Good Night: An Apocalypse Story

As Stephanie was about to leave the camp, she caught sight of Mariana near one of the windmills, her no-nonsense demeanor evident even from a distance. Stephanie hesitated, then remembered the raider base she and the other guy had scouted before the mineshaft mission. Turning her bike off, she walked over to Mariana.

"I came across something you need to know," Stephanie said, her voice low but direct. "There's a raider base northwest of here. About twenty clicks out, in an old refinery. They’ve been setting traps."

Mariana's eyes narrowed, her face hardening. "Raiders, huh? Thanks for the intel." She crossed her arms. "We’ll have to deal with that soon."

Nodding, Stephanie turned and headed back to her bike, the engine roaring to life as she sped off toward the nearby town, her next task clear in her mind. The runaway needed to be found, and if she was going to track him down, she had to stay sharp.

She stopped just outside the outskirts of the ruined town, a once-bustling place now reduced to rubble and decay. The buildings stood like skeletal remnants of a world long gone. Freaks roamed the streets here, their pale forms barely visible in the shadows of crumbling structures. Stephanie carefully hid her bike, making sure it was well-concealed before grabbing her rifle and strapping it to her back. With her enhanced senses on high alert, she began to move through the broken town, her eyes scanning the ground for any signs of tracks.

After a few minutes of walking, her newly enhanced vision kicked in. She spotted something most people wouldn’t have—faint boot tracks, barely visible in the dirt and dust. The trail wasn’t fresh, but it was recent enough to follow.

Keeping her movements slow and deliberate, she followed the tracks, slipping between buildings and staying out of sight. A few Freaks prowled nearby, their jerky movements making them unpredictable. One, a hunched figure with twisted limbs, lunged at her from the side, but Stephanie dodged it with ease, her reflexes faster than before. She spun around, driving her knife into the creature’s neck in a single fluid motion, killing it instantly before it could alert the others.

Wiping the blood off her blade, she pressed on, tracking the footprints deeper into the town. The tracks led her to a small house on the edge of the main street, one that didn’t look like it had been overtaken by Freaks—at least, not yet. The windows were intact, and there was no sign of a nest nearby.

Moving silently, Stephanie approached the house, her body low as she tried to stay hidden. Her senses picked up something odd—a faint, almost imperceptible breathing, weak and nervous, from somewhere inside. Not only that, but she could smell him, the faint scent of sweat and fear hanging in the air. He was here, hiding.

She crept toward the door, her steps light. But as soon as she started to push the door open—

TWANG!

An arrow shot out of nowhere, striking her in the shoulder, the force of it making her stagger back. She hissed, gritting her teeth against the pain. The arrow hadn’t gone in deep, but it was embedded enough to hurt like hell. From inside the house, a panicked voice shouted.

"Stay back! I’ll shoot again!"

Stephanie’s eyes narrowed, her vision going red with rage. She ripped the arrow out of her shoulder with a sharp hiss, tossing it to the ground. The pain only seemed to fuel her anger, and without a second thought, she kicked the door open and stormed inside. The man didn’t even have a chance to reload his bow before she was on him. Her fist connected with his face, and he crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

Breathing hard, Stephanie stood over the man, glaring down at him. The anger still coursed through her veins, the enhanced strength in her body making it all too easy to take him down. She pulled out a bandage from her pants pocket, quickly wrapping it around her shoulder where the arrow had pierced her skin. It would heal faster than normal, but it still stung.

With a grunt, she grabbed the man by his collar, hoisting him up onto her shoulder as if he weighed nothing. She was careful not to make too much noise—there were still Freaks lurking outside, and she didn’t need a horde chasing her back to her bike.

As she slipped out of the house, she moved cautiously, her senses on high alert. The town was eerily quiet, the kind of silence that made her skin crawl. Every rustle, every creak of a building settling, had her on edge.

The Freaks hadn’t noticed her yet, but she wasn’t going to take any chances. Keeping the unconscious man slung over her shoulder, she made her way back to the hidden bike, moving swiftly but quietly.

When she reached her bike, she gently laid the man across the back, securing him with a rope. She glanced around one last time, making sure no Freaks had followed, then mounted the bike and kicked the engine to life. The roar was loud, but she didn’t care anymore. She was done being stealthy. It was time to get back to camp.

As the town disappeared behind her, Stephanie let out a long breath. The mission had been successful, but the arrow wound throbbed dully in her shoulder, a reminder that this world was dangerous, even when dealing with people.

Still, she had completed the task. Now it was up to Mihai to decide what to do with the man.

After arriving back at camp, Stephanie parked her bike inside the gates. A few of the camp’s men came over immediately, lifting the unconscious runaway off the back of her bike and carrying him away without a word. She watched them go, wiping the sweat from her brow before heading over to Mihai to report.

“It’s done,” Stephanie said, her voice steady, though her shoulder still throbbed from where the arrow had hit earlier.

Mihai, sitting at his usual post, nodded in approval and reached into his pocket for the credits. As he held them out to her, she shook her head.

“Give them to the vendor. I’ve got a debt with him.”

Mihai raised an eyebrow and glanced over at her bike, his eyes catching sight of the CZ 550 Safari Magnum strapped to the side. “Ah, I see. That new beauty put a hole in your pocket, huh?”

Stephanie shrugged with a small smirk. “Something like that.”

Mihai chuckled, pocketing the credits and giving her a nod of respect. “Fair enough. Debt’s paid, then. You’ve earned a bit of rest.”

The next five days passed by in a blur. Stephanie took on various small tasks around the camp, nothing too challenging, just enough to keep her busy and earn her keep. When she wasn’t working, she spent time training, pushing her body harder each day, testing the limits of the strange, enhanced strength she’d been developing.

On the fifth day, Stephanie was outside the camp’s training grounds, doing squats with an improvised weight—a solid 500 kilos of steel she had fashioned together from old scrap. The weight was heavy, even for her, but her body had adapted. It was an increase from the 420 kilos she had managed just a few weeks ago. She focused on her form, the repetitive motion of the squats grounding her as she pushed herself further.

What she didn’t notice was the group of men staring at her from across the yard.

"Her ass is really nice," one of the guys muttered under his breath, his eyes glued to the way Stephanie's thick, muscular thighs and curvy backside moved with each squat.

Another one, a guard, who had been walking by, overheard and chuckled. "Yeah, it's nice," he said, a lazy grin spreading across his face. He stopped in his tracks, mesmerized by the view. Then, with a slight shake of his head, he remembered his duty. "Wait a minute," the guard said, snapping out of it. "Go back to work, or I'll beat you."

The guys groaned, glancing at him with annoyance as they reluctantly shuffled away. One of them mumbled under his breath, "He's a real party pooper."

Just as they left, another guard approached, spotting Stephanie mid-squat, her body moving with perfect control and focus. He let out a low whistle. "Let's stay here a bit. That's one hell of a view," he said with a smirk.

Stephanie, oblivious to the attention, let out a sharp breath as she lowered the weight, her muscles straining but not buckling. She adjusted her stance and set the weight down with ease, showing no sign of exhaustion. Her flexibility exercises came next, her body bending and stretching in ways that seemed almost unnatural—like her bones had become more flexible, her movements fluid and effortless. She moved through her routine with precision, her concentration completely focused on her performance.

More guards started gathering, eyes fixed on Stephanie, who was still entirely unaware of their attention. Wordlessly, they leaned against the walls or stood nearby, pretending to be on duty but unable to tear their gaze away from her.

The number of onlookers had grown enough that the head guard noticed. His brow furrowed as he marched over, ready to reprimand his men for slacking off. But when he reached them and saw what they were all staring at, he stopped. His eyes widened, and he let out a low chuckle.

"Boys," the head guard said with a grin, crossing his arms. "You really know how to find beautiful views."

The guards laughed, their attention still locked on Stephanie as she moved through her stretches, each pose more impressive than the last.

The next day, as the sun crested over the horizon, Stephanie packed her gear, ready to get back on the road. Her time at Mariana’s camp had been productive—she’d trained hard, completed tasks, and earned enough credits to get the gear she needed. Now, though, it was time to move on.

As she prepared her bike, strapping her bags and checking the fuel, Mariana approached her, holding a small package wrapped in worn cloth. Her expression was serious.

“This is for the next camp you’re headed to,” Mariana said, placing the package in Stephanie’s hands. “Tell them you were sent by me. They’ll know what it means.”

Stephanie nodded, tucking the package into her bag. “Anything I should know about the place?”

Mariana shook her head slightly. “It’s a tough camp, like ours, but they’ll treat you right if you pull your weight. Just make sure the package gets to the right hands.” She paused, looking over Stephanie’s bike one last time before her mouth curled into a small smile. “The boys here are sure gonna miss you.”

Stephanie glanced around and saw a few familiar faces standing nearby, a couple of the guards and workers who had been watching her train. They were pretending to be busy, but the way they kept stealing glances at her gave them away.

“I’ll miss the place too,” she said with a smirk, though her mind was already on the road ahead.

Mariana patted her shoulder. “Take care out there. Stay sharp.”

Stephanie gave a nod, pulled her helmet on, and kicked the bike into gear. The engine rumbled to life, its familiar growl filling the quiet of the morning. She waved once at Mariana and the others, then twisted the throttle and rode toward the camp’s gate.

As she left the walls behind and the open road stretched out before her, Stephanie felt the familiar sense of freedom wash over her. The sky above was clear, and the path ahead was uncertain, but that was the life she knew best.

Back on the road, the world seemed wider, full of unknown dangers and hidden opportunities. Her destination was the next camp, where she would deliver Mariana’s package and continue her journey.