He was low on 9mm rounds. His melee pipe was bent. In the logic of the old world, Elias was a dead man. But Elias had the .

To the other survivors in the safe zone, Elias was a legend—the man who never missed, the scavenger who always found the pristine medicine in the most dangerous loots spots. They didn't see the cost.

The rain in Fairview didn’t wash away the grime; it just turned the blood and soot into a slick, black sludge. Elias adjusted his gas mask, the filter whistling with every ragged breath. Outside the boarded windows of the Haverbrook Apartments, the "Grey" were moaning—a sound like dry leather tearing.