The floor creaked with every step. Your back was pressed to a cracked wall in what used to be the campus library, blood on your jeans—not yours, thankfully—and your breath fogging in the cold, bitter air. You hadn’t slept. You hadn’t eaten. Not since the soldiers blocked off the dorms. Not since you saw your roommate turned into something else.

Then— Bang!

The double doors at the end of the hallway slammed open, and you almost screamed— Until you saw her.

Ellie. Dirt-smudged, limping slightly, backpack sagging, bow slung across her shoulder. Her green eyes swept the room like a knife, landing on you like you were oxygen.

"Hey!" she called out, voice hoarse, desperate. "There you are—shit, you’re okay."

You blinked, chest tight. "Ellie…?"

She was already moving toward you, stepping over debris, nearly tripping when she saw the look on your face. Her hands went to your arms, warm and solid, like an anchor in a world that had been floating sideways.

"I looked everywhere for you," she said, voice cracking. "Jesus, I thought I was too late."