The next couple of hours passed in retive silence—and that was fine by me. In a world where everything could go sideways in a second, silence felt like a rare luxury. We moved through broken streets, passed empty houses, and avoided groups of wandering zombies. Nothing really to break the quiet.

  Before the Dawn, I was studying to be an engineer. Don’t ask me what kind of engineer, I never really figured that part out. But here I was, surviving in a world where the only blueprints I needed were for finding food, water, and shelter.

  Honestly, I didn’t even mind it much. If anything, I was thankful for my addiction to zombie movies. It’d given me a lot of unnecessary useless knowledge—but it sure came in handy when trying to survive the real deal.

  I gnced at Cire. She was still carrying herself with the kind of calm detachment I’d only seen in people who had been surviving for a while. It was clear she was no newbie to this world. Still, curiosity nipped at me.

  I nudged her with my elbow. “So, what did you do before all this?”

  Cire shot me a look like I’d just asked about her deepest, darkest secrets.

  “Does it matter?” she asked, eyes narrowing slightly.

  I shrugged, not phased. “Just trying to get to know my travel companion.”

  She let out a small huff, clearly annoyed but not outright dismissive. “I was a teacher,” she said.

  I raised an eyebrow. “A teacher?”

  She nodded, eyes forward, voice hard. “Yeah. High school math. Not exactly a career I can go back to now, huh?”

  I couldn’t argue with that. The world had radically changed, and any former career was just a distant memory in a world where survival took priority over everything.

  “What about you?” she asked, giving me a sideways gnce.

  I paused for a second. “Me? Before the apocalypse, I was just a guy with a couple of engineering books and too many video games. Guess that’s why I know how to make weird shit work.” I gestured to my wrist rig. “Like this thing.”

  She chuckled under her breath. “Huh. Guess I’m lucky to have you along then.”

  I shot her a smirk. “Well, don’t get too attached. I’m mostly just here for the snacks.”

  She rolled her eyes but didn’t argue.

  We walked on in the quiet, the only sounds being our footsteps and the distant moan of infected, when out of nowhere, I saw a figure in a hooded cloak standing at the mouth of an alleyway.

  I stiffened, my muscles going tense. My eyes locked on the figure. I knew that guy.

  It was Greg.

  A real pain in the ass.

  This guy had been around long before the outbreak, always managing to show up when I didn’t want him anywhere near me. He had this annoying habit of showing up at the worst possible moments, and every time I’d tried to avoid him, he’d managed to worm his way into my business.

  In the old world, people like him were just bad luck. But now? They were life-threatening.

  I stopped dead in my tracks, trying to keep my face neutral.

  “Come on, let’s keep moving,” I muttered under my breath, starting to turn away.

  Cire noticed. “What? You know him or something?”

  “Trust me,” I said, lowering my voice, “You don’t want to get involved with that guy. He’s a walking disaster.”

  Greg’s voice rang out before I could get too far. “Hey! Wait up!”

  I clenched my jaw.

  I kept walking, faster now, hoping he’d take the hint and leave us alone.

  But no, of course not. He followed, calling out to us like we were old friends.

  “Hey, hey! I know a pce,” Greg said, his tone all too familiar—like he was offering us the best thing since sliced bread. “It’s got weapons, food, everything you need. I can take you there.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Great, Greg. A ‘safe haven’ just like the st time?”

  Cire shot me a look, then turned to Greg. “You expect us to trust you?”

  Greg smiled, showing too many teeth, the kind of smile you knew was hiding something. “I get it. I’ve screwed you over before, Nate. But this time’s different. I’ve got something that’ll prove I’m legit.”

  I paused, gncing at Cire, who seemed to be weighing her options.

  “Proof?” I asked, not bothering to hide my skepticism.

  Greg grinned wider. “Oh, you’ll love this.” He pulled something out of his coat—a fancy-looking assault rifle, still shiny and pristine, like it hadn’t seen a single battle.

  It wasn’t the gun that caught my attention though. It was what he said next.

  “I got this from a military stash, hidden in the old compound near here. You can either take my word for it… or follow me and see for yourselves.”

  Cire’s eyebrows shot up. “Military stash? You really expect us to believe that?”

  Greg gestured toward the rifle like it was proof enough. “Want more? I’ve got enough supplies to st you a month. And I’m offering it for free.”

  Cire looked at me, her expression torn. I was already getting a bad feeling about this.

  “Yeah, right,” I muttered. “Free?”

  Greg nodded. “Free, for now. But I’m asking for one thing in return.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Of course you are.”

  “Just your trust, Nate. Trust me this time, and I’ll lead you to everything you need.”

  Cire, still eyeing Greg with doubt, turned to me. “What do you think?”

  I didn’t have a good feeling about this. Not at all. But in this world, choices were limited.

  I exhaled slowly. “I think we’re about to regret this.”