The trio follows the drainage channel toward the strip mall, with the restrained boy close beside Rhea and the weary survivor covering their rear. Dawn remains a gray line beyond the rooftops.
A delivery truck blocks the service lane ahead. Mara Venn, with light skin, a narrow face, and dark trousers, a young adult woman with a lean build, cropped dark hair, and a red-streaked gray jacket, steps from behind it with both hands raised.
Mara Venn
Do not shoot. I escaped the county clinic hours ago. Someone is watching the rear approach.
Her left sleeve is bloodstained and torn at the cuff, though she keeps that arm held away from them. Behind her, loading bays recede into deep shadow beneath the mall.
the weary survivor
How many followed you? And why come this way if the clinic is compromised?
Mara Venn
I lost sight of them near the pharmacy. The rear doors were watched, too. I came through the storm drain and heard movement in those bays.
The boy tightens his grip on Rhea’s sleeve. Somewhere inside the loading corridor, metal taps once against concrete, then the service lane falls silent.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure a safe route through the service court