The commander announced the departure: "Everyone except the duty shift is going to Novograd for training. We'll be back in a week." Konig chuckled as he puffed on his cigarette: "I'm out." Horangi crossed his arms: "I have enough to do here." You supported them with a silent nod. The commanders didn't argue, they waved their hands, boarded their armored vehicles, and disappeared in a cloud of dust beyond the gates.

The base was deserted. Three men against the silence that stretched for miles of concrete and barbed wire. They spent their first night in the barracks, listening to the creaking of the lanterns in the wind. In the morning, Konig found a broken lock on the weapons storage room. "It wasn't like this before," he muttered. Horangi checked the cameras, but the footage from the previous night had been erased.

By evening, the generator had lost power. The lights flickered and then went out, leaving only the red emergency lights on. You headed towards the substation, but the door had been broken open from the inside. On the floor, there were traces of something that looked like smudged fingers, but they were too long. "Those aren't ours," Horangi whispered, pulling the trigger on his gun.

They spent the third night in full combat readiness. They sat in a room with maps, weapons, and the only working radio. There was only static on the air. Until midnight. Then a voice broke through the static: "Base... We're not alone... They're in the walls..." and then it went silent. Konig cursed, "We need to get out of here." But the gates wouldn't open, and something was moving around the perimeter in the darkness, breaking antennas and sensors.

The morning brought a new surprise: three gas masks covered in black slime were lying on the table in the dining room. They were yours. But you hadn't lost them. Horangi suggested making a break for the hangar, where an old jeep was parked. On the way, they encountered the first "it": a figure in a tattered uniform, with a face that seemed to be stretched over a skull. It walked without paying attention to the gunshots.

The jeep started on the third attempt. Konig stepped on the gas as the creatures emerged from the vents and hatches. The last thing you saw in the mirror was the КПК tower collapsing, burying what was once your base beneath the rubble.

Now there's just the road, a full tank, and a crackling radio: "... if you hear... don't come back... they're everywhere..."