The air felt thick with the weight of their decision. Lena’s heart ached with every step they took away from Glenn. She had always known that this world would force them to make impossible choices, but she hadn’t been prepared for how it would feel to leave someone behind. To abandon them. To face the truth that survival sometimes meant sacrificing the ones you cared about.
 But that’s what this world had become. The world they once knew was gone. Now, all that mattered was getting through the next day. The next hour. The next moment.
 Kai walked beside her, her face pale and tight with grief. Rafael, leading the group, was stoic, but Lena could see the tension in his posture—the way his fists clenched and unclenched, as if trying to hold everything together.
 They didn’t speak much as they walked, their footsteps echoing in the empty streets. The silence was suffocating. Lena wanted to say something, anything, to break the tension, but the words caught in her throat. What could she say? What was left to say when everything they had known had been torn apart?
 At some point, they found themselves at the edge of a small residential area. The houses here were barely standing, their windows shattered, their doors broken open. It was a grim reminder of how quickly things could fall apart. How quickly everything could be lost.
 “We need to find shelter,” Rafael finally spoke, his voice low and grim. “Before nightfall.”
 Lena nodded, trying to focus on the task at hand. She had to stay strong. For them. For Glenn—even though he was gone. She couldn’t afford to crumble now. Not when they were so close to finding a safe place.
 The group moved cautiously through the area, checking each house as they passed. Lena stayed alert, her eyes scanning every corner, every shadow. The last thing they needed was another surprise attack. The world outside was a different kind of predator, and it was always watching.
 They found an old house at the end of the street, its wooden fence still standing strong, though the paint had long since peeled away. The windows were intact, and the door, though battered, was still hanging on its hinges.
 “This’ll do,” Rafael said, his voice steady. “We’ll make camp here for the night.”
 Kai looked around, her expression wary. “What if someone’s already here?”
 Rafael checked the door, slowly pushing it open. The hinges creaked, but there was no sound of movement inside. The house seemed empty, though it wasn’t entirely safe to assume that. “We’ll have to risk it.”
 They entered the house cautiously, weapons ready. The living room was a mess—upturned furniture, broken glass, signs of chaos. It was clear that someone had tried to take refuge here, but it had been abandoned in a hurry.
 Lena moved into the kitchen, her eyes scanning the shelves. There was no food to be found, but there were clean pots and pans. That was something. They could make do with whatever they could find. As long as they didn’t attract attention, they would be okay. For now.
 Outside, the sky was starting to darken, the last remnants of daylight slipping away. Rafael had already started barricading the door with whatever furniture he could find. They didn’t have much, but they had to be ready. If anything came through that door, they needed to be able to fight back.
 Kai sat down on the couch, her hands trembling as she wiped away the sweat from her brow. She hadn’t spoken much since they left Glenn behind, and Lena could see the toll it was taking on her. Kai had always been the strongest of them all, but now, she seemed fragile—like a wall on the verge of crumbling.
 “You good?” Lena asked softly, sitting beside her.
 Kai didn’t answer right away. She just stared ahead, her eyes distant. Finally, she looked at Lena, her face a mixture of exhaustion and regret. “Do you think we did the right thing?”
 Lena swallowed hard, her throat tight. “We didn’t have a choice, Kai. We had to leave him. We couldn’t risk it. If we stayed, we’d all be dead.”
 “I know,” Kai replied quietly. “But it doesn’t make it any easier. I keep thinking… maybe we could have done more. Maybe we could have saved him.”
 Lena felt her heart ache at the words. She understood. She felt the same way. There were so many “what ifs” in this world. So many questions with no answers. But the truth was, they couldn’t afford to dwell on them. Not now. Not when survival was all that mattered.
 “We did what we had to do,” Lena said, her voice firm. “We can’t change the past. But we can still make it through this.”
 Rafael walked into the room then, his face set in a grim expression. “We’ve got a problem.”
 Lena’s heart skipped a beat. “What kind of problem?”
 “There’s movement outside,” Rafael replied. “And it’s not just one or two zombies. There’s a group of them heading this way.”
 Kai stood up immediately, her hand already reaching for her weapon. “How many?”
 “I don’t know,” Rafael said, his eyes scanning the darkening world outside the window. “But they’re coming. We don’t have much time.”
 The room seemed to close in around them. Lena felt the familiar rush of panic rise within her, but she shoved it down. They couldn’t afford to panic. Not now. Not when it was just the three of them left. They had to be smart. They had to stay alive.
 “What do we do?” Kai asked, her voice tense.
 “We need to fortify the house,” Rafael said. “We can’t let them get inside. Not without a fight.”
 Lena nodded. They had no choice. They had to hold their ground. They had to survive.
 As they scrambled to strengthen their defenses, the sound of approaching footsteps grew louder. The group moved swiftly, working in unison, the adrenaline pumping through their veins. They were ready for whatever came next.
 But deep down, Lena knew that the real challenge wasn’t just surviving the night. It was what came after. The world had become a brutal, unforgiving place. And as long as they kept moving forward, there would be no guarantee of safety. No guarantee that they would see another sunrise.
 Survival came with a cost. And Lena was beginning to realize just how high that cost could be.