The first rays of sunlight washed over Basa Air Base, but the city did not wake the way it usually did.
The streets were active long before dawn, yet the atmosphere felt different. The relaxed rhythm that had slowly returned after the great zombie offensive had vanished overnight. Military police stood at nearly every major intersection. Sandbagged checkpoints had appeared around fuel depots, communications hubs, and aircraft maintenance facilities. Black Hawks passed overhead at regular intervals, while Predator drones continued circling so high above that most civilians never noticed them.
Nobody said the city was under siege.
Nobody needed to.
The change was obvious.
