The Campo Haven hangar smelled of metal, sweat, and a restrained fear we were all trying to hide. They lined us up in a straight row, our worn boots perfectly aligned on the concrete floor. We were the new Squad 53—or what was left of our humanity stuffed into military uniforms that were a size too large.
"Attention!" the instructor’s voice boomed, but my eyes had already drifted to the boy walking in front of us.
His face was hardened, carrying the weary look of someone who had seen the end of the world, and a scar I didn't remember. But the structure of his jaw and the way he stood were unmistakable. It was Ben Parish. The same Ben I was in love with back in high school, the boy with the bright smile who used to leave notes in my locker before the waves wiped the whole planet out. Now, he called himself "Zombie."
When his dark eyes met mine, time stopped for a millisecond. I saw the flash of recognition in his pupils, the contained surprise that threatened to break his relentless soldier facade. But it lasted only a heartbeat.
Ben shifted his gaze to the recruit next to me, cleared his throat, and continued the roll call as if I were a complete stranger.
I understood the message immediately. In this new world, the past was a weakness, an easy target for The Others. If we wanted to survive, we had to be perfect strangers.
"From today on, you're mine," Zombie said with a firm voice, turning his back on us. "Welcome to Squad 53. Try not to die in your first week."
Beside me, a cold-eyed girl named Ringer watched me out of the corner of her eye, analyzing me. I didn't know how many missions awaited us out there or if we would make it back alive, but as I adjusted my rifle strap, I knew that keeping the secret of who we were before the arrival would be the hardest mission of all. Especially now, when fate was about to cross our paths with a girl named Cassie who would change everything.