John (POV)
March 18th, 20xx — 9:17 PM
Zone 3A-Δ – Ninth Floor – Stairwell Access
———
The floor was quiet.
Not just low-traffic quiet. It was that deep, new quiet — the kind you only got when thirty-plus survivors were fed, sorted, and finally off your back for one damn hour.
Shen Yifei walked beside me without saying much.
She didn't need to.
She'd stayed behind after the meeting, helped the younger ones get settled, even checked the locks on the stairwell doors as if someone could climb in through the upgraded windows that only opened for select people now.
But I appreciated her efforts.
Sharp.
Efficient.
Still perched on the edge of smug.
We reached the stair access between the ninth and tenth floors — my floor.
Her steps slowed.
So did mine.
I turned, but she didn't look at me.
Not at first.
"Hey."
"…Yeah?"
She scratched at her arm once. Shifted her weight from foot to foot. Then huffed like someone forcing themselves through a cold shower.
