Chapter 23: Shadows of the Past

The small room was dimly lit by a flickering overhead light. The musty air felt thick, as if even the walls were holding their breath. Evelyn watched the man, whose name they still hadn’t learned, as he rummaged through one of the crates, carefully selecting a few items. Her gaze flicked to Mara and Liam, their expressions unreadable, but she could see the weight of caution in their eyes. Trust was a commodity as rare as clean water now, and they were all running low on it.“Anything useful?” Mara asked quietly, her voice betraying none of her usual calm as she stood by the door, watching for any signs of movement outside.“A little,” the man replied, standing up and holding out a bottle of what looked like diluted bleach. “But you’ll need to be careful with it. It’s not pure, but it can disinfect wounds if you’re desperate.”Evelyn accepted the bottle with a nod. They had a limited supply of medical supplies, and every new item, no matter how small, was precious. “We appreciate it,” she said, her voice even. She took a breath, then looked at the man again. “We didn’t catch your name.”The man hesitated, and for a brief moment, Evelyn saw the flicker of something darker in his eyes—a hesitation, like he was weighing whether it was worth the risk to share his past. But then, as if deciding it wasn’t important anymore, he spoke.“Daniel,” he said, his voice low. “Just Daniel.”Evelyn didn’t push it. She’d learned long ago that everyone carried some sort of burden in a world like this, and some were better left unspoken.“Alright, Daniel,” she said. “We’ll take what we can and head out. We’re not staying long.”Daniel nodded, but there was something in his posture that made Evelyn uneasy. His eyes darted to the shadows, and his fingers kept twitching toward a worn-out knife at his belt. As if he couldn’t quite shake the tension of expecting someone—or something—to show up at any moment.“I’d advise you not to stay in one place too long,” Daniel added, his voice dropping lower. “The raiders come through here at least once a week. You can’t be sure they won’t come tonight.”Evelyn felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. It wasn’t just the threat of the raiders that had her on edge—it was the way Daniel spoke, like he had more to say, like he knew something they didn’t.“Do you know where they’re coming from?” Liam asked, his voice sharp. He was always practical, always looking for an angle, a way out.Daniel didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he turned and pulled a piece of paper from one of the crates—a crude map, the edges torn and burned. He laid it out on the ground between them, tracing a route with his finger.“This is where they’re coming from,” he said, pointing to a cluster of red markings on the map. “They’ve got a base up here, just past the old power station. It’s heavily fortified. I’ve seen them, but I haven’t been able to get close.”Evelyn leaned in, examining the map. The area Daniel marked was just to the east of their route. It was a place they’d considered passing through before, but hearing about it from someone who had seen the raiders firsthand made her stomach tighten.“How many are they?” Mara asked, her voice quiet but demanding.“Too many for you to handle,” Daniel replied. “Maybe twenty, maybe more. They move fast, and they know how to stay out of sight. They won’t come for you directly—at least not right away. But they’ll watch. They always do.”Evelyn’s mind raced. Their group had been traveling with a mix of caution and optimism, but now, the road ahead seemed more treacherous than ever. They couldn’t avoid it, though. The rumored safe zone was still too far to reach without resupplying, and staying here was just as dangerous as pushing forward.Liam’s voice broke through her thoughts. “If we push through the night, we could be far enough ahead by morning to avoid them. But we’ll need to rest first.”Evelyn shook her head. “No. We need to get out of here before nightfall. We’ll keep moving after that.”Daniel watched them carefully. “You think you’ll be safe on the road? You won’t be. Not from the raiders. And not from what’s out there in the dark.”Evelyn’s pulse quickened. The way he said it sent a chill down her spine. “What do you mean?” she asked.Daniel’s eyes flicked to the door again. His voice dropped even lower. “There’s something else. Something worse than raiders. I’ve seen them.”“Seen who?” Liam demanded, stepping closer, his hand tightening on his weapon. “What are you talking about?”Daniel’s face twisted, like the memory was a wound he couldn’t quite shake. “They don’t come from the roads. They’re not human. And they don’t care who you are or where you’re going. They just take.”The silence in the room felt like a suffocating weight. Evelyn’s mind spun. The world outside had been harsh enough, but now, it seemed like there were even darker threats lurking in the shadows.“Are you sure?” Mara asked, her voice steady but laced with disbelief.Daniel nodded slowly, his hand tightening on his knife. “I’ve seen them. They move fast. No sound. And when they attack—there’s nothing left.”Evelyn felt the walls of the room close in around her. The tension between the group had always been there, simmering under the surface, but now it seemed almost trivial compared to whatever Daniel was talking about."We need to go," Evelyn said, her voice sharp. "We don't have time to argue."But even as she said it, she couldn't shake the feeling that this new danger—whatever it was—was closer than any of them realized.As they prepared to leave, Evelyn caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of her eye. A shadow, just outside the door. Her heart pounded in her chest, and her hand instinctively reached for her sidearm.They weren’t alone.