Chapter 2
Alejandro
Alow groan slipped from Alex as he braced one arm against the tiled wall, letting the hot water fall down over his broad shoulders.
For a few blissful seconds, he just stood there, letting the spray soak his skin and rinse away the first layer of filth from the world outside.
There was grime and sweat of course but also the clinging, sewer stench that always seemed to follow them back from the ruins outside.
The showers were the only way to walk through the hospital halls without carrying the apocalypse in with him.
He finally straightened, rolling his stiff shoulders as the sharp smack of a towel echoed nearby.
His team was celebrating, as usual. They always did after a successful run, and he couldn’t blame them.
Every time they stepped outside, the city reminded them of what the world had become.
The buildings remained intact for the most part, save for the broken windows where vines grew and curled through the broken glass.
And the air carried an acidic smell that always reminded them that death was only a heartbeat away.
It wasn’t like that was easy to forget when every name of a friend lost was buried deep in Alex’s mind. It was why Alex always prayed before leaving, even if he was unsure anyone was actually listening.
So, yeah. Making it back in one piece and together was worth a little noise.
“Settle down,” Alex called, glancing over his shoulder at the others. His tone was more weary than stern.
In the early days, he’d been just like them, roughhousing to burn off adrenaline the only way they knew how, but the thrill of it all had faded.
Now, after hours spent shooting down the infected that hid in the shadows of the city until they found the perfect moment to strike in packs, all he wanted was quiet and maybe a few minutes to remember what life used to be like before the outbreak.
“C’mon, loosen up, Alex. We’re just trying to have a little fun,” Grayson teased as he stepped into the shower next to him. Water splashed against the tiles and steamed curled through the air.
“I bet you’ll be a lot happier after you go see that doctor of yours,” Grayson added with a smirk as he leaned over the short partition between stalls, his voice dropping to a whisper.
If it had been anyone else talking about Lucilla, Alex would have snapped but after twelve years of friendship with Grayson, he let it slide. Instead, he flung a handful of water in his friend’s direction and shook his head with a rare and honest smile.
“Shut up and wash,” he said, chuckling softly with amusement.
Grayson laughed, shaking the water from his hair and letting it patter against the wall between them.
The sound of the other men joking and shoving each other filled the air, but it all felt distant to Alex.
The heat from the water seeped into his muscles, loosening the tension from hours of running and shooting but it couldn’t quiet the part of his mind that always wandered back to her.
Lucilla Castillo.
Even now as he stood beneath the scalding water, he could picture her in her lab, bent over a microscope with that stubborn little crease between her brows.
She had no idea how often he thought of her, how every run outside these walls felt just a little more dangerous because of the chance he might not make it back to see her again.
He’d never say it out loud, not to the guys and not to her but surviving for himself stopped mattering a long time ago. Now, he survived for her.
Grayson whistled low, breaking Alex’s thoughts. “You’re thinking about her, aren’t you?”
Alex didn’t answer. He just smirked to himself and let the water drown out everything else.
After showering, Alex hauled his bag over his shoulder and headed back to the small room he shared with Grayson.
As expected, Luna had burrowed herself beneath the thin sheets of his cot, becoming a warm lump of fur in his absence.
Her ears perked up at the creak of the door, and Alex slowed long enough to kneel and scratch behind them.
Her water bowl was full so Luci must have stopped by.
He’d need to thank her, though he doubted she saw it as anything but habit.
He’d never met anyone like Luci, so selfless, so determined to take care of everyone but herself.
It was admirable, but it carried a cost. People like Luci gave everything they had and never noticed how empty they were running until it was too late.
He saw it in her constantly, from the late nights, skipped meals to the way she pushed herself to exhaustion chasing a cure no one else seemed to believe in.
He helped where he could, even if it meant breaking a few rules or leading his team into a little extra danger on supply runs.
Maybe that was selfish and Luci would hate it if she knew, but the risk felt worth it when he saw her face light up at a packet of instant coffee or the familiar scent of the men’s shampoo she secretly loved.
They were small comforts in a world that had none.
He’d figured out about the shampoo the day she leaned a little closer than normal and wrinkled her nose, catching the mix of leather and brandy clinging to him after a run. She didn’t say a word, but the look in her eyes had stayed with him ever since.
And yeah, he wasn’t above admitting that that tiny moment had etched itself into his memory, bringing him the kind of pride he could carry with him for a lifetime.
Alex moved quietly as he and Luna slipped out of their room in search of Luci. Technically, curfew was in full effect, but Alex knew every guard on rotation and more importantly, he’d made Luci a promise. He told her he’d find her when he got back, and he meant it.
Besides, he came bearing gifts. Two perfectly intact bottles of Midnight Breeze shampoo, to be exact.
As they rounded the corner toward her lab, a simmer of unease crept in.
The corridor was dark, there was no fluorescent glow under the door or signs of life.
He crept closer, peering through the thick glass and looking for any hint that she’d been there recently.
When the keypad on the wall confirmed no activity since early that morning, his worry grew.
“Change of plans, I guess,” he whispered to Luna, who stood patiently by his side.
They turned back the way they came, but something didn’t feel right.
Lucilla was predictable, meticulous, even.
If she said she’d be somewhere, she was there.
It was possible she simply needed to rest after a long shift but even that explanation didn’t sit right with him.
Luci always kept her promises, even when they were inconvenient to uphold.
And then it hit him.
The meeting.
Without another thought, Alex pressed the elevator button, watching the numbers climb until the doors opened on the thirteenth floor. He stepped out and jogged down the hall, slowing only when he reached the corner that led to her apartment.
He paused, one fist lifted to knock but hesitated. There were rules about visiting like this. Sneaking into her lab was one thing but showing up at her door in the dead of night was another.
Still, he typed in the four digit override he wasn’t supposed to use unless it was an emergency, the one that bypassed the hospital’s security grid and unlocked every room on this level.
He probably should’ve thought twice.
But he didn’t.
The door slid open with a soft click, and Luna padded in first, her nails tapped quietly against the floor as Alex followed with tense shoulders. He scanned the dim apartment.
Then he saw her.
Luci was curled up on the couch, fast asleep, though it didn’t look like she’d gone down easily.
Tissues littered the coffee table and there were crumpled papers covering the cushions beside her.
Her research notes were torn through and scribbled on in frustration.
A binder laid open on the floor like it had been tossed there without forethought.
Something must have gone terribly wrong while he was away.
Alex crouched beside the couch, careful not to wake her and brushed a few stray strands of hair from her face. Luna laid down nearby with a quiet sigh, resting her head on her paws like she understood.
He set the shampoo bottles gently on the edge of the coffee table and stayed there for a few more moments, watching Luci breathe. She looked exhausted and fragile in a way she never let herself look when awake.
Her hair was a cascade of dark curls spread over the throw pillow and her face was flushed from crying, but somehow that didn’t take away from her beauty.
If anything, it made her look more real.
More human and beautiful in a way that had nothing to do with effort and everything to do with who she was when no one was watching.
Alex reached out again, brushing his knuckles lightly across her cheek.
She stirred just slightly under his touch.
That was when it hit him, how far he’d stepped into her personal space.
The realization made him yank his hand back so quickly he nearly stumbled but he managed to catch himself just in time, leaving his heart pounding harder than it had all night.
Carefully, he rose to his feet and gestured to Luna that it was time to go. As much as he hated to admit it, sneaking in like this probably wasn’t one of his better ideas. He might’ve gotten away with it too, if Luna’s tail hadn’t knocked over one of the shampoo bottles he’d so carefully
placed on the edge of the coffee table.
The bottle clattered to the floor.
So much for slipping out unnoticed.
Luci bolted upright, arms flailing, eyes wide and wild with panic. It took a few seconds before her brain caught up and recognized him.