The Black Zone

Day 38 – The Edge of the Map

Dr. Evelyn Carter had seen a lot of horrors in the past month.

But this?

This was something else.

She crouched in the high grass, binoculars pressed to her face, scanning the compound below.

Barbed wire. Guard towers. A chain-link fence that stretched for miles.

Inside?

Rows of metal structures—like shipping containers, but reinforced.

And people.

Hundreds of them.

Herded like livestock.

Maggie’s voice was tight. "Jesus."

Evelyn lowered the binoculars.

They had finally found it.

Calloway’s prison camp.

They had been following the militia’s movements for days, tracking patrols, watching their convoys.

The bodies in the river had been the first sign.

The notebook from the dead man in the gas station had been the second.

And now, standing at the edge of this prison camp, Evelyn finally understood.

Calloway wasn’t just killing people.

He was keeping them.

But for what?

Voss adjusted his rifle. "This is big," he muttered.

Evelyn nodded.

Too big.

And too organized.

This wasn’t just a random militia operation.

This was something worse.

Something planned.

Maggie swallowed hard. "We have to help them."

Voss shook his head. "We don’t even know what we’re dealing with yet."

Evelyn agreed.

But her stomach was twisting.

Because now that she was looking closer—

She could see that some of the prisoners weren’t just sitting in the dirt.

Some were being led into one of the larger buildings.

And none of them were coming back out.

She clenched her fists.

"We need to get inside."

Samara stared at her. "Are you insane?"

Evelyn didn’t look away from the camp.

"Maybe."

But if they didn’t act now?

No one would.

Voss exhaled sharply. "This is suicide, Carter."

Evelyn knew that.

But she also knew they couldn’t just walk away.

Not after what they had seen.

"We need information," she said. "We’re not taking the place down. Not yet. Just… seeing what’s inside."

Voss still looked pissed.

But he didn’t say no.

Maggie wiped at her face, struggling to breathe.

"How do we even get in?"

Evelyn turned back to the fence line.

And that’s when she saw it.

A supply truck.

Coming up the road, heading for the main gate.

Evelyn took a breath.

"We hitch a ride."

They moved fast.

Crouching low, sticking to the tree line, they followed the truck’s approach.

The vehicle rumbled to a stop just outside the entrance.

Guards stepped forward—checking cargo, clearing the driver.

Voss motioned for them to get closer.

Evelyn could hear the muffled conversation.

"Boss wants this in Sector Three."

Sector Three.

That must have been where they were taking the prisoners.

Evelyn clenched her jaw.

Voss leaned in. "You sure about this?"

Evelyn nodded.

And the second the guards turned their backs—

She moved.

They slipped under the truck’s tarp, hearts hammering.

Dark. Cramped. Heavy crates pressing in around them.

Then—movement.

The truck lurched forward.

And just like that—

They were inside Calloway’s camp.

And Evelyn had a very bad feeling

That they wouldn’t be leaving the same way.