Chapter 25

The bunker's interior had settled into an eerie quiet, the kind that comes only in the dead of night. The creaks of the structure were occasional, blending with the rhythmic breathing of Alex and the others as they rested, trying to snatch a few moments of sleep. The small heater they had salvaged gave off a weak warmth, a temporary illusion of safety against the bitter cold of the outside world.

Alex lay on his makeshift bed, his eyes heavy but his mind still alert. Sleep, when it came, was restless, haunted by flashes of the day's struggles. Eva, who had taken the first watch, was seated near the wall, her legs pulled up as she scanned the dimly lit bunker, her body tense even in the quiet.

The night wore on in uneasy stillness.

Then, out of nowhere, the silence was shattered by a harsh metallic clang.

Alex shot awake, his heart pounding as his senses sharpened instantly. His mind scrambled to process what had happened. The sound of heavy boots clanging against metal echoed through the bunker. They weren't alone anymore.

"Get up!" Alex hissed, shaking Eva and jolting the others awake. His voice was low, urgent, a sharp contrast to the silence that had enveloped them moments before.

Jack and Frank stirred, quickly getting to their feet, weapons drawn. Sarah, slower to rise, blinked in confusion as she struggled to wake up fully.

"What's going on?" she mumbled, her voice shaky.

"Hostiles," Alex muttered, his focus locked on the door. "They're inside."

Eva moved like a shadow to the nearest window, peering through the frost-covered glass. "There are at least six of them...moving fast."

"They've breached the perimeter," Jack growled, adjusting his grip on his weapon.

The unmistakable sound of the door being forced open sent a chill down Alex's spine. He could hear their voices now—low, tense whispers, like scavengers closing in on prey. The desperation in their tone was palpable.

"Positions!" Alex ordered, his voice steady despite the fear clawing at his chest. He motioned for everyone to spread out. The group took their places, hearts hammering in their chests as the door creaked open.

The first scavenger stumbled through the door—a gaunt, ragged man with hollow cheeks and wild eyes. His clothes were caked in dirt, his face smeared with grime, and the rifle in his hands trembled slightly. He looked like he hadn't eaten in days. Behind him, more poured in—equally disheveled and desperate, their faces hardened by the unforgiving world outside.

"Don't move!" the first man shouted, his voice hoarse and shaking. He waved the rifle erratically, his eyes darting around the bunker like a caged animal. "We're taking everything you've got!"

Another scavenger, a tall woman with a scar running down her cheek, stepped forward. She was more composed, her eyes cold and calculating as they locked onto Alex's. Her voice was low, but her words carried a dangerous edge. "Make this easy for yourselves. Give us what we want, and we'll leave."

Alex glanced at Jack, who gave him a tight nod. They were outnumbered, but these weren't trained soldiers—they were scavengers, desperate and disorganized. They had one advantage: the home turf. If they could hold out and push them into close-quarters combat, they'd stand a better chance.

Before Alex could reply, the first scavenger lunged at him, driven by either fear or adrenaline. But Alex had been ready. He sidestepped, slamming the man's arm against the wall, forcing the rifle out of his hands with a swift motion. The scavenger cried out, stumbling back.

That was the spark. Chaos erupted as the others sprang into action.

Jack, with a roar, tackled a burly scavenger to the ground, the two of them rolling across the floor in a brutal struggle. The sound of fists and grunts filled the room as they fought for dominance.

Eva, quick and agile, darted behind the tall woman with the scar, her knife flashing in the dim light. She aimed for her opponent's leg, slicing a deep cut that sent the woman stumbling with a grunt of pain. Eva didn't waste a second—she kicked the woman's legs out from under her, sending her crashing to the floor.

Frank and another scavenger clashed near the entrance. The scavenger swung a bat wildly, missing by inches as Frank dodged with surprising speed for his size. He countered with a brutal elbow to the man's face, sending him sprawling into the wall, dazed.

Sarah, her eyes wide with fear, held a metal bar tightly. She hovered near the edge of the fight, her breath quick and shallow. One of the scavengers, a young woman no older than Sarah, turned toward her. The girl's face was streaked with dirt, her eyes wide with panic as she raised a makeshift knife.

Before Sarah could react, the girl lunged at her.

"Sarah, move!" Alex shouted, catching the movement from the corner of his eye.

Sarah froze for a second, her body locked in fear. But as the attacker closed the gap, something inside her snapped into action. She ducked at the last second, the knife grazing her arm but missing its mark. With a desperate scream, Sarah swung the metal bar with all her strength, hitting the scavenger squarely in the side. The girl collapsed to the ground, clutching her ribs in pain.

Everything moved so fast. Alex barely had time to react as another scavenger rushed him from the side. He dodged the strike and used the man's momentum against him, slamming him into the wall. The sound of bones cracking filled the space, and the man dropped, writhing in pain.

The rest of the scavengers, seeing their numbers fall and the ferocity of the group they'd targeted, began to retreat. The fear in their eyes had replaced the earlier desperation. They had underestimated Alex and his group, and now they were paying the price.

"Let's get out of here!" one of the scavengers shouted, his voice filled with panic. The remaining attackers scrambled for the door, their earlier bravado lost in the chaos.

Alex, breathing heavily, watched them flee, his chest rising and falling with each ragged breath. His eyes darted around the bunker, checking to see if anyone had been seriously injured. The adrenaline slowly began to fade, replaced by the bone-deep exhaustion of the fight.

"Is everyone okay?" Alex asked, his voice hoarse.

Jack groaned, pushing himself off the scavenger he had subdued. "I'll live," he muttered, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. "That was too close."

Eva sheathed her knife, her eyes still sharp with focus. "We held them off, but they'll be back."

Sarah, still gripping the rifle she had taken from the fallen scavenger, trembled slightly. Her face was pale, her breathing unsteady. "I—I didn't mean to..."

Alex knelt beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You did what you had to do. There's no room for hesitation here."

Sarah's wide eyes met his, the reality of what had just happened sinking in. She looked down at the rifle in her hands, the weight of it suddenly overwhelming. "I…I killed someone."

Alex's gaze softened. "You saved your life—and ours."

The room was filled with a heavy silence as the group took in the aftermath. The scavengers' bodies lay scattered, some dead, others groaning in pain. The group began to gather their weapons, check their injuries, and fortify the bunker once more.

They worked in silence, each of them lost in their own thoughts. The reality of the world outside had once again crashed into their fragile sense of safety. And though they had survived this attack, Alex knew it was only a matter of time before the next one came.