They left the nest behind and stepped back into the ruined streets. The night air was still cold against their skin, heavy with the smell of dust and blood.
Both of them were still soaked in it, dried and fresh blood layered together.
Clyde glanced down at his arms, at the dark stains clinging to him, and felt a quiet disgust.
"We need shelter," he said. "And water to clean this."
Mina nodded immediately. She felt it too. The exhaustion that only came after survival, when adrenaline finally loosened its grip.
They moved through the city at a steady pace, avoiding open intersections. The streets were quieter now. Too quiet. Whatever monsters had lingered nearby were either dead, hiding, or waiting for something worse to begin.
They found the hotel a few blocks away. A tall structure with shattered windows on the lower floors and a collapsed entrance canopy.
