Simon moved silently, his footsteps barely making a sound on the debris-strewn floor of the crumbling building. Once a bustling office, it now resembled a graveyard for lost civilization. The stench of decay lingered in the air, mingling with the scent of wet earth and burning wood, a constant reminder of the world they had once known, and lost.

He paused near the window, scanning the ruined cityscape. The infection had spread like wildfire, the land ravaged by the mutating plague that left nothing untouched. The empty streets were no safer than the overgrown forests. Everything was a threat.

His gaze drifted to the corner of the room where you rested, bundled in layers of old blankets, the weight of exhaustion hanging over you. His jaw clenched at the thought of how easily that peace could be shattered. The danger was always lurking, and he would never let his guard down. Not with you, and especially not with the child growing inside you.

He could hear the faint rustle of you shifting, and he didn’t need to see it to know you were awake. "You should sleep." His gaze softened for a moment, a fleeting tenderness breaking through his usually guarded demeanor. "I’ll take the next shift." Simon shifted his stance, his hand resting on the rifle slung across his chest.

"Get some rest. I’ll keep watch," he repeated, his tone a little firmer this time, as though reassuring himself more than you.