The wind howled through the skeletal remains of the city, its eerie voice whispering warnings that went unheard. Daniel moved through the ruins like a shadow, his steps precise, deliberate. Every sound—the shifting of loose rubble, the distant screech of twisted metal—set his nerves on edge. He had learned not to trust the silence. It was too easily broken.

He kept to the narrow alleys and darkened passageways, places where the machines couldn’t easily follow. His breath clouded in the cold air, but he paid it no mind. His focus was on the path ahead, on the next scavenging mission. His supplies were running low. Dangerously low. Today, he had to find something—anything—to keep going.

But something was different.

A sense of unease gnawed at him, tightening his chest. The figure he’d seen yesterday, slipping between the ruins...it lingered in his mind. It was a sign of life—human life. But was that a good thing? Could he afford to find out? He tried to shake the thought, but it clung to him like a shadow.

He turned down another alley, this one tighter, more cluttered with debris. The stench of rot clung to the air, reminding him of what lay beneath the rubble: the bones of a world long dead.

As he approached the next intersection, he stopped. A sound—not the familiar mechanical hum of drones, but something softer. Human.

His muscles tensed. He pressed his back against the wall, straining to hear it again. Was it the figure from before? Was it...more of them?

Silence.

Then, a faint rustle.

He drew his knife, the weight of the cold steel grounding him, even as adrenaline surged through his veins. He’d survived alone for so long, navigating a world where every person you met was a potential threat, just as dangerous as the machines. People were unpredictable. Desperate. He couldn’t trust them—not anymore.

But he had to see.

Moving carefully, he edged around the corner of the ruined building, keeping low. The source of the sound wasn’t far. His heart pounded in his chest, but his steps were silent, measured. The ruins shifted underfoot, but he barely made a sound.

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When he rounded the corner, his breath caught. There, not more than twenty feet away, stood two figures—a man and a woman. They crouched near the remains of an overturned car, their backs to him, rummaging through a pile of debris.

He froze, his mind racing. Two of them. He could turn back now, disappear before they noticed him. But something kept him rooted in place, watching.

They were survivors, just like him. And that was the problem. What would they do if they saw him? Attack? Run? Call others? It was impossible to know.

He crouched lower, blending into the shadows, his eyes narrowing as he studied them. The man was thin, gaunt even, with dark hair matted with dirt. The woman looked stronger, her frame solid despite the harshness of the world. They moved with a practiced efficiency, their hands quick and methodical.

They were like him—hunters, scavengers. Survivors.

Then, something happened.

The man’s foot slipped on the debris, sending a piece of metal clattering down the street. The sound echoed off the walls, far too loud. Both of them froze, eyes wide. The woman’s hand shot out, grabbing his arm as they ducked lower.

The noise lingered in the air like a death sentence. And then...the hum. Low at first, distant, but unmistakable.

Drones.

The man cursed under his breath, pulling the woman toward the nearest building, but it was too late. The drones were already moving, their sensors sweeping the streets.

Daniel’s heart raced. He had to move, had to disappear before the machines spotted them all. But something rooted him to the spot. He couldn’t leave them. Not like this.

Against his better judgment, he stepped forward, just enough to catch the woman’s eye. She saw him, her face a mixture of fear and surprise. For a split second, their gazes locked.

Without a word, he gestured toward the building across the street—a safer place to hide. Her eyes flickered between him and the approaching drones. There was no time to think. She nodded once, and they moved.

Together, they darted across the street, slipping into the shadows just as the first drone came into view. They huddled behind a pile of debris, their breaths shallow, the hum of the drones growing louder, closer.

The machines passed overhead, their scanners sweeping the ground. For a moment, Daniel thought they might have been spotted, but the drones continued on, oblivious.

Silence returned.

Daniel exhaled slowly, his body finally relaxing as the threat passed. He hadn’t realized how tightly he had been gripping the knife until his fingers ached.

The woman turned to him, her eyes hard but grateful. She didn’t say anything, and neither did he. There was nothing to say. But in that moment, something shifted between them—a silent acknowledgment of survival.

The man with her nodded in thanks, though he looked more wary than relieved. They stood in silence for a long moment, the weight of the encounter settling over them like a shroud.

Without another word, the two strangers turned and disappeared into the shadows, leaving Daniel alone once more.

Alone.

But this time, it felt different. The encounter lingered in his mind, unsettling him in a way he couldn’t quite explain. The cracks in his solitude were widening, and he wasn’t sure if he could stop them.

Tomorrow, he would keep moving. Always moving. But now, the question nagged at him: How much longer could he keep running from the world?