The following two days were a strange, surreal bubble of domesticity. The world outside had fallen silent, but inside Alex's flat, a fragile, temporary "normal" took hold. The power—miraculously—was still on, which meant the TV, the electric stove, and the lights still worked.
They spent the time in a haze of board games and shared meals. The first afternoon, Mina, with her boundless, restless energy, demanded they get to know their "apocalypse family."
"Okay, look," she'd said, while setting up the Settlers of Catan board. "We're all cooped up here. I at least need to know your last names for the survival-team roster I'm making in my head."
Mark, happy to be in a situation that didn't involve running or fighting, laughed. "Fair enough. I'm Mark Chen. 21. Second-year Computer Science."
"And professional video game addict," Alex added, not looking up from the game rules.
"Hey!" Mark protested. "And, for the record," he said, puffing his chest, "I'm also the group's lead zombie killer."
"You killed one," Alex said flatly.
"One more than you," Mark shot back, who hadn't seen Alex in action.
Jenna, who was quietly shuffling the cards, offered a small smile. "I'm Jenna Miles. 20. First-year Marketing."
"What's your hobby?" Mina asked, her eyes sharp.
"Uh," Jenna blushed. "I... I like scrapbooking. And I run a K-pop fan account."
Mina just stared, then nodded. "Okay. You're the new Minister of Morale. You're in charge of... good vibes."
They all looked at Alex.
"Alex Walker," he said, handing the dice to Mina.
"Age?" she pressed.
"21."
"Major?"
"Second-year Engineering."
"Hobby?"
Alex was silent for a beat. "Didn't really have time for one."
The answer was so blunt, so devoid of normal-life color, that no one knew what to say.
Alice, sensing the awkwardness, filled the gap. "Well, you know us. Alice and Mina Kovalenko. She's 17, second-year high school, and her hobby is hating studying and watching TV."
"And being awesome!" Mina added.
"And I'm 21," Alice continued, "second-year International Relations. I... I like to read and cook."
They played Catan. Mina was, as promised, ruthless, cutting off Mark's "longest road" and embargoing Alex's access to ore, all while cackling. They watched movies from Alex's massive, pre-loaded hard drive. They cooked and ate real, hot meals, using up the last of the perishable food.
But behind the calm facade, the tension was a wire pulling tighter by the hour.
It was in the small things. It was in the way Alex would go quiet in the middle of a game, his eyes not on the board, but on them. He was analyzing. They could feel it. He was weighing Mina's impulsiveness against her willingness to help in the kitchen. He was watching Mark's tech-savviness versus his obvious lack of physical grit. He was observing Jenna's quiet anxiety and Alice's injured-but-capable calm.
And then there were the cabinets.
On the second day, Day 5, Mark, looking for a snack, had tried to open a tall, black metal locker in the hallway. It was secured with a heavy-duty padlock.
"Hey, Alex," he'd called out. "What's in here? More snacks?"
Alex, who was cleaning his small knife at the kitchen table, hadn't even looked up. "It's stuff that's not for now."
A chill went through the room. It was the first time he'd drawn a clear, sharp line. This was his flat. His supplies. They were guests.
By the evening of Day 5, the games felt forced. The food was running low. The "holiday" was over. They were all acutely aware of Alex, standing by the window, staring down at the dark, silent street. The time for rest was over. The time for his plan was approaching. And as they all looked at him, they realized, with a shared, nervous dread, that they had no idea if they were a part of it.
The master bedroom was dark, but sleep wouldn't come. Mina, who was supposed to be sharing the bed with Alice, was lying stiff as a board.
"Alice?" she whispered into the blackness. "Are you awake?"
"I'm awake," Alice whispered back, her voice tired.
A long silence, then Mina's voice, small and trembling. "Did... did he tell you anything? About... you know. Tomorrow."
"No, Mina. He didn't."
"The food is almost gone," Mina said, her voice getting tighter. "What happens then? Is he just... is he just going to leave us? Tell us 'good luck'?"
Alice was quiet for a moment, her own fears mirroring her sister's. "I don't know." She confessed, "I know what you mean. I've seen it, too. Those... brief, calculating glances. Like he's... like he's trying to put a price tag on us. To see if we're worth the trouble."
Mina let out a tiny, hiccuping sound. Alice immediately turned, wincing as she put weight on her ankle, and pulled her younger sister into a tight hug.
"But, Mina, listen to me," she said, her voice firm. "He is a good guy. He saved me. He detoured for you. He got us here. He's not... he's not like those other men." She held her tighter. "He said it himself, if it's within his capabilities, he won't abandon us."
"You... you really think so?"
"I do," Alice said, forcing a confidence she didn't fully feel. At least, she hoped so.
In the guest room, the conversation was almost identical. Jenna was huddled under the blankets, her back pressed to Mark's chest.
"Mark?" she whispered, her voice tight. "What are we going to do tomorrow? Does he even have a plan?"
Mark sighed, pulling her closer. He wasn't bothered by the questions; he could feel how tense she was. "Jen, it's okay. Relax."
"How can I relax?" she hissed, turning to face him. "He's... he's scary, Mark. The food's gone. Is he going to kick us out? Tell us to go wait for those 'rescue teams' he clearly thinks are a joke? Will he... will he just leave us?"
"No," Mark said, his voice full of a lazy confidence that, for once, soothed her. "Jen, I know Alex. I've known him since high school. He's always been like this. Intense, prepared, a little... okay, a lot weird. But..."
"But what?"
"But under all that pragmatic, calculating 'end of the world' armor... there's a really kind and friendly guy in there. He's my friend. He's not going to abandon us. He's just... he's just figuring out the 'how'. He won't let us die."
Jenna took his word for it, for now. She snuggled into his chest, letting his certainty be a barrier against her fear. But she wasn't entirely convinced.
Outside their rooms, Alex lay on the pull-out couch bed, his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling in the dark. He wasn't trying to sleep. He was thinking.
"Okay... five," he mumbled, his voice a rough sound in the total quiet. "Five is... manageable. It's tight, but the Raptor's a crew cab. We fit."
He let out a long breath. "The farm... the farm can sustain five. Easily. More hands for work, anyway. The well is solid, the solar is stable. The food... yeah, food is fine."
He ran the 'personnel' in his head. "Mark's my friend, he's smart. Jenna... she's with him, she's quiet, seems resourceful. The sisters... Alice is capable, despite the ankle. Mina... Mina's impulsive, a liability... but she's not stupid. They seem... okay. They're okay."
He closed his eyes for a moment. "And... it'd be lonely. Just... one person. At that whole place. It'd be... too quiet."
That seemed to settle it. He'd convinced himself. "Okay. Five. I'll ask them tomorrow."
He let out another breath, this one more final. "They... they might refuse. They might want to stay here. Wait for 'rescue.'" He scoffed quietly at the thought. "Idiots."
His expression in the dark hardened, his gaze turning cold.
"But... one thing's for sure. If they come... if they agree, and I take them... I can't let them leave. Not ever."
He stared up at the ceiling, the decision, and its heavy, dark consequence, settling over him.
"Can't risk them disclosing the location. Can't risk the farm. They come... they stay. That's the deal. Whether they know it or not."
The next morning, Day 6, Alex was up before the sun, just as he always was. He dressed quietly, grabbed his backpack, and slotted the bloody metal pipe into a loop on the side. He needed to be sure. He needed to clear the way.
He slipped out of the apartment, locking it behind him, and made his way down the service stairs. The building was dead quiet. He reached the heavy fire door to the underground garage. He eased it open a crack and listened.
Gurgle. Scrape. Groan.
They were in there. He slipped inside, his eyes adjusting to the dim emergency lighting. He ducked behind a concrete support pillar and did a slow, careful scan. One... two... four... seven. Seven of them, trapped, shuffling aimlessly between the high-end cars.
This was a pest-control problem, not a fight. He found a loose lug nut on the floor and tossed it into the far northeast corner. It clattered across the concrete. Four of the infected, the ones closest, turned and began a slow, shuffling pursuit of the sound.
Alex moved, silent and fast, in the opposite direction. He came up behind the remaining three, his pipe raised. Thwack. The first one, a man in a doorman's uniform, went down without a sound. Thwack. The second. Thwack. The third.
He waited, letting the other four get far enough away. He repeated the process, tossing another small object to split their attention. He took them out one by one. Patient. Grim. Silent.
When the seventh one was down, he stood in the center of the vast concrete tomb and, to be sure, kicked a metal trash can. It crashed over, the sound echoing loudly. He waited, his pipe ready. One minute. Two. Nothing.
The garage was clear. He checked his watch. A little over an hour had passed. They should be awake by now. He started the long walk back up.
He reached his apartment door and could hear chatter from the inside. It was low, tense, and he couldn't make out the words. Unbothered, he slid his key into the lock.
He opened the door and found the four of them sitting at the dining table. There was no food, no game. They all just stared at him. Mark looked... disappointed, as if his best friend had let him down. Jenna's face was a mask of cold anger, like she'd trusted someone she shouldn't have. Mina was visibly on the verge of crying, her face red and puffy. Alice, on the other hand, was pale and resigned, her expression clear: she'd already accepted the situation and was starting to think about what to do next.
Alex stopped, his bloody pipe in his hand, and looked at the four tense, accusing faces. "...What?"
Mark was the first to recover. His voice was tight, but Alex could hear a sharp, sudden hint of relief in it. "You... you didn't leave?"
Alex's brain instantly connected the dots. He was gone for an hour. His bag was gone. His weapon was gone. They'd woken up, seen the empty space where he should have been, and assumed the absolute worst.
He couldn't help himself. The opportunity was just too good.
He let his shoulders slump, his face turning grim. He sighed heavily. "I tried to," he said, his voice full of fake despair. "It's... it's just too bad out there. Way too many. I can't make it alone." He looked up, his eyes pleading. "So... get ready. I'm going to need you guys."
Mark's face froze. Jenna's anger turned to white-hot horror. Mina's 'on the verge' tears instantly began to fall.
Alex held the look for one... two...
And then he burst out laughing. A real, loud laugh. "Sorry," he choked out, leaning on the wall. "Sorry, I... I couldn't resist. Your faces!"
The tension snapped. The calm, collected Mark's eyes started to twitch in pure, unadulterated annoyance. Jenna and Alice were simply too stunned to show any reaction at all, their mouths half-open.
But Mina let out a wail of pure relief. She launched herself from her chair, ran across the room, and hugged Alex tight around the waist, burying her face in his shirt. "I told them!" she half-cried, half-yelled. "I told them you wouldn't just leave us! They just wouldn't listen!"
Alex, surprised by the sudden hug, awkwardly patted her on the head. "Did you, now?"
Mina, feeling caught red-handed in her blind faith, pulled back just enough to look up, her face bright red. "...Yes?" she answered, her voice suddenly small and questioning.
Alex's laugh faded. He looked over Mina's head at the other three, his expression turning serious again. "Okay. Okay, settle down." He gently unwrapped Mina's arms. "Get seated. For real. There are some things we need to discuss. So listen to me."