The third dawn since they established their base in the warehouse arrived with a bitter promise. The sky over Surabaya remained gray, covered by thick clouds that seemed unwilling to budge, reflecting the eternal despair hanging over the dying city. Inside the warehouse, the cold morning air bit deep, punctuated by the whispering wind that whistled through the damaged cracks in the walls.
Kai, Luna, and Rima were ready. They wore the most practical clothing they owned—layers of thick fabric for protection from the elements and abrasions, sturdy boots, and backpacks containing minimal supplies: a few canned goods, some bottles of filtered water, flashlights, ropes, and basic tools. Rima carried her sharpened machete and energy pistol; Luna, her small hunting knife and a modified slingshot; Kai, a tactical axe and his notebook. Each member of the team, even with all their gear, still seemed small against the overwhelming destruction that awaited outside.
At the warehouse door, Elias and Aris stood, their faces etched with suppressed anxiety. "Be careful," Aris whispered again, her voice laced with plea. "We don't know what's out there."
"We'll be back," Kai reassured, his gaze firm. He looked at Aris, then Elias. "Guard this stronghold. Make sure no one gets in."
Rima merely gave them a brief nod. Luna offered a rare, faint smile, then deftly stepped out.
The journey to the harbor was a lesson in horrors they had never witnessed before. The ruins grew progressively worse, each block revealing more total devastation than the last. Skyscrapers that were once magnificent were now twisted steel skeletons, towering like giant fingers clawing at the scarred sky. The streets were choked with piles of rubble, burned-out cars, and what were once everyday objects, now rendered useless trash.
The air grew thicker with the salty scent of the sea mingled with a stale, rotten, and chemical aroma—perhaps from the ruined harbor factories. In some areas, a thin, sticky mist clung to the ground, concealing threats that might lurk within.
Luna led with unparalleled skill. Her eyes constantly scanned for tracks, not just from Stalkers or Golems, but also for wind patterns, distant echoes of sounds, even the abnormal movements of small insects. She weaved through the ruins with the agility of a fox, almost soundlessly, her hand occasionally signaling to stop, duck, or turn back.
"Fresh Golem tracks," she whispered once, pointing to giant footprints in the muddy ground. "Type-B size. Moving north. We'll take the south route."
Rima walked directly behind Luna, every sense honed. She was the embodiment of combat readiness. Her pistol was ready to draw, her machete strapped tightly yet easily accessible. She paid no mind to the horrific scenery around her; her focus was solely on threats, on every rustling sound, every moving shadow. Whenever Luna signaled a Stalker hiding behind a pile of trash, Rima would step forward, her hand already gripping her machete, ready to end the threat without causing unnecessary noise.
Kai, behind them, observed, learned. As an architect, his eyes were trained to see structures and patterns, even in total destruction. He noted how the ruins formed natural corridors, how the still-standing buildings could serve as observation points or traps. He also scanned the taller buildings, searching for the harbor control tower that was their destination. The building should be clearly visible, towering above the skeletal remains of sunken ships.
As they approached the edge of the harbor district, the atmosphere changed. An eerie silence gripped the area, unlike the usual bustle of Stalkers. The silence itself was a sign of danger. There was only the sound of dust carried by the wind and the creak of metal from the shipwrecks.
"Something's not right," Rima mumbled, tightening her grip on her pistol. "Too quiet."
Suddenly, Luna stopped, holding up a hand. She crouched behind the remnants of a wall, her blue eyes fixed on something in the distance. "The signal... it's stronger here. But there's also... something else."
Kai and Rima crouched beside her. Before them lay the desolate view of what was once a bustling harbor, now a graveyard of steel and concrete. Giant cargo ships lay stranded on the docks, their hulls ripped and rusted. Port cranes had toppled, their iron arms clawing at the wounded sky. Amidst it all, the tall harbor control tower, though severely damaged, still stood upright, a lonely sentinel observing the destruction.
But it wasn't the destruction that made Luna stop. From gaps around the tower, from piles of collapsed containers, faint flashes of light were visible. Not neon. This light was dimmer, more hidden. And not only that. There was movement. Faint shapes, more organized than Stalkers.
"Humans," Luna whispered. "Many of them."
Kai's blood stirred. They were there. Other Architects of Tomorrow? Or enemies?
"They're armed," Rima warned, her eyes sharpening. "I see rifles. And there's something at the main gate of the tower... barricades. This isn't a typical survivor camp."
They observed for several minutes, hidden behind a tall pile of rubble. Luna's radio signal grew clearer, pulsing with the same pattern. There were about a dozen figures they could see around the tower, some carrying what appeared to be functional firearms, conducting regular patrols. They weren't dressed like military personnel, more like an organized group of survivors with patched clothing and jury-rigged equipment.
"We can't just storm in," Kai decided. "Too many of them, and they're armed. Luna, Rima, can we find a hidden route to the tower? Or at least close to it?"
"There's an old maintenance tunnel under the dock," Luna whispered, her eyes scanning an old sketch Kai carried. "Might lead beneath the tower. But I don't know its condition."
"It's a risk we have to take," Kai replied. "We need to know who they are, what their intentions are, and whether that signal is an invitation or a trap."
Rima nodded. "I'll lead. We'll move through the shadows. Every sound must be avoided."
They moved again, this time with extreme caution. Every step was a calculation. They slipped through the ruins, avoiding open areas, and finally reached the edge of the dock. The air here felt damp and colder. The faint sound of distant waves, whether from a real sea or just an echo from a lost world, added a strange nuance to the place.
Luna found the entrance to the tunnel she had mentioned. It was a dark hole beneath the collapsed dock, barely visible to the naked eye, disguised by wild grass and broken concrete. The musty smell of damp earth and mud greeted them from within.
"It looks stable," Luna whispered. "But it's pitch black. And anything could be inside."
Rima had already turned on her small flashlight, its beam piercing the darkness. "We're going in."
They crawled inside, one by one. The tunnel was narrow, its floor wet and slippery. Murky, ankle-deep water pooled in some places, reflecting the trembling flashlight beam. The air was stale and cold, and every small sound, even a dripping of water, echoed eerily.
The journey through the tunnel felt incredibly long. The darkness and dampness created their own kind of pressure. Several times they had to stop to avoid water too deep or rubble blocking their path. Luna continued to lead, her senses guiding them through the subterranean labyrinth.
Suddenly, Luna stopped. "Sound," she whispered. "Approaching. Not Stalkers."
Rima raised her pistol. Kai held his breath. From the darkness ahead, they could hear footsteps. Heavy, regular. More than one.
"They have torches," Luna added. "Faint light."
The encounter was inevitable. They knew they were too deep to retreat quickly. The tunnel was too narrow to hide effectively.
"Whoever they are," Kai whispered, "don't make any aggressive moves until we know what's happening."
The sound of footsteps grew clearer, followed by a flickering orange light. Then, two figures emerged from the darkness, carrying makeshift torches that cast a dim glow. They were human, armed, and dressed in tattered, but more orderly, clothes than typical scavengers. Their faces were hardened, carved by struggle.
One of them raised a rifle, wrapped with tape, aiming it directly at Kai. "Who are you?! How did you get in here?!"
Tension suffocated the air. Rima was ready to spring, Luna ready to vanish, Kai slowly raised his hands. This was their moment of truth. Would they find allies, or was this the end of their journey to find the Architects of Tomorrow?
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