Fin pulls the office door shut and wedges a metal chair beneath its handle. The barricade looks fragile, but the dragging steps outside fade into the depot's evening hush.
She clears a space on the desk and arranges antiseptic wipes, gauze, tape, and the faded antibiotic bottle. Dust hangs in the flashlight beam.
Fin
Don't move your sleeve yet. I won't touch the bite unless you say I can.
Fin kneels beside the desk, keeping her rifle within reach. Her mismatched eyes examine the covered wound, then flick toward the silent radio on the shelf.
Fin
The radio stopped answering three nights before the others left. One of them got sick here. The other two went west toward New Hope.
Fin
I stayed behind because somebody had to watch the road. That doesn't mean New Hope is safe, or honest, or even still there.
She offers the gauze across the desk without closing the distance. Beyond the braced door, something brushes the concrete wall, then goes still.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn what happened to Fin's companions
“I search the desk for records about Fin's companions.”
SUCCESS (Great Perception, rolled -2)
Maya eases open the desk drawers and searches beneath brittle forms, spare batteries, and dust-caked pencils. The wood sticks twice, forcing her to work slowly in the fading light.
A maintenance log beneath the lowest tray records the checkpoint roster. Two former checkpoint companions are listed as departing west, while a separate entry marks one sick checkpoint companion as remaining behind.
The departure entry includes a date and a note about supplies taken, confirming Fin's account. The sick companion's line ends with an observation time but gives no outcome.
Fin
That is more than I had. I never found the log after they left.
Maya finds a hand-drawn western route tucked beneath the log, with the fuel depot and New Hope marked along it. Several later pages are water-damaged and unreadable.
Fin
Keep it. We can compare that route with the map before we leave. It may tell us which road they used.
The search costs the last clean daylight, leaving no reliable detail about the sick companion's fate. Still, the records and route are in Maya's hands.
+ New Item Acquired
hand-drawn western route
“I ask Fin about the sick companion's last observation”
SUCCESS (Good Reasoning, rolled -1)
Maya Gonzales
What does the sick companion's last observation say? Did they note where they went, or what happened to them?
Fin leans over the log, tracing the damaged line with one black-polished fingernail. Dust shifts from the page, and the office grows dim around them.
Fin
It says they were awake at 21:10, feverish, and asking for water. No departure time. No note saying they turned.
Fin
The last word I can read is “stable,” but that was written by someone else. It could mean their condition, or just the watch report.
Fin turns the page toward Maya. The observation answers when the sick survivor was last seen conscious, but the water damage leaves the final outcome uncertain.
Fin
We have to spend time checking the next pages, and they may tell us nothing. But this confirms the log was still being kept after the others left.
Fin gathers the readable sheets beside the route map. Outside, darkness settles over the depot before either of them can safely leave.
“I ask Fin to assess my bite now”
SUCCESS (Good Reasoning, rolled -1)
Maya Gonzales
Assess the bite now. Tell me what you can determine.
Fin studies Maya's face, then carefully unwraps the gauze. She cleans around the bite without touching it, comparing its swelling and color with the log's description.
Fin
The skin is angry and bruised, but I don't see spreading discoloration or a fever tremor. That is better than the signs in the log.
Fin holds the flashlight closer and checks the wound twice. The examination takes several minutes, leaving the office fully dark and the western road unsafe to cross tonight.
Fin
I can't call it safe. The sick companion's record proves fever can come later, and this log doesn't tell us why. But you are stable right now.
Fin
I'll rewrap it cleanly. We stay here until morning, and I keep checking for changes. The uncertainty is real, but at least we know what it looks like tonight.
“I ask Fin to plan our morning departure”
SUCCESS (Good Reasoning, rolled +2)
Maya Gonzales
Plan our morning departure. I want the safest route west, what we carry, and when we leave.
Fin studies the route map beneath the flashlight, then marks three points with a pencil: the depot exit, a drainage road, and a covered stretch beyond the old fuel tanks.
Fin
We leave at first light. We take the drainage road west, not the main access lane. It keeps us below the skyline and away from the open lots.
She folds the route sheet around the map and sets the medical supplies beside it. Her rifle remains within reach as she checks the office door and the dark windows.
Fin
We carry water, the gauze, antiseptic, antibiotics, and only enough food for the first stretch. At the old culvert, we reassess before choosing the next road.
Fin adds a watch schedule to the margin: she takes the first shift before dawn, Maya takes the second after sunrise. The departure plan is clear and ready.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn why Fin really stayed at the checkpoint
“I’ll ask Fin what she was really protecting by staying behind.”
SUCCESS (Good Reasoning, rolled -1)
Maya Gonzales
What were you really protecting by staying behind? Was it the checkpoint, or the person who got sick?
Fin
The sick one. The checkpoint was an excuse I could explain. I stayed because leaving them alone felt worse than facing the road by myself.
Fin's mismatched eyes drop to the log. She presses one finger against the damaged entry, keeping her voice low so the office's thin walls do not carry it outside.
Fin
I brought water, checked their fever, and kept the door locked when they started getting confused. I told myself stable meant there was still time.
Fin
I never saw them leave. I never found a body. So the honest answer is that I was protecting someone I may already have lost.
The admission gives Maya the truth behind Fin's watch, but the remaining pages must still be checked for any sign of what happened. Their morning review will take time before departure.
Fin
We check those pages before we leave. If there is an answer, I want it, even if it makes New Hope harder to reach.
Quest Complete
Learn why Fin really stayed at the checkpoint