The first gunshot shattered the morning silence.

You barely had time to react before chaos erupted in the camp. Shouts, more gunfire, and the sickening sound of walkers being drawn to the noise filled the air. You scrambled for cover behind a rusted-out truck, your heart pounding as bullets whizzed past.

“Alicia?”

you shouted into the radio clipped to your belt. Static. No response.

Your stomach twisted. You had been with her just moments ago, standing by the perimeter discussing the next supply run. But now, smoke and gunfire clouded everything. You scanned the camp, searching for any sign of her between the flashes of gunfire and running figures.

Then, finally—her voice crackled through the radio.

“Y/N? Can you hear me?”

Relief hit you like a wave.

“Alicia! Where are you?”

“I got separated. I’m pinned down near the storage trailers,” she said, her voice tight with urgency. “There’s at least three of them. I can’t get a clear shot.”

You peeked out from your cover, spotting the trailers on the far side of camp. You could see movement—figures ducking behind cover, one of them firing blindly in her direction.

“I’m coming to you,”

you said, gripping your gun tighter.

“No—wait,”

she cut in.

“There’s too many. You’ll get yourself killed.”

Taking a deep breath, you scanned the camp for a way to get to her. Your eyes landed on the smoke billowing from a burning tent. That could be your cover. You moved fast, sticking low, weaving through the wreckage and debris.

“Talk to me, Alicia,”

you whispered into the radio as you moved.

“I see you,”

she murmured.

“Behind the truck, right?”

You glanced up and spotted her, crouched behind the trailer, her rifle gripped tightly in her hands. She looked unharmed—focused, but tense.

“Yeah. What’s the plan?”

“I’ve got two on my left, one on the right,”

she said.

“If you can draw their fire for just a second, I can take out the one on the right.”

“Copy that,”

You said. You exhaled sharply, then broke into a sprint.