“Emma, are we moving?” Mila’s voice crackled through the walkie-talkie, breaking her silence.

“Yeah,” she replied softly so as not to wake Amy. “We’re moving. Wake everyone up so they have energy.”

With a final glance at the deserted landscape around them, Emma started the RV, leading the group toward the building. Half of the group, who were already awakened by the commotion outside, gathered their things while waiting to arrive.

“Emma, this is exactly where we needed to be!” Cassidy’s voice passes through the walkie-talkie, excitement showing in her tone. Emma allowed herself a small smile. Small happiness comes after disasters. She glanced at the building again, its features becoming clearer as they approached. It looked abandoned, but something about it felt weird.

“That’s nice,” Emma responded, “but we still need to figure out the explosion sound first. So when we go down, everyone is careful.”

As the RV rolled closer to the building, Emma noticed a few more buildings only a few feet away from the one in front of them. The structures were in ruins, with windows shattered and walls cracked. She woke Amy up.

As everyone gathered around her, the air thick with excitement, Emma looked over at Cassidy, the person who was supposed to lead the group. Cassidy stood a little apart from the others, her eyes scanning the surroundings with a mixture of determination and anxiety.

“Okay, Cassidy, so what are we doing?” Emma asked.

Cassidy took a deep breath, glancing at the group before addressing Emma. “Let’s check all these buildings first. There might be clues about the explosion sounds. Dean and Xavier, you guys lead the building to the left. Mila and Mark, you two lead the check for the one behind us. Xyla and I will take the main building. And Emma you can choose anyone you want to join.”

As she said the last sentence, she stared at Emma with glittering eyes, muttering under her breath, “Choose me, choose me, choose us.”

Emma laughed a little. “Okay, Amy and I will join your group.”

Cassidy made a victory gesture in the air, easing the tension and making people smile. She continued explaining the plan, “If you see anything weird, run, and once you’re safe, report back to us. I want to see all of you at the end of the day, understand?” She looked everyone in the eye, “And remember, don’t fight if you don’t have to. Save your energy, we’re only collecting information right now.”

The group nodded, their faces filled with determination. After a moment of silence, Cassidy clapped her hands together. “Okay! Let’s split up!”

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As they began to move, Emma called out, “Everyone, stay in contact through the walkie-talkies. Check-in every fifteen minutes, even if you don’t find anything. Safety first.”

Dean and Xavier headed toward the building on the left, moving cautiously but with speed, their weapons ready and a group of people following behind them. Mila and Mark took a deep breath before making their way to the building behind them, scanning the surroundings for any immediate threats, another group following behind them. Xyla stayed close to Cassidy, her eyes darting around, alert to any movement.

Emma and Amy followed Cassidy to the main building, with another group trailing behind them. “Ready?” Xyla asked, standing in front of the door. Cassidy nodded, and the door fell with Xyla’s powerful kick. The sound echoed through the empty building.

Inside, the building appeared deserted. It was three stories tall, with rooms on each floor and a few doors already open. Dust floated in the air, illuminated by the morning light filtering through broken windows.

Emma raised her eyebrows at the open doors. It seemed like James’ team had already searched for supplies there. But if they had only been searching this building, where did the zombies come from? She thought about this as she stretched out her mental powers around the building. Her senses spread through the halls and rooms, but she picked up no signal of the undead.

Going inside one of the left-open doors, the inside was eerily quiet, the only sound being the faint creaking of the building floors. Emma could see overturned furniture and remnants of hurried searches—drawers left open, papers scattered on the floor. The walls were lined with peeling wallpaper, and the air smelled musty.

Emma directed her attention to a staircase leading to the upper floors. “We should split up. Amy and I will take the upper floors. Xyla and Cassidy, you two and the rest of them stay here and check the ground floor.”

Amy gave a quick nod, already moving towards the stairs. Cassidy and Xyla with the rest of the group began their sweep of the ground floor, checking each room carefully. Emma and Amy moved upwards, the wooden steps creaking under their weight.

On the second floor, Emma noticed no signs of activity except for one open door. Her face scrunched together in concentration, and she motioned for Amy to walk in with her. Stepping into the room, they found a control room with four sections, each with numbers above the buttons. Monitors lined the walls, most of them dark or flickering with static. A few screens displayed various angles of the building’s interior and the surrounding area.

“Don’t touch anything,” Emma said to Amy, her voice firm. She carefully examined the control panel, noting the dust and signs of recent use around some of the buttons.

Walking out of the room and into the hallway, she looked outside the window and counted the buildings. Only three. Confused, she thought about James’ team and their search for supplies. There must have been another building nearby, she realized. Maybe pressing one of these buttons had caused it to blow up or activate something.

Emma stretched her mental powers again, trying to sense any hidden traps or remnants of the explosion. Sensing nothing once more, she scratched her head, trying to piece together the story based on what she had seen so far. She let out a heavy sigh, thinking she should have made James’ team come with them to show her exactly what they did.

She returned to the control room, her eyes scanning the numbered buttons. The room was dimly lit, with dust particles dancing in the weak sunlight filtering through the grimy windows. The control panels looked old and worn, with some buttons slightly more worn out than others.