Chapter 19: Whispers in the Ashes

Ava found Gabriel checking his pack beneath the observation-deck stairs. He looked up, and she had to resist touching the place at his collar where she had kissed him that morning. Around them, crew members carried sealed supplies down to the docking bay.

“Ready?” he asked.

She caught his hand briefly before they went down. “For the briefing.”

His thumb moved once against hers before he released her. Nobody stopped carrying supplies. Nobody looked astonished that she had touched him. She had imagined their new intimacy would be visible on her skin, as unmistakable as the amber veins; the crew’s indifference was almost disappointing.

That morning he had kissed her while looking for a clean shirt. An absent-minded kiss, part of getting dressed. She had been thinking about it ever since. She wanted a hundred mornings casual enough to be forgotten, and could already tell she would remember this one too carefully.

He kissed me because it was morning.

In the docking bay below, Jenna stood at the center of the bustling activity, clipboard in hand, her sharp eyes scanning every detail. She was a commanding presence, her voice cutting through the noise with practiced authority.

“Ava, Gabriel,” Jenna called, spotting them as they approached. “We need to go over the plan one last time.”

Gabriel adjusted the strap of his rifle and nodded. “We’re ready.”

Jenna’s gaze lingered on Ava, softening slightly. “How are you holding up? This isn’t going to be an easy run.”

“I’m fine,” Ava replied, keeping her tone steady. Jenna had supported her training, but Ava still heard the quarantine intercom sometimes when the commander asked about her health.

“Good,” Jenna said. “The hospital is at least a few days away on foot. We’ve mapped the safest route we could, but you know how quickly things can change out there. Stick together, avoid unnecessary risks, and keep communication open.”

Gabriel gave a mock salute. “Yes, ma’am.”

Jenna shot him a look that was equal parts amusement and warning before turning her attention back to Ava. “And Ava—remember, you don’t have to do everything on your own. That’s what the team is for.”

Ava nodded, the words both reassuring and a reminder of the burden she carried. “Understood.”

“Good,” Jenna said, stepping back as the crew loaded the last of the supplies onto the transport vehicle. “Watch each other’s backs out there. The vehicle takes you to the road break; after that, you walk.”

Ava stayed beside the map for a moment. The Ruined Heartland spread beneath Jenna’s route marks: highways ending in blank stretches, buildings identified by what could still be recovered from them. Hospital. Fuel store. Possible shelter.

“What was the city called?” she asked.

Jenna checked the margin. “This copy doesn’t say.”

The omission hurt in a way Ava could not justify to a woman counting supplies. People had once given addresses here. Met someone at a corner, complained about the journey home. Now a city could be reduced to the things it might surrender before killing you.

You had a name. You deserved to keep it.

She traced the route without touching the fragile paper. At the hospital she would look for something that still bore its name.

Two days later, the sun reached the street through gaps in a collapsed tower. Ava picked her way between panes of glass welded together by old heat. The vehicle was long behind them. Beside her, Gabriel checked his detector and shifted the weight of his pack.

Ava adjusted the straps of her backpack, her sharp eyes observing the street ahead. Gabriel walked beside her with his mask sealed, watching the windows above their route.

The map put the hospital beyond three more blocked avenues. They had already detoured around two collapsed buildings. Ava wanted to sit down somewhere that did not need checking first.

“You holding up?” Gabriel asked, his voice low but steady.

Ava nodded, though the weariness in her limbs betrayed her. “Fine. Just tired of all this walking.”

Gabriel gave her a sidelong glance, his expression unreadable. “We’ll rest soon. Need to stay alert for now.”

They turned onto a wide avenue lined with the skeletal remains of abandoned vehicles. Once, it might have been a bustling thoroughfare. Now, it was eerily silent, the stillness broken only by the crunch of their boots on debris.

Gabriel raised a hand, signaling them to stop. His rifle was already in his hands, the barrel trained on the darkened passage ahead. Ava crouched low, her muscles coiled and ready to spring.

From the shadows emerged a hunched figure, human but gaunt and filthy. The man’s eyes were wild, darting between Ava and Gabriel as he raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.

“Please,” he croaked, his voice raw. “I’m human.”

Gabriel’s rifle didn’t waver. “Who are you?”

The man took a hesitant step forward, his entire body trembling. “Name’s Harrow. I… I was with a group, but they… they didn’t make it. Something came through our camp. It killed most of us before we even saw it.” His gaze flickered to Ava, lingering with visible fear. “You… you’re one of them, aren’t you?”

Ava stiffened, the accusation stinging despite its familiarity. “I’m here to help,” she said evenly. “Why are you alone?”

Harrow’s eyes darted back to Gabriel, as if seeking reassurance. “I ran. I had to. There was nothing else I could do.”

Gabriel looked at Ava, waiting for her assessment. Harrow had kept his hands where they could see them, but she noticed how often he checked the street behind him.

“We’re heading to the hospital,” Ava said after a pause. “If you’re lying, you won’t make it far.”

Harrow’s head snapped up, hope flickering in his expression. “I’ll keep up. I swear.”

Gabriel lowered his rifle and offered Harrow a spare mask. “Put this on. Stay close, but don’t try anything.”

Harrow put the mask on and followed. At the next corner, Ava stopped him from stepping on a swollen growth between two paving stones. He looked down, then lifted his foot carefully over it.

For the next block, he walked where she walked.