The woman didn't lower her bow.
She stood in the church doorway, backlit by the setting sun, arrow nocked and ready. Her eyes moved across the room—Sarah, Jade, Danny, Alex—assessing, calculating.
"I said I'm here to trade," she repeated. "Not to fight."
"Then put the bow down," Alex said.
"You put your weapon down first."
He looked at his tire iron. Bloodstained. Bent from the Creeper's skull. Not exactly a negotiating tool.
"Fair," he said. He set it on the pew beside him.
The woman hesitated. Then she lowered the bow. Didn't un-nock the arrow, but pointed it at the floor.
"Name's Maya," she said. "I've been following your trail for a day."
"Why?"
"Because you're the one with the unique skill. Everyone's talking about it."
Alex's jaw tightened. "I thought the skill was hidden."
"It is. But word gets around. Someone talks. Someone listens." She took a step closer. "I'm not here for your skill. I'm here because you have something I need."
"Which is?"
"Information."
---
Sarah stepped forward. "We don't know anything."
"You know about Zero Mile," Maya said. "I saw the old man's motorcycle. He's been asking questions. Following the same road I've been following."
Cole appeared in the doorway behind her. His revolver was out.
"She's clean," he said. "No weapons besides the bow. No vehicle I could see."
"I walk," Maya said. "My truck ran out of gas three days ago."
"You walked here?"
"Forty-seven miles." She said it like it was nothing. "I've been on this road longer than most. I know how to survive."
Alex studied her. Late twenties. Dark skin. Calloused hands. The bow looked handmade—not a weapon from a crate, but something she'd built herself.
Survivor, he thought. Real survivor.
"What do you know about Zero Mile?" he asked.
Maya's eyes locked onto his. "I know it's the end. I know your mother found it. And I know she's not dead."
The room went silent.
Alex's heart stopped. "What did you say?"
"Elena Chen. Red hair. Green eyes. She drove a Winnebago Brave, same as yours. She reached Zero Mile three weeks before the Transfer."
"Three weeks before," Sarah repeated. "That's impossible."
"Is it?" Maya looked at Cole. "You've been on the road two weeks. You've seen things that shouldn't exist. Warnings written in languages no one speaks. Crates that spawn in the same spots every day." She turned back to Alex. "This world isn't random. It was built. And your mother helped build it."
Alex's hands were shaking.
He pulled out the journal. The photograph. Held them up.
"These are hers," he said. "The journal. The RV. The modifications."
Maya nodded. "She left them for you. Knew you'd come looking."
"How do you know all this?"
"Because I was there." Maya's voice softened. "I was part of her crew."
---
No one spoke.
Danny sat in a pew, wide-eyed. Sarah gripped her wrench like a lifeline. Jade's broken rifle was aimed at Maya's chest.
Cole holstered his revolver. "You're telling me you knew Elena?"
"I'm telling you I worked with her." Maya sat down on the edge of the altar. The bow rested across her knees. "There were others. Before the Transfer. Before any of this. A group of us—scientists, engineers, soldiers—we were brought here. Test subjects. They wanted to see if the system worked."
"Who's 'they'?" Alex asked.
"We never knew. Never saw their faces. Just voices on the radio. Instructions. Orders." She looked at the stained glass windows. "Build the road. Test the crates. Document everything."
"And my mother?"
"Elena was the best of us. She figured out things the rest of us couldn't. Found patterns in the system. Exploits. Glitches." Maya smiled—a sad, distant smile. "She was the first to reach Zero Mile. When she came back, she was different. Quieter. She wouldn't tell us what she found. Just said she had to get ready."
"Ready for what?"
"For you." Maya looked at Alex. "She knew the Transfer was coming. Knew you'd be brought here. She built that RV to give you a fighting chance."
"Where is she now?"
Maya's smile faded. "I don't know. After the Transfer, everything changed. The old crew scattered. Some died. Some disappeared. Elena..." She shook her head. "She vanished. But I don't believe she's dead. She's too smart for that."
---
Sarah stepped between Alex and Maya. "Assuming we believe you—and I'm not saying we do—why are you here now?"
"Because Vera is hunting him," Maya said. "And Vera was one of us."
Alex's blood ran cold. "Vera was part of my mother's crew?"
"The Road Knights started as our security team. Vera was in charge. After Elena disappeared, Vera took over. Started building her own army. Her own rules." Maya's jaw tightened. "She's not looking for Zero Mile. She's looking for power. And your skill—your Legendary Perk—is the key."
"What does the perk do?"
"I don't know. Elena never told me. But Vera thinks it's enough to break the system."
"Break the system how?"
Maya stood up. Sling the bow over her shoulder. "That's what I'm trying to find out. And I think you're the only one who can help me."
Alex looked at his crew. Sarah's face was hard, suspicious. Jade's was unreadable. Danny looked like he was trying not to panic.
Cole shrugged. "She's not lying. Far as I can tell."
"Trust but verify," Alex said. "That's how this works."
Maya nodded. "Fair."
"You walk. You don't ride with us. Not yet."
"I walked forty-seven miles. I can walk a few more."
"And if you lead Vera to us—"
"I won't."
Alex held her gaze for a long moment. Then he nodded.
"Welcome to the team. Provisional."
---
They left the church as the last light faded.
Maya walked ahead, bow in hand, scouting the road. Cole rode beside the RV on his Harley. Sarah drove, jaw set, eyes forward.
"I don't trust her," Sarah said.
"I know."
"She shows up out of nowhere, knows everything about your mom, and expects us to believe she's on our side?"
"I know."
"It could be a trap."
"It could be." Alex leaned back in the passenger seat. "But she knew about the journal. About the photo. About the modifications. Those aren't things you guess."
"Vera could have told her."
"Vera wants me dead. Why send someone to warn me?"
Sarah didn't have an answer.
Jade spoke from the back. "The bow is real. Homemade. That's not something you get from a crate. She built it herself."
"That means something?" Danny asked.
"It means she's been out here a long time. Longer than most." Jade's eyes were on Maya's silhouette ahead. "People who survive that long aren't stupid. If she wanted us dead, we'd be dead."
"Comforting," Sarah muttered.
"Just saying."
---
Alex pulled out the journal. Read the entries again.
Day 47: The chassis reinforcement is complete.
Day 52: Installed the second fuel tank.
Day 60: They're getting closer.
They.
Not Vera. Not the system. Something else.
They.
He flipped to the back. The photograph. Three people.
Elena. The tired man in the middle. And the third man—the one who looked familiar.
Who are you? Alex thought. And where are you now?
His system pinged.
```
[System: Common Supply Crate (White) detected]
Location: Shoulder, 0.3 miles ahead.
Survivors in area: 0
```
"Pull over," Alex said.
Sarah stopped the RV. Alex stepped out. Walked to the crate.
White. Small. Unremarkable.
He crouched. Touched the lock.
Eight seconds now, he thought. Quick Hands.
The lock clicked.
```
[System: Common Supply Crate (White) opened.]
Rewards:
– MRE x1
– Water Bottle x1
– Credit: 50
```
Fifty credits. Not nothing.
He looked at his system.
```
[User: Alex Chen]
Level: 3
Credits: 225/400 to next level
```
One hundred seventy-five credits to Level 4.
Six more levels after that to the first Legendary Perk.
Getting there, he thought. Slowly. But getting there.
He walked back to the RV.
Maya was waiting by the door.
"White crate?" she asked.
"White crate."
"Every credit counts."
"Yeah." He climbed inside. "Every credit counts."