LOGINThe reinforced steel gate opened slowly. Years of dust and weather groaned through its heavy hinges as sunlight spilled across the concrete courtyard beyond. No one lowered their weapons immediately. Neither side trusted easily anymore. That was what almost three years of the apocalypse had taught everyone. Natasha remained where she was, her heartbeat had finally begun to settle, but her thoughts had not. The image of the Night Hunter being thrown backward replayed over and over inside her mind. It's not as if she touched or fired at it. She hadn't even raised her hand, yet something inside her responded. Something neither she nor Elias knew existed. Claire stepped beside her. "You alright?" Natasha nodded slowly. "I think so." "You don't sound convinced." "I'm not." Claire looked toward the tree line where the Night Hunters had disappeared. "Neither am I." A few yards away, Rowan quietly lowered his rifle. For one of the few times Natasha had known him, he looked genuine
Claire moved with the New Haven soldiers, shouting orders that sharpened their line. Rowan directed the left flank. Marcus and Garrick covered the helicopter zone. Nyra dropped to one knee and began firing controlled shots, not wasting ammunition, aiming for joints and eyes. The arsenal soldiers fought too. They were disciplined, but tired. And frightened. Natasha could see it. They had faced these creatures before and lost men to them. A Night Hunter launched itself toward the outer barricade, crossing open ground with terrifying speed. The wall guns followed it, but too slow. It hit one of the lower barricades, climbed, and lunged toward a young arsenal soldier positioned near a damaged gate post. The soldier froze. Natasha moved. She ran before anyone could stop her. “Natasha!” Rowan shouted. She crossed the open ground fast, lifted her rifle and fired twice. The first shot struck the creature’s shoulder. The second hit its side. It barely slowed. The Night Hunter chang
Dax grinned slightly. “That sounds like something you say right before we waste a lot of ammunition.” Natasha gave him a look. He lifted both hands. “I am focused.” “You had better be.” The pilot’s voice returned. “Visual on the arsenal.” Every person inside the helicopter turned toward the windows. The Strategic Reserve Arsenal appeared ahead through the morning haze. It was massive, far larger than the drone footage had made it seem. A wide military compound stretched across several miles of land, surrounded by layered fencing, concrete barriers, watchtowers and blast walls. The outer perimeter had clearly taken heavy damage over the years. Sections of fencing were crushed inward. Burned vehicles formed makeshift barricades near the eastern entrance. Several watchtowers had collapsed entirely, while others still stood with patched metal plates and sandbags stacked around them. Beyond the outer zone sat the inner compound that was still intact. Natasha noticed it im
The helicopters started one after another while the ground crews removed the wheel chocks and the pilots performed their final checks. The sound filled the airport district. Rotor blades turned slowly at first, then faster, cutting through the early morning air with a heavy rhythm that made everyone on the flight line look up. Floodlights still burned around the runway because dawn had not fully broken, but the sky had begun to pale behind the eastern wall of New Haven. Two helicopters stood ready. For months, engineers had repaired them, tested them, argued over them, and guarded every piece of equipment needed to keep them alive. Now the aircraft waited beneath the wide sky, their bodies loaded with soldiers, medical supplies, emergency rations, ammunition, and enough fuel to get them back even if the mission went wrong. Natasha stood beside the first helicopter with her rifle strapped across her chest. Her team was already boarding. Rowan climbed in first, followed by Dax, N
The command center remained busy long after the meeting ended. Officers moved from one station to another carrying reports, updated drone images and handwritten notes. Large digital maps covered the main display, each one showing a different part of the route leading toward the Strategic Reserve Arsenal. Nobody treated the mission lightly. They couldn't. The arsenal had survived for years. If the reports were true, then a handful of soldiers had defended one of the country's largest military reserves since civilization collapsed. That alone deserved respect. But respect alone would not bring them home. Natasha stood before one of the tactical screens, quietly studying the latest drone footage. The video was slowed. Frame by frame. She watched one of the Night Hunters emerge from the tree line. Unlike the Hollows, it didn't wander aimlessly, It observed, and It paused, Then it disappeared into the shadows with frightening speed. Claire walked over carrying a folder. "I've rev
“Aaron,” Rowan said carefully, “with respect, this is exactly the kind of mission her team was trained for.” “I said no.” This time the room became heavier. Claire watched silently. Marcus shifted uncomfortably. Dax looked between Natasha and Aaron and wisely said nothing. But Rowan took one slow breath. “Commander, I am sorry, but right now you are speaking as her lover.” The silence sharpened, Aaron’s gaze locked on Rowan. Rowan did not flinch. “Right now, I need you to speak as the leader of New Haven.” Natasha felt the weight of the words settle across the room. But Rowan continued, still respectful but firm. “Natasha might be your woman, but she is also the most experienced operative we have for a mission like this. Her team will answer to her in the field because they have done it before. We all have.” Aaron’s jaw tightened. He knew Rowan was right and that was the problem. Natasha stepped forward before the argument could grow. “Rowan is right.” Aaron turned to her,
Natasha tried to look away, but his closeness made it impossible. His breath brushed her lips. His eyes held hers with a kind of certainty that almost hurt. “You are still Natasha to me,” he said, his voice steady. “To me, and to everyone who truly knows you.” Her lips trembled. She hated that.
For a long moment, Natasha did not move. The laboratory remained silent around her, but the silence was not empty. It was full of everything Elias had just said, full of every discovery that had slowly gathered around her like a storm. The serum was not only inside her. It had become part of her
Natasha arrived at the research facility expecting to find chaos. That was usually what happened whenever Elias sent messages without explanations. Instead, she found silence. The laboratory was unusually quiet as she moved through the main corridor. Researchers stood in small groups speaking in
The silence after the transmission felt heavier than any gunfight Natasha had ever experienced, and nobody spoke for several long seconds as the words continued to echo through everyone's mind like a warning that refused to fade, the simple command to prepare retrieval protocol hanging in the air w







