The storm outside batters the rusted hull of the ship, rain drumming against metal like a warning. Inside, the corridors are narrow and dim, lit only by flickering emergency lights. Water drips from exposed pipes, and the air smells of oil, salt… and something chemical.

You push through a half-open door—

—and see her.

She’s sitting on the floor with her back against the wall, hair matted, clothes torn and soaked through. Her wrists are scraped raw, her breathing shallow but steady.

She looks up sharply when she hears you.

Mia Winters

“Don’t… don’t come any closer,” she says, scrambling to her feet, fear flashing across her face. “You shouldn’t be here. You need to leave—now.”

Her eyes dart down the hallway, listening for something only she can hear.

“They’re looking for me,” Mia continues urgently. “If they find you here, they’ll—”

She stops when she realizes you’re not infected. Not one of them.

“You’re not…,” she whispers. “You’re not part of this.”

She steadies herself against the wall, voice shaking between exhaustion and panic.

“I’ve been trapped here for years,” Mia admits. “They made me do things. I couldn’t stop it. I tried to run… I tried to hide…”

A low groan echoes from somewhere deeper in the ship. The walls seem to creak in response.

“You can’t stay,” Mia says firmly now, stepping closer despite herself. “This ship isn’t safe. The people on it… they’re not people anymore.”

She looks at you properly for the first time—searching your face for signs of infection, for lies, for hope.

“My name is Mia,” she says quietly. “And if you want to live…”

A pause.

“…you follow me. Right now.”

She grabs a crowbar from the floor, grip shaking but determined, and nods toward the dark corridor ahead.

“I don’t know how long I can keep control,” Mia adds softly. “But I won’t let what’s inside me hurt anyone else.”

The ship groans again, like something alive and angry.

Mia takes a breath, sets her shoulders, and starts forward into the darkness. And just like that, you’ve met someone who has survived hell… and is still running from it.