Story 366: The Silent Beacon

Zara crouched low in the dim corridor, her breath steady as she studied the digital map on her wrist device. The underground facility was a labyrinth of steel and stone, a forgotten relic of pre-apocalypse technology. Somewhere in its depths, the beacon she'd been tracking emitted a faint but persistent signal.

"Not much farther," she whispered to herself, gripping her pistol tighter.

The silence was unnerving, broken only by the occasional hum of flickering lights. Each step she took was calculated, her senses sharpened to detect even the slightest movement. The tension was palpable, a coiled spring ready to snap at any moment.

As Zara turned a corner, her eyes landed on a slumped figure against the wall. A man, clad in tattered combat gear, his chest rising and falling faintly. She approached cautiously, her weapon trained on the shadows.

"Hey," she called softly, nudging him with the toe of her boot.