jason scanned the area. Beyond the ridge, the city gave way to open land. There is a cluster of buildings in the distance, surrounded by makeshift barricades. Smoke curled from chimneys.

A place still standing.

Ryan perked up. “You think they’ll take us in?”

Jason sighed. “That depends.”

Cole gave them a look. “It’s not a matter of ‘taking you in.’ It’s about whether you can prove your worth.”

Jason didn’t like that phrasing. He is getting real tired of people deciding whether he and Ryan are useful enough to be kept alive.

Still, it is their best option.

“Let’s go,” he said.

They moved carefully, keeping low as they approached. Jason noted the defensive setup.. old cars piled together, wooden watchtowers, barbed wire where they could find it. These people are serious about keeping outsiders out.

As they got closer, Jason spotted figures on the walls.. armed, watching.

Cole slowed his pace. “Let me do the talking.”

Jason nodded, but his hand stayed close to his rifle.

A voice called out from above. “That’s close enough!”

Cole raised his hands. “It’s me!”

There is a pause. Then, movement. The gate creaked open just wide enough for someone to step through.

A woman.

Tall, dark hair tied back, rifle slung over her shoulder. Sharp eyes that studied them carefully.

“Cole,” she said, unimpressed. “Figured you’d come crawling back eventually.”

Cole smirked. “Good to see you too, Lexi.”

She glanced at Jason and Ryan. “Who are they?”

“Survivors. We need a place to rest. Maybe talk.”

Lexi didn’t look convinced. “You know the rules. No dead weight. No charity.”

Jason tensed. “We can pull our weight.”

She studied him. Then Ryan. Something flickered in her eyes.. recognition?

“Inside,” she said finally. “You get five minutes to explain why we shouldn’t throw you back out.”

The gate opened wider.

Jason took a breath. Then, with Ryan close behind, he stepped inside.