Samantha agreed reluctantly.
They left the warehouse shortly after.
The city outside was still breaking apart, but their path stayed unusually clear. Roads that should have been blocked were open.
Groups of armed men that would normally challenge movement were absent or already gone. Even the usual panic at intersections felt distant, as if the area had been quietly cleared out ahead of them.
John noticed it first.
"This doesn't make sense," he muttered.
Samantha didn't answer. She kept walking, eyes forward, grip tight around the weapon she had formed earlier.
Francis stayed close, not visible in any fixed way. His presence shifted through nearby bodies and empty spaces, never settling long enough to be pointed at.
A checkpoint stood ahead of them, abandoned mid-operation. Barriers lay half-lowered. Shell casings were scattered across the pavement, but no bodies remained.
Aris slowed as they passed through it.
"This is not normal evacuation behavior," she said quietly.
