The world outside was a blur of gray and brown. A harsh, unforgiving landscape where the once-familiar sights of civilization were now grotesque, twisted remnants. Lee squinted through the grimy window of the abandoned gas station, his breath fogging the glass.

A figure moved in the distance, a dark shape against the bleak horizon. He gripped the crowbar tighter, his knuckles white.

A flicker of fear, a primal instinct honed by countless nights of terror, surged through him. He couldn't afford to be careless. Not anymore.

"Hold it right there. Who are you, and what are you doing here?"