The RV rolled east.
Marcus drove. He'd offered—said he needed to feel the road again. Sarah sat in the passenger seat, watching him like a hawk.
Alex sat in the back, journal open, photograph in his hand.
His father.
Alive.
The third face in the photograph. The one he hadn't recognized. The one Cole said had died on the road to Zero Mile.
Lies, Alex thought. Everyone lies.
Cole sat across from him. The old trucker wouldn't meet his eyes.
"You knew," Alex said.
"I knew."
"For how long?"
"Since the beginning. Since before the Transfer." Cole lit a cigarette. "Marcus and I... we weren't just crew. We were friends. Brothers, almost. When he was taken, I thought he was dead. We all did."
"But he wasn't."
"No. He wasn't." Cole exhaled smoke. "I found out the truth a month ago. A survivor told me they'd seen him. Alive. Working for them."
"Working for who?"
"The ones who built the system. The ones who control the road."
Alex's blood ran cold. "My father works for the enemy?"
"I don't know. Maybe. Maybe he's playing a long game. Maybe he's been turned." Cole looked at Marcus. "Either way, he's not the man I knew."
---
Marcus pulled over at dusk.
"We should camp here," he said. "Good visibility. No cover for attackers."
Sarah killed the engine. Climbed out.
The crew gathered around a small fire. James cooked. Riley dealt cards. Danny helped.
Alex sat apart. Watching his father.
Marcus walked over. Sat down beside him.
"You have questions," he said.
"I have a lot of questions."
"Ask."
Alex pulled out the journal. The photograph. "Why did you let everyone think you were dead?"
"Because I needed them to." Marcus's voice was quiet. "The people who took me... they're everywhere. They watch. They listen. If they knew I was still connected to Elena—to you—they would have killed you both."
"So you pretended to be dead."
"I became someone else. Someone they could use." Marcus looked at his hands. "I did things, Alex. Things I'm not proud of. Things I can never take back."
"What kind of things?"
"Things that keep me awake at night." Marcus met his eyes. "But I did them to survive. To stay alive long enough to find you."
"Now you've found me."
"Now I've found you."
Alex was quiet for a long moment. Then: "My mother. Is she really alive?"
"Yes."
"At Zero Mile?"
"Yes."
"Can we save her?"
Marcus's jaw tightened. "I don't know. The door she opened... it's not just a door. It's a cage. Once you go through, you can't come back. Not without breaking the system."
"Then we break the system."
"Everyone says that. No one's done it."
"Then we'll be the first."
---
Jade appeared out of the darkness.
"Someone's coming," she said. "East. One vehicle. Moving fast."
Alex stood. "How many?"
"Hard to tell. But it's not a Road Knight vehicle. Too small."
Marcus drew a pistol—where had he been hiding that?—and moved to the edge of the camp.
The vehicle appeared. A motorcycle. Old. Beat-up. The rider was a woman.
She skidded to a stop. Killed the engine. Pulled off her helmet.
Red hair. Green eyes.
Alex's heart stopped.
Not his mother. Too young. But familiar.
"You're Alex Chen," she said.
"I am."
"My name is Kira. Your mother sent me."
---
The crew gathered around.
Kira was in her twenties. Dusty. Tired. Armed with a pistol and a knife.
"Elena's been sending messages for months," she said. "Trying to find someone who could reach you. I volunteered."
"Why you?"
"Because I'm fast. And I'm hard to kill." She looked at Marcus. "And because I'm your sister."
Alex's world tilted.
"Sister?"
"Half-sister. Same mother. Different fathers." Kira shrugged. "Elena didn't tell you? Not surprised. She's bad at sharing."
Alex looked at Marcus. His father's face was pale.
"I didn't know," Marcus said. "Elena never..."
"She never told anyone." Kira sat down by the fire. "I was born on the road. Before the Transfer. Elena was here, in this world, for years before anyone else. She had me. Raised me. Taught me to survive."
"Then why aren't you with her now?"
"Because she sent me away. When the system started closing in, she knew they'd come for us. She told me to run. To hide. To wait."
"Wait for what?"
"For you." Kira looked at Alex. "She said you'd come. That you'd find Zero Mile. That you'd break the system."
"And you believed her?"
"I'm here, aren't I?"
---
Sarah pulled Alex aside.
"Your sister," she said. "You didn't know?"
"I didn't know."
"Your father. Your mother. Your long-lost sister. Anyone else in your family hiding on this road?"
"I hope not."
Sarah shook her head. "Your life is complicated."
"Tell me about it."
She put a hand on his arm. "But you're not alone. Remember that."
Alex looked at her. The firelight caught her eyes.
"I remember," he said.
---
Kira joined the crew.
She took Jade's spot on the roof—the sniper was grudgingly impressed by her driving. Marcus kept to himself, watching the road. Cole chain-smoked and said nothing.
Alex sat in the passenger seat, journal open, trying to process.
A sister.
He had a sister.
"My head's spinning," Danny said from the back. "First your dad, now your sister. What's next? Your grandma?"
"Don't give the road any ideas."
The kid laughed. It was the first time Alex had heard him laugh.
Progress, Alex thought. Small. But progress.
---
His system pinged.
```
[System: Rare Supply Crate (Blue) detected]
Location: Rest stop, 8 miles ahead.
Survivors in area: 2.
```
Two survivors. One blue crate.
"Better odds," Alex said.
"Or another trap," Jade muttered.
"Only one way to find out."
Sarah steered toward the rest stop.
---
The rest stop was small. A bathroom. A vending machine. A few picnic tables.
And one blue crate, glowing in the shade of a dead tree.
Two survivors sat on a picnic table. Armed. Watching.
Alex approached alone. Tire iron in hand.
"That's close enough," one of them said. A man. Older. Gray beard.
"I'm not here to fight," Alex said.
"Then why are you here?"
"The crate. Same as you."
"There's two of us and one of you."
"Six of us." Alex gestured to the RV. "But I'm the only one who walked over. That should tell you something."
The man exchanged a glance with his companion. A woman. Younger. Tired.
"We're not looking for trouble," the woman said.
"Neither am I."
"Then what do you want?"
"Sixty-forty. Us sixty. You forty."
The man laughed. "You drive a hard bargain."
"I drive an RV across an endless road. Bargaining is survival."
They shook hands.
---
The crate opened.
Eight seconds.
```
[System: Rare Supply Crate (Blue) opened.]
Rewards:
– Medical Kit (Advanced) x2
– Fuel Canister x5 (+50% fuel)
– Skill Book: "Sharp Eyes" (Increases crate detection range by 30%)
– RV Module: "Armored Chassis Upgrade" (Requires Level 20)
– Credit: 300
```
Alex split the loot. The survivors took their share and left.
He opened the skill book.
```
[System: Skill learned – Sharp Eyes (Level 1)]
Effect: Crate detection range increased by 30%.
```
"Useful," he said.
He looked at his system.
```
[User: Alex Chen]
Level: 7
Credits: 325/800 to next level
```
Four hundred seventy-five to Level 8.
"Getting there," he muttered.
"Getting where?" Kira asked. She'd appeared beside him. Silent, like Maya.
"Level eight. Then nine. Then ten."
"Ten's the big one."
"Ten's the first Legendary Perk."
Kira nodded. "Mother told me about it. She said it would change everything."
"Did she say how?"
"No. She said you'd have to find out for yourself."
Alex looked at the road. The endless road.
"Then that's what I'll do."