The Calm Before...

The air had shifted.

Not in the way winter crept into bones or how storms whispered their arrival through restless winds. This was something heavier, something that settled over the compound like a slow suffocation.

Jace was coming.

The raiders had confirmed it with their bloody smirks and their cryptic warnings. This had not been a simple food raid, nor a desperate attack for survival. It had been a test—an evaluation of defenses, reaction time, and readiness.

And now they knew.

The entire compound seemed to be holding its breath.

Leila wasted no time.

Within hours, the community had reinforced its defenses. The main watchtower, a shaky wooden structure that had once been a barely used post, now had three stationed guards at all times, rotating in six-hour shifts. Makeshift barricades—anything from flipped vehicles to stacked sandbags—had been set up around the perimeter.

Darren organized weapon distribution, making sure every able-bodied survivor had access to at least a knife or a makeshift club if things went south. Those who could handle firearms were given a rationed supply of bullets. They had no idea how long a siege might last, and wasting ammunition on uncertainty was not an option.

Fiona and a handful of others reinforced the supply storerooms, moving their most vital food and medical resources to hidden compartments. If Jace's band broke through, they needed fallback options.

Mark personally oversaw the defenses at the east gate, the most vulnerable entry point. He set up makeshift caltrops—jagged metal scraps scattered in the dirt, designed to slow incoming threats. The main entrance had been reinforced with extra chains and padlocks, but Leila knew deep down that locks only did so much. People broke easier than steel.

Still, they had done all they could to prepare.

Now, all that was left to do was wait.

And waiting was the hardest part.

Leila stood at the main gate, rifle strapped across her chest, scanning the horizon. The sky was a bruised purple, the final dregs of sunlight melting into shadow. A frigid wind cut through the trees, whispering threats only she could hear.

Kai approached quietly, his boots crunching against the dirt. He didn't speak immediately, simply stopping beside her, his presence grounding.

"Mark says the last patrol came back empty," he said after a long moment. His voice was calm, steady, but there was an underlying tension beneath it. "No new movement. Could mean they're waiting for the right moment."

Leila's grip tightened around the strap of her rifle. Or it could mean they're already closer than we think.

"They won't attack blindly," she murmured. "Jace is too smart for that."

Kai nodded, his gaze drifting toward the distant treeline. "Yeah. That's what worries me."

Silence stretched between them, thick and charged.

Leila exhaled, her breath a thin mist in the cold. "This was always going to happen," she admitted, voice quieter than she intended. "Even before I knew he was alive. Even before the department store. There was always going to be something that came back to haunt me."

Kai studied her profile, his expression unreadable.

"You don't have to carry all of this alone."

Leila turned to him then, and for a split second, there was something raw in her eyes—something exposed.

Then, just as quickly, she masked it.

"I'm not."

Kai didn't call her out on the lie. He just sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "You should get some rest. You haven't slept since the attack."

"I can sleep when I know what we're up against."

Kai scoffed softly. "So… never?"

Leila huffed a humorless chuckle. "Pretty much."

She turned back toward the horizon, her eyes scanning every shadow, every movement in the distance. The land beyond the compound was quiet—too quiet.

It was the kind of silence that preceded devastation.

Hours passed. The fires around the compound had burned low, leaving behind flickering embers that barely kept the darkness at bay. Most of the survivors had turned in for the night, though plenty remained on high alert, sleeping in shifts.

Leila remained at the gate, her exhaustion growing heavier with each passing minute.

Memories haunted the edges of her mind.

Jace's laughter. His voice, smooth and easy, the way he used to promise her things that felt like forever. She had believed him once. Believed in the way he had held her close, whispered sweet things in the dim glow of their college dorm.

And Ellie—her best friend. The one person she had trusted above all others. The sister she had chosen.

How had it come to this?

How had they become this?

Leila pressed her fingers against her temples, squeezing her eyes shut against the storm in her head. She had spent so much time trying to bury those ghosts, but now they clawed their way back to the surface, whispering their poisonous truths.

They had left her for dead once.

And they would do it again if given the chance.

A sharp whistle cut through the night.

Leila snapped to attention, gripping her rifle as one of the watchmen above called out, "Movement—south perimeter!"

Her stomach dropped.

She bolted toward the southern tower, Kai right behind her. Mark and Darren were already there, scanning the landscape through binoculars.

"What do you see?" she demanded.

Mark's jaw was tight. He handed her the binoculars, pointing toward the hills beyond the fence line.

Leila lifted them to her eyes, adjusting the focus.

And then she saw it.

Silhouettes.

Not many. Just two or three figures lingering at the farthest edge of visibility, their forms barely outlined against the moonlit terrain.

They weren't moving. Just… watching.

Her grip on the binoculars tightened.

"They're testing us," Kai muttered, voice barely above a whisper. "Seeing if we'll react."

Leila exhaled sharply, lowering the binoculars. "Then we don't give them what they want."

She turned to the watchman above. "Hold position. No shots fired unless they cross the perimeter."

The guard hesitated, clearly on edge, but nodded.

Mark exhaled. "This is how it starts."

Leila's fingers curled into a fist. "I know."

The figures in the distance lingered for another moment… then slowly melted back into the shadows.

Leila's pulse thrummed against her throat.

They were playing a game.

A game Jace knew how to win.

She took a slow breath, pushing away the wave of unease. "Double the night watch," she ordered, turning back to Kai and Mark. "If they're testing us, let's make sure they don't like what they find."

Kai studied her, his gaze lingering longer than necessary. "You okay?"

Leila forced a smirk, though it felt like glass in her throat. "I will be."

She turned back toward the horizon.

Jace and Ellie weren't just a story from her past anymore.

They were here.

They were coming.

And next time, they wouldn't just be watching.