The atmosphere in the building was suffocating. After the brief encounter with the other survivors, Lena felt a renewed sense of unease settle in her stomach. The air was thick with tension, and even the smallest sounds seemed amplified in the silence. The group's footsteps echoed off the walls as they returned to their corner of the facility, their minds heavy with thoughts of survival.
 Glenn had made it clear that they couldn’t afford to stay in one place for too long. The facility was too exposed. The walls may have kept the zombies out for now, but it was only a matter of time before the infected found their way in. And as much as Lena hated to admit it, the other survivors in the building were just as much a threat to them as the zombies themselves.
 She sat down against the cold concrete wall, her head leaning back as she closed her eyes, trying to block out the heavy weight of her thoughts. It felt like her mind was racing in every direction, each thought more terrifying than the last.
 How much longer could they keep running? How long could they survive before the world swallowed them whole?
 Rafael was sitting nearby, silently watching the others, his expression unreadable. He hadn’t spoken much since they’d gathered the supplies, and Lena could tell he was deep in thought, too. It was impossible to ignore the look in his eyes—the same emptiness she had seen in herself.
 The grief from losing Adrian had settled heavily on them both, but there was no time for mourning. In this new world, grief was a luxury no one could afford.
 “You alright?” Glenn’s voice broke through her thoughts, and she opened her eyes to find him standing over her, concern in his gaze.
 Lena forced a smile. “Yeah. Just… trying to clear my head.”
 He nodded but didn’t say anything more. It was clear he understood. No one could fully understand the weight they were carrying, but they all felt it in one form or another.
 “Rafael is right,” Glenn continued, his voice low. “We need to keep moving. I know it’s hard, but we can’t stay here forever. The longer we wait, the more dangerous it becomes.”
 Lena nodded silently. It was the same speech they’d heard countless times since the world had changed. Keep moving. Stay alive. Survive.
 But each step forward was a step into the unknown. Every new day brought more dangers, more risks. And no matter how much they tried to prepare, they were always one step away from losing it all.
 “We’ll leave at first light,” Rafael said, his voice rough but steady. “We’ll head for the outskirts of town. If there’s a way out of this place, that’s where it’ll be.”
 Kai had been listening quietly, her eyes wide with anxiety. “And if there’s nothing out there? What if it’s just more of… this?”
 “Then we adapt,” Rafael said without hesitation. “We survive. We do what we’ve been doing.”
 “Do you think we’ll find any other survivors?” Kai asked softly, her voice laced with hope.
 Glenn shook his head, his expression grim. “It’s a long shot. But we’ll keep looking. We don’t know what’s out there.”
 It was hard to keep the hope alive, but they had to. Without hope, what was there left to fight for?
 Lena stood up and dusted off her pants, looking at each of them in turn. “We’re stronger together. If we stick together, we can make it. No matter what comes next.”
 The words felt empty, like something she was saying more for herself than anyone else, but they were the truth. They had to be.
 “Alright,” Rafael said, standing up with a sigh. “We’ll get some rest, then we move out. We need to be ready.”
 The others nodded in agreement, each of them finding a spot to rest. The facility was eerily quiet now, the only sounds the distant growls of zombies and the occasional creak of the building settling. It felt as if the world was holding its breath, waiting for something to happen. But they couldn’t afford to wait.
 As Lena settled into the corner of the room, she pulled out a small picture from her backpack—the last photo she had of her family. They were smiling, all gathered around the dinner table, before the world had fallen apart. Before everything had changed.
 She ran her fingers over the edges of the photo, a lump forming in her throat. She had no idea if they were still alive, if she would ever see them again. The thought of them, of that simple, normal life, felt like a lifetime ago.
 Her eyes welled with tears, but she wiped them away quickly, not wanting to show weakness. Not when everything depended on staying strong.
 “Rafael,” she said quietly, “do you think they’re out there? My family?”
 His eyes softened as he glanced over at her, and for a moment, it felt like he could see straight through her. “I don’t know, Lena. But if they are, we’ll find them. And if they’re not… well, we’ll keep surviving for them.”
 She nodded, trying to hold onto that small sliver of hope. She wanted to believe him, wanted to believe that there was a chance. But the truth was, she didn’t know what was out there. And she didn’t know how much longer she could keep going without breaking.
 As the others settled down for the night, Lena’s thoughts swirled. Every plan, every step forward felt uncertain. But that was the reality they had to face.
 Tomorrow, they would leave this place and head out into the unknown. There was no telling what they would find. But as long as they had each other, they had a fighting chance.
 That was all they could hope for now.