Dmitri and Connor entered Unit 9-6 after the survivors let them through, and the condition of the three men became clearer once they were close enough to see properly. All of them were pale and thin, though the youngest still had enough energy to keep talking while the other two looked as if standing had become work on its own.
The youngest introduced himself as Evan. Caleb was the tired man who had opened the door, while Walter, the oldest of the three, remained seated against the wall with a blanket around his shoulders.
They had been maintenance workers assigned to the ninth floor when the meteorites came down. The blast knocked all three unconscious, and by the time they woke, screams were already echoing through the lower floors.
"We managed to barricade the stairwell, gather supplies from the other rooms, and wait for rescue," Evan said, clasping his hands together as he spoke. "We didn't know what else to do."
Dmitri looked toward the large ring of labeled keys on a nearby table. "Those open the units in this building?"
"Yes, sir. The manager had us carrying them while we worked. You can take them if you need them."
Evan hesitated, then rushed into the next part before Dmitri could ask anything else.
"Please take us with you. We... we really don't know where else to go or who to cling to. We've been here for days, maybe a week. Old Walter's had it rough, and if you need people to work, I can do it. Just let him rest."
Dmitri and Connor exchanged a look before Dmitri said, "Calm down first. Nobody's asking you to leave him behind. We'll take all three of you back and let the Commander decide what happens after that."
Evan swallowed. "Thank... thank you, sir."
"I still have questions."
"Uhm, sure. I'll try to answer... if I can."
"You three are the only survivors you've seen in this building?"
"Yes. I mean... I think so. There were screams downstairs, but we were too scared to check. Please forgive me, sir."
"I'm not asking you to apologize. What about the other maintenance crews?"
"There shouldn't be any. The manager only called us here that day, and we were already supposed to go downstairs when that... thing happened."
Dmitri glanced toward Walter, but the older man had his eyes closed and looked too exhausted for a proper conversation.
"What do you know about the other apartment buildings or the manager's office?"
"Not much, sir," Evan admitted. "The buildings are mostly the same, but Old Walter hated working in Building Three because he said it wasted his time."
Caleb stirred at that. "Ye, Evan's rayt! That damn building only had a few residents, eh? Dunno what was up that manager's ass, calling us to do shit in it. People said it was cursed, but who believes in that shit nowadays?"
He rubbed his face and kept going before anyone could stop him.
"Fourth one's much better. Lots of dudes and gals out there, but uh... well, they're dead, aren't they? Aih, so unlucky..."
Caleb's eyes sharpened a little when he remembered something else.
"But the manager? He sure is wealthy. I 'member those blue dudes carrying stuff around at night. Dunno where it came from or where it went, but sure as hell sounded like money."
Dmitri let him finish rather than trying to untangle every guess on the spot. Some of it might be useless, but the difference between Building Three and Four matched what he had already seen from the rooftop.
He and Connor stepped into the hallway once Evan had nothing else certain to add.
"Manager's office might have something worth taking," Dmitri said, lowering his voice. "Building Three was already strange from the rooftop, and now we've got another person saying hardly anyone lived there. Building Four being crowded also matches the cars and infected outside."
Connor looked back toward Unit 9-6. "Think they're useful?"
"They're maintenance workers. If even one of them knows the building systems properly, that's useful enough. Whether the Commander trusts them is his problem."
Dmitri stopped at the stairwell. "Move two Conscripts down to the entrance and keep this building closed while we finish. I'll check the roof again."
"Roger that."
On the rooftop, warm wind moved across the concrete while Dmitri raised his binoculars toward the manager's office between Buildings Two and Three. The two-story structure was larger than it looked from the road, with air-conditioning units still running across part of the roof and several infected wandering around the entrances below; a number of them wore armored vests marked SECURITY.
"There you are."
Cameras were still mounted around parts of the complex, including several hallways and parking sections. Most were useless now, but if the manager's security room still had power and some of the feeds survived, the office might give them a better look at the nearby buildings, though Dmitri was not about to count on it.
Dmitri shifted the binoculars toward Building Three but kept the meteorite fragments away from the center of his view. He had already learned enough about staring at those things.
The building remained strangely quiet, and Dmitri muttered, "Still don't like you."
He moved on to Building Four, where the heavier infected presence matched Caleb's story well enough. That did not prove everything else the man had said, but it was enough to keep the information in mind.
By the time Dmitri returned to the ninth floor, Team C had used the maintenance keys to finish checking the locked rooms below.
"How are the three?" he asked.
"Ready to move, sir," Connor said. "As ready as they can be."
"All right. Close the rooms behind us and let's get them back."
Alexei and Selene took the front while Connor and Marek helped Caleb and Walter. Evan stayed between them, glancing at every turn of the stairwell as though he expected the building to change its mind and trap them again.
Dmitri kept Team A at the rear and touched his comm bead. "Team C, do you copy?"
"This is Team C."
"We're coming down. Locked rooms clear?"
"All clear. Waiting on Two."
"Copy."
The groups met on the second floor and continued toward the lobby without trouble.
Evan finally asked, "May... may I know where you're taking us?"
"A safe place," Alexei replied. "Don't ask too many questions right now."
"Uhm... okay."
Selene gave Alexei a look but kept walking. There was no point starting an argument in the stairwell with three exhausted civilians between them.
Near the entrance, Lukas lifted one of the recovery bags. "We found a lot of valuables too. The Commander will be pleased."
"Of course he will," Dmitri said. "Team C, take point. Knives outside unless something forces us to shoot."
The survivors looked at the soldiers switching weapons and probably wondered about their ammunition, but nobody explained. Building One was close enough that they could make the crossing quietly.
Before leaving Building Two, Dmitri kept four Conscripts behind. "Block the obvious openings and hold the entrance for now. Don't wander toward Building Three. Reinforcements can come once the Commander knows what we found."
"Roger, sir."
The four started moving furniture and other material into place while Dmitri took the rest of the group back toward Building One.
Dmitri glanced toward the meteorite-marked building on the way, but he kept the fragments outside his direct line of sight.
The sooner Hans dealt with those things, the happier Dmitri would be.