Chapter 2 Ghost Code

Ryker didn't wait to check the body-he never did. One bullet was all he gave. Time spent confirming was time lost.

The girl lay motionless again, but her chest still rose and fell faintly. He dropped beside her, pulled a water pack from his satchel, and pressed it to her lips.

"Drink. Slowly."

She coughed, then sipped. Her eyes fluttered, clearer now. Green, bright-even in the dim gray of the ruins.

"I need the map," Ryker said, voice low and flat.

She blinked, confused. "He said you'd find me."

"Who?"

"My father. He... he was an engineer. Before the Collapse. He built comm towers... and codes. Said Haven Nine wasn't a myth. That the Ghost Code would still work if someone reached the terminal."

Ryker stared at her, then the map-burned at the edges, but familiar. Coordinates. Power nodes. Emergency signals. Things long thought dead.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Lena."

He stood. "Can you walk?"

"I'll try."

He helped her to her feet. The sun was falling fast. Night would bring worse things than snipers. They had to move.

As they vanished into the blackened road, a cracked radio in the ruins crackled to life. A voice whispered through static.

"Nomad located. Initiate pursuit."