11. Escape & Rest
Escape that they hadn't even locked the door. The door creaked inward with a groan that echoed far too loudly in the silence, and everyone froze. Nothing answered.
Jay motioned them forward.
The smell hit first: old smoke, dust, and engine oil.
It smelled normal, almost painfully so, as if emergency responders had simply walked away mid-shift and might return any minute.
Helmets still hung on their hooks. Coffee mugs sat forgotten on a table beside a half-finished crossword puzzle and a newspaper folded open to a sports section, displaying mid-season standings for a league that never finished its year.
Seth swallowed hard. The end had come to places like this on one ordinary morning, over one ordinary cup of coffee, and then—nothing. No one had come back to finish the puzzle.
Cara swept the upstairs. "Clear!"
Jay checked the kitchen. "Clear."
Seth searched the bunk room, finding six neatly made beds, family photos taped inside open lockers, and a pair of children's drawings still pinned to a bulletin board with careful pride. He shut the nearest locker and moved on before his mind could start putting names to the faces.
He had to clear his throat before the word would come out. "Clear," he called.
They regrouped in the apparatus bay, where the two massive garage doors remained sealed. Jay looked up at the rusted chain mechanisms. "Let's get them open."
It took all three of them, the metal shrieked as Jay hauled downward while Seth shoved up with his shoulder.
"For the love of—"
"Keep pushing!” Jay yelled.
Cara planted her boots and added her weight. With one final groan, the first door lurched upward, letting the cold air rush inside. One at a time, they backed both vehicles into the garage, and the moment the doors rattled closed again, silence settled over them.