The silence that followed the ambush was deafening. In the aftermath of the gunfire, the subway tunnel seemed to stretch on forever, a dark and empty void. The group gathered around Silvanus and Marcus as they returned, their expressions a mixture of relief and lingering fear.
"Did you get them?" Nadia asked, her voice hushed but urgent.
"Most of them," Silvanus replied, wiping sweat from his brow. His heart still pounded from the adrenaline, and his hands trembled as he holstered his rifle. "One of them ran, but he won't come back. Not alone, at least."
Marcus grunted, clearly unsatisfied with letting the last marauder go, but Silvanus wasn't about to waste more time or resources chasing after him. They had bigger problems to worry about.
Claire exhaled shakily, clutching her arms close to her chest. "We need to get moving before more of them come. We've already pushed our luck by staying this long."
She was right. The marauders were only the tip of the iceberg. More scavengers, looters, or worse, could be drawn to the sound of the gunfire. The world was full of predators now, both human and otherwise.
Luke and Anna remained silent throughout the discussion. Luke stood protectively in front of his sister, still eyeing Silvanus and Marcus with suspicion, but there was no denying they had saved their lives. Anna looked shaken, her small body curled in on itself, eyes wide in the dim light.
Silvanus glanced around at his group. The exhaustion was etched on everyone's faces—sweat, grime, and fatigue weighing heavily on them all. Even Marcus, whose usual gruff exterior never wavered, looked drained.
"Everyone, pack up. We're leaving now," Silvanus ordered.
Without another word, they moved to gather their belongings. Nadia and Claire quietly stowed away their sparse supplies, while Marcus kept a vigilant eye on the tunnel. Luke and Anna hesitated but eventually followed suit, though their movements were sluggish, still shaken by the sudden violence.
As they prepared to leave, Silvanus noticed Nadia crouching beside the marauder's body, checking his gear for anything useful. She turned toward Silvanus, holding up a few meager items—some half-empty water bottles, a rusted knife, and a handful of battered bullets.
"Not much," she said, grimacing. "But it's something."
Silvanus nodded, pocketing the bullets and taking one of the water bottles. Every drop counted now. He could feel his throat dry and parched, but he resisted the urge to drink too much. There was no telling when they'd find more water. Luke and Anna had been generous earlier, but that supply wouldn't last forever.
They moved quickly through the tunnels, guided by the dim light of their flashlights. The farther they went, the more the tension seemed to ease, though it never truly left. Silvanus kept his senses sharp, scanning the shadows for any sign of danger. The deep silence of the subway was unnerving, and each footstep seemed to echo louder than the last.
After a while, they emerged into a larger, more intact portion of the tunnel system. The tracks here were cleaner, the walls less cracked. Silvanus motioned for the group to stop, and they gathered together near a set of old maintenance doors.
"We'll rest here for a bit, but not too long," Silvanus said. "We need to keep moving east, but I don't want to push everyone too hard."
Marcus leaned against the wall, catching his breath. "East. Always east. What do we even hope to find there?"
Silvanus sighed, running a hand through his hair. "We don't know what's out there for sure, but it's better than sitting here waiting to die. Bunkers, communities, whatever rumors are out there… it's all we've got."
"Maybe," Marcus muttered, though he didn't press the issue further. There was nothing else to hope for, and everyone knew it.
Luke, who had been quiet for most of the journey, finally spoke up. "I've heard rumors too. About the east, I mean. Some people say there are still places out there untouched by all this. Protected, somehow."
Nadia, sitting next to Claire, looked up sharply. "You think those places are real? Or just stories people tell to keep from losing their minds?"
Luke shrugged. "I don't know. But it's why we were moving that way in the first place, before we got stuck down here. The cities are death traps now. Everyone's either scavenging, killing, or already dead. If there's even a chance that something better is out there… it's worth the risk."
Anna, still huddled close to her brother, nodded in agreement, though she didn't speak. Silvanus could see the fear in her eyes, the exhaustion, the uncertainty. It mirrored his own in so many ways.
"We don't have any other choice," Silvanus said, standing up and slinging his rifle over his shoulder. "We move east because there's nowhere else to go."
Claire, usually quiet and reserved, spoke up for the first time in a while. "What if we run into more groups like those marauders? What if it's all like this out there?"
Silvanus met her gaze, his expression hard. "Then we fight. And we keep moving. That's all we can do."
There was no argument. They all knew the risks. But standing still, staying in one place—that was death. The marauders, the scorching sun, the scarcity of supplies—it was all a slow death if they didn't keep moving.
After a brief rest, they set out again, the oppressive silence of the subway their only companion. The tunnel system stretched on endlessly, winding beneath the ruined surface world. Occasionally, they passed through small, decrepit stations, the remnants of an old world that now seemed like a distant dream.
Hours passed. The fatigue gnawed at Silvanus, but he kept his pace steady, pushing through the pain and exhaustion. His mind wandered to the marauders they had fought earlier. It wasn't the first time they had encountered such violence, but something about it weighed heavily on him now.
"Silvanus," Nadia's voice broke through his thoughts. She had fallen in step beside him, her brow furrowed. "We need to talk."
Silvanus nodded, motioning for her to continue.
"I've been thinking about Luke and Anna," she said quietly, glancing back at the siblings walking a few paces behind them. "They're… different. I can't put my finger on it. They're scared, sure, but it feels like there's more they're not telling us."
Silvanus had thought the same. The siblings had been helpful, and their story made sense, but something didn't sit right with him either. "I know," he said, his voice low. "But we need them for now. We need the extra hands, the water. We'll keep an eye on them."
Nadia nodded, her expression conflicted. "I just don't want any more surprises."
"Neither do I," Silvanus replied.
They continued in silence for a while, each lost in their own thoughts. Eventually, they came to a fork in the tunnel, where the tracks split off in different directions.
Silvanus checked the map he had drawn from memory, tracing their route with his finger. "We take the left. Should lead us closer to the surface, but it's going to be tight. Stay alert."
The group followed his lead, their flashlights cutting through the pitch-black darkness as they ventured into the narrower tunnel. The walls seemed to close in around them, and the air grew stale and heavy. Every sound was amplified—the scrape of their boots on the ground, the rustle of clothing, the distant drip of water.
They walked in tense silence for what felt like hours, the oppressive atmosphere weighing down on them. But just as Silvanus began to think they were in the clear, he heard something. Faint, distant, but unmistakable.
Footsteps.
Not their own.
Silvanus froze, holding up his hand. The others stopped immediately, their eyes wide with fear and confusion. The sound grew louder, closer, echoing through the tunnel.
"Someone's coming," Marcus whispered, his hand already on his weapon.
Silvanus cursed under his breath, his mind racing. The tunnel was too narrow to fight effectively. They were trapped.
"They found us," Luke said, his voice trembling.
The group scrambled for cover, ducking behind whatever debris and rubble they could find. Silvanus pressed his back against the wall, his rifle aimed toward the sound of the approaching footsteps.
Moments later, a shadow appeared at the far end of the tunnel, followed by more—too many.
"Marauders," Silvanus muttered, his finger tightening on the trigger.
The fight wasn't over yet.