"Whoa, whoa, there's no need for that. We see you, and we hear you. Our colleague is unlocking the door. Try not to kill him," said the voice, coming from a speaker above the entrance.

Alex lowered his rifle as the door creaked open, revealing a man—middle-aged, medium height, and dressed in what looked like ski gear. His large frame and short black hair gave him a rugged appearance. He looked at the group, clearly surprised.

"I honestly didn't expect a bunch of teenagers," he said with a raised eyebrow.

"Neither did I expect a man in a ski suit in the middle of autumn," Vanessa quipped.

"Vanessa!" Alex scolded.

The man chuckled. "I understand. I don't know why I'm even keeping you all waiting," the man said with a shrug, motioning them inside. As the door slammed shut behind them, a chunk of the wall crumbled and fell. The interior of the shelter was as destroyed as the exterior, littered with broken walls piece, blocks, and other construction debris. They followed the man, who introduced himself as Professor Philip. He once had a solid career as a handball coach—until the pandemic started, and his team of players tried to eat him. He led them up to the third floor, where a large room served as their base. Computers and other electronics lay dead, alongside a radio set for receiving messages, equipped with a microphone.

Another man was sitting at a nearby chair, adjusting radio waves with one hand and holding headphones with the other. He was much smaller in build than Philip, with short brown hair. A woman sat off to the side at a table, absorbed in a book. She had her red hair tied up in a bun and wore casual autumn clothes, seemingly unfazed by the apocalypse around her. She had worked in a pharmacy and had been waiting for her annual leave—only now, it had become an extended one. Both William and Mayana  looked at the group with confused expressions.

"This is already interesting," Mayana remarked, looking them over.

"Did you expect FBI agents to show up?" Owen asked, smirking.

"Well..." William got up from his chair and pulled a piece of paper from the shelf. It had descriptions of the four of them, written by Pablo and printed using an old mechanical printer. If any of them had read it earlier, they might not have been so confused.

"Pablo's notes," William said, reading aloud. "The tallest one is a blonde guy. If he looks questionable to you, then everything is fine. One shorter guy has a creepy look with blue eyes, the other one looks blind with dark circles under his eyes, and there's a girl—you can't tell if her skin or hair is lighter."

The group stared in disbelief.

"Did he actually write that?" Alex asked, incredulous.

"Of course," William replied, grinning. "No, I'm joking with you. Alex, Owen, Danny, and Miss Vanessa. Just a second... You're all 25 years old!?"

"For you guys, even 20 would sound like a lot," Mayana teased, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I didn't prefer the older ones, but I could start now," Owen quipped, taking a moment to flirt with Mayana, who was clearly twice his age. He was quickly silenced by a sharp kick to the leg from Vanessa.

"Alright, we're done with the introductions," William said, trying to regain focus. "So, you're actually the ones heading to Mosin?"

"Yeah, and I don't really see what's so weird about it," Vanessa replied, crossing her arms.

"Look, kids," Mayana began, her tone soft but serious. "We don't mean to offend, but we were expecting older people. You've survived this long, and you've got the chance to live after all this. But this kind of journey... it usually doesn't end well. And you're too young to risk your lives."

"I think they know that already," Philip added.

"Exactly," Alex said, his voice firm. "We might be young, but no one older has stepped up to do anything."

"I feel called out," Philip said with a wry smile.

"As you should," Vanessa added dryly.

"Whether you're 25 or 55, our job is to help you as much as we can," William said, his tone shifting to business. "Rest now. Mayana will serve you some food. This morning, I tried contacting the F4 station. If we're lucky, you might even get a military transport directly to Mosin."

"Thanks," Alex replied. "We plan to leave in the morning and find shelter nearby."

"All clear, boss. Leave it to me," William assured them.

With that, Philip led the group through the building. They were given accommodations on the fifth floor. As they climbed the stairs, they noticed a few more people staying on the fourth floor. The shelter housed around 25 people, with Philip, Maya, and William being the key figures in charge. Their room was the first at the top of the stairs, with four beds and a table, along with a half-broken mirror on the wall. A window provided light during the day, and a candle on the wall was meant to do the job at night.

"What a luxury..." Owen said sarcastically, then quickly adding, "But before anyone hits me, I'm grateful to have my own bed."

"I don't know how it would be possible to put all four of you in one." Philip remarked, smiling faintly.

"It was possible," Alex said.

"Somehow," Danny added with a grin.

"There'd be ten times more space if that 2-meter banner wasn't lying on top of it," Vanessa said, pointing at the cluttered bed.

Philip raised an eyebrow. "And what kind of relationship are you all in? I don't even want to assume anything."

"Why? Do we look like siblings?" Owen asked, half-joking.

"Actually, you two do," Philip said, pointing at Owen and Vanessa. "A little, yeah."

"They do the same type of mental abuse," Danny interjected with a chuckle.

"And these two?" Owen nodded at Alex and Danny. "They're psychological cases, but they're not related by blood."

"I think 'friends' is the appropriate answer," Alex said, cutting off further banter.

"Hmm," both Owen and Vanessa muttered in unison.

"I swear, both of you, shut up," Alex said, peeking at them.

"Alright, I think I've heard enough," Philip said, laughing. "Get comfortable, then head back down to the third floor. Maya's cooking, and I'm sure you're hungry."

With that, Philip left, and the group threw their bags by their respective beds. Owen and Vanessa claimed the left side, while Alex and Danny took the right.

"At least it's more comfortable than a hospital bed," Danny commented, stretching out.

"Shorten your legs, and you'll be fine," Vanessa teased.

"Vanessa," Alex warned, this time he was just sighing, he had it enough today.

"What? I'm just saying, there's a solution. You could push the beds together, and I think you'd like it better," Vanessa replied, smirking.

Alex deliberately dropped his bag, pretending not to hear her, but by then Vanessa had already darted out of the room, with Owen close behind.

"And what are you waiting for?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Me? Nothing. Ah, I get it, you want me to leave so you can be alone," Owen said, playfully mocking Alex before slipping out the door, leaving Alex and Danny alone.

As soon as Owen left, Alex let out a long breath, removing his glasses to rub his eyes.

"Is everything alright, pal?" Danny asked, his voice full of concern.

"Huh? Yeah, no worries," Alex replied quickly, but Danny wasn't convinced.

"Really, Alex? What's going on?" Danny pressed, his eyes narrowing.

"Danny, seriously, it's fine," Alex tried to brush it off, but Danny's steady gaze didn't waver.

"Alex, enough hiding. This time, you're going to tell me," Danny insisted, watching his friend closely.

Alex hesitated, his nerves clearly getting the better of him. He started pacing the room, agitated, before stopping by the window and reaching into his pocket for his cigars. But Danny, anticipating his move, grabbed his wrist before he could pull them out.

"That's not the solution," Danny said, firmly but gently.

"Danny... I know you want to help, but I just need this. I'm stressed, and I need to hold something in my hand—it's a habit," Alex said, trying to pull away.

"Okay... here," Danny said, releasing Alex's wrist and holding out his hand instead. "If you need to hold something, hold my hand. There's always another way, Alex. You taught me that."

Alex stared at Danny's hand for a moment, conflicted. Eventually, he reached out and took it. His heart was still racing, but somehow, the tension in his chest began to ease.

"What is it? Are those two over-dramatic again?" Danny asked, sensing there was more going on.

"No, no... it's not just about them," Alex said, sighing. "It's about all of us."

"Us? What do you mean?" Danny asked, concern deepening in his voice.

"I knew from the start this was a dangerous risk. Once we stepped out, there was no going back. But... I'm starting to think ,it should stop here," Alex admitted, his voice trembling slightly.

"You know, I understand you completely. We're all at risk here, and staying might be the safer option for us," Danny replied, his tone thoughtful.

"You three should stay," Alex said, his voice low.

"What did you just say?" Danny asked, turning away from the window to look at Alex. He felt Alex try to pull his hand away, but Danny held on tighter.

"It's for the best. This was my idea, and I realize now I was wrong to put you all at risk," Alex confessed. His voice was shaky, and his hand trembled slightly. The weight of the situation seemed to finally crush the hope he had been clinging to. He had kept too much bottled up, and now it was overwhelming him.

"What are you talking about? We went into this together, Alex. Something's going on, and you're hiding it," Danny pressed, his voice growing more serious.

"I'm telling you, I'm not hiding anything," Alex insisted, his tone defensive, but there was a subtle tremor in his voice.

"But you're running away from it... Are you maybe running away from me?" Danny asked softly, his eyes searching Alex's.