New Burden

The night was a heavy, breathing thing, pressing down on them as they huddled beneath the crumbling embankment.

Ada crouched low, her rifle balanced loosely in her hands. Across from her, Vega knelt beside the group of survivors—dirty faces, hollow eyes, trembling hands clinging to tattered clothing. Fear and exhaustion clung to them like a second skin.

Ada swept her gaze across the pitiful group. No weapons. No supplies. Half of them couldn't even stand without support.

She and Vega exchanged a look over the distance. No words. They didn't need them.

They couldn't take all these people.

It was simple math—two fighters, twenty civilians, no transport, low ammo. In this wasteland, compassion could be a death sentence.

Vega's jaw tightened. Her hand hovered near her sidearm, fingers flexing with restless tension. Ada recognized the gesture—Vega was thinking the same thing she was.

If they left them here, they wouldn't survive the night.

But if they stayed...

Before either of them could act, Ada's HUD flickered to life.

[System Notification: Emergency Quest Activated.]

[Objective: Escort survivors to Temporary Base Site — Landmark: Polaris Mall (Approx. 2.8km North).]

[Reward: Supply Crate, Temporary Shelter Blueprint.]

Ada blinked, processing.

Vega's HUD pinged a second later. Her head snapped up, sharp and alert. "You got that too?"

Ada gave a terse nod. "Polaris Mall. North. Two-point-eight clicks."

Vega exhaled slowly, the tension bleeding from her shoulders. "Better than nothing."

Ada pushed to her feet, rolling her shoulder where the bullet graze burned under her jacket. She slung her rifle across her back and approached the survivors.

"Listen up," she said, voice firm but not unkind. "We're moving."

A few of the survivors flinched at her tone. A small boy, no older than ten, gripped his mother's hand tighter. An older man with a makeshift splint on his leg tried to stand and nearly collapsed.

Vega stepped forward, crouching to meet the boy's eye level. Her voice, when she spoke, was low and steady. "You want to live? You stay quiet, and you keep moving."

The boy nodded mutely.

Ada scanned the group, calculating. "Pairs. If you can't walk alone, find someone to lean on. Stay between us. If you fall behind, you don't scream—you crawl."

Fear rippled through them, but it was edged with something else now.

Hope.

Weak and trembling, but there.

Ada didn't waste time. She turned, gesturing Vega to take the rear. "Move."

They started north, slipping into the skeletal remains of the city.

The journey was a nightmare painted in steel and shadow.

Collapsed buildings forced them into narrow choke points. Broken streets gaped like open wounds. Every sound—the crunch of debris, the whimper of a child—seemed deafening against the hushed desolation.

Ada kept them moving, barking quiet orders when the line faltered. Vega roamed the flanks, her rifle sweeping constant arcs through the dark.

More than once, Ada thought she caught movement out of the corner of her eye—a flicker of something pale and fast darting between ruins. She didn't mention it. Not yet. No need to spook them worse.

Halfway to Polaris Mall, the group hit their first real obstacle: a crumbled highway overpass.

The ground ahead was a sheer drop of at least ten meters, choked with twisted metal and burnt-out vehicles. The only way across was a shattered pedestrian bridge, barely wide enough for one person at a time.

Ada cursed under her breath.

She turned to Vega. "I'll lead. You cover the rear."

Vega's eyes flicked to the survivors, assessing. "They'll panic."

Ada shrugged grimly. "Then we move faster."

One by one, they crossed.

Ada went first, testing each step with the toe of her boot. The bridge groaned under her weight, but held. She reached the other side and signaled.

The survivors came next—trembling, clutching the railings. One misstep and they'd tumble into darkness.

Halfway across, the inevitable happened. The old man with the splint stumbled. His foot slipped. He went over the side with a strangled cry.

Vega lunged, catching his wrist at the last possible second.

The bridge swayed dangerously.

Ada sprinted back onto the bridge, grabbing Vega's harness. Together, they hauled the man back up onto the cracked concrete.

For a moment, the group just stood there—breathing hard, staring at them like they were ghosts.

Ada barked, "MOVE!"

Fear jolted them into motion again.

They made it across, hearts hammering. But it cost them precious time—and made far too much noise.

As they re-formed ranks, Ada's ears caught a sound that turned her blood to ice.

A low, guttural moan, rising from the darkness.

Vega heard it too. She swung her rifle up, scanning the blackened streets. "We've got company."

Shadows shifted at the edge of the ruins.

Not human.

Ada saw the eyes first—glowing faintly in the dark. Dozens of them.

"Go!" she snapped at Vega.

Vega didn't argue. She herded the survivors forward, pushing them into a stumbling run.

Ada stayed behind, rifle barking sharp bursts into the night. The creatures—a twisted mockery of humanity, all distended limbs and gnashing teeth—shrieked and surged forward.

One dropped five meters from her, twitching violently. Another caught a bullet between the eyes.

But for every one she dropped, two more appeared.

"Ada!" Vega's voice crackled over comms. "We're almost there—sign says Polaris Mall dead ahead!"

Ada gritted her teeth. She fired off two more shots, then turned and sprinted.

The creatures howled behind her, hungry and tireless.

The mall loomed out of the darkness like a fortress of broken dreams. Its neon sign, shattered but still faintly flickering, spelled out POLARIS in uneven, ghostly letters.

Vega and the survivors had already forced open a side door. Ada barreled through just as Vega slammed the heavy metal frame shut.

The creatures slammed against the outside, shrieking, but the doors held.

For now.

Inside, the mall was a cavernous graveyard of abandoned shops and rotting advertisements. Dust hung thick in the air, catching in the flickering emergency lights.

The survivors collapsed in exhausted heaps. Some sobbed quietly. Others simply stared, hollow-eyed.

Vega leaned against a support pillar, wiping blood from a shallow cut above her eyebrow.

Ada stood in the center of the ruined atrium, breathing hard.

Her HUD pinged softly.

[Objective Completed: Escort to Temporary Base.]

[Reward Dispensed: Supply Crate Located — Sublevel 1.]

[Blueprint Unlocked: Temporary Shelter (Tier 1).]

Ada allowed herself a small, grim smile.

It wasn't much. A blueprint, a supply crate, a concrete box to hide in.

But it was a start.

She glanced over at Vega, who met her gaze with a tired but determined look.

"We built this far," Vega said quietly. "Might as well see how far we can go."

Ada nodded once.

The world outside was broken, bleeding, and cruel.

But in this tiny, forgotten corner of it—they would build something new.

Even if it killed them.