NO ONE IS COMING

AUTHOR’S POV 

"We have three immediate problems: food, water, and shelter. We'll deal with them one at a time. The hunters will search the surrounding area in pairs. The carpenters will repair the safest buildings. Everyone else will help clear the hall and secure the well.”

She paused, letting her gaze travel across their faces.

“We cannot afford to waste time arguing about who has the right to give orders. If you have useful information, share it. If you have a skill that can help us survive, use it. And if you disagree with a decision, offer a better solution.”

Her voice hardened.

“But no one gets to stand around complaining while everyone else does the work.”

Silence followed.

Then Garrick stepped forward.

“I'll lead the hunters.”

A woman volunteered to organize the food supplies. One of the carpenters raised his hand and offered to supervise the repairs.

Gradually, the crowd began to disperse.

Harlan remained where he stood, his expression sour.

Elena picked up her medical bag.

“You can help inspect the eastern slope,” she told him. “Or you can leave and find another place to stay. But I won't let you undermine the people trying to keep everyone alive.”

He glared at her.

Then, muttering under his breath, he walked toward the carpenters.

Elena watched him go.

She had no intention of making everyone like her.

She only needed them to survive.

By late afternoon, the communal hall had been cleared, the well had yielded a usable bucket of water for testing, and three cottages had been judged safe enough for temporary shelter.

It was progress, but the settlement still had no reliable food supply.

Elena was sorting the remaining medical supplies when she noticed a little girl sitting alone on the steps.

The child had tangled brown hair and red-rimmed eyes. She couldn't have been older than six.

Elena sat beside her.

“What's your name?”

“Lily.”

“Where's your mother?”

The girl pointed toward the communal hall.

“She's talking to the other people.”

“Are you hungry?”

Lily shook her head.

“Are you tired?”

Another shake.

Elena studied the child's face.

“What's wrong?”

Lily's lower lip trembled.

“Can we go home now?”

Elena's chest tightened.

She could still picture the settlement burning beneath the night sky. She could still hear the screams from the eastern gate.

“No, sweetheart. Not yet.”

“When?”

“I don't know.”

Tears slipped down Lily's cheeks.

“My mother said we'd be safe at home.”

Elena swallowed against the ache in her throat.

“I know you're frightened. But your mother is here, and we'll do everything we can to keep you both safe.”

“Will the bad people come here?”

Elena looked toward the forest.

“I don't know,” she admitted. “That's why we're going to make this place harder to reach.”

Lily leaned against her.

Elena stayed beside the girl until her breathing steadied. When she finally rose, Lily's mother stood in the doorway, watching them.

The woman mouthed a silent thank-you.

Elena nodded and returned to work.

There would be time to grieve later.

If they survived long enough to have a later.

Garrick returned shortly before sunset with a bundle of wild greens and several mushrooms.

“We found a stream about half a mile north,” he reported. “The water is moving. We'll need to inspect it properly, but it looks promising.”

Elena examined the plants.

“Don't eat anything unless you're certain it's safe. We'll identify these before preparing them.”

“We also found footprints along the northern path. Several people, heading west.”

“Fresh?”

“Within the last day, I'd say.”

“Did you follow them?”

“No. We stayed within the perimeter.”

“Good. Tomorrow we'll investigate with a larger group.”

Garrick set the bundle on the table and studied her.

“You know, I didn't expect this.”

Elena continued sorting the plants. “Expect what?”

“You taking charge. When we arrived, I thought we'd spend the whole day fighting over what to do. Instead, people are actually working.”

“They're frightened. Work gives them something to focus on.”

“And you?”

Her hands slowed.

“What about me?”

“You lost your home last night. You haven't slept. You've barely eaten. Yet you've spent the entire day making sure everyone else has somewhere to sleep.”

Elena looked down at the plants.

“I'm tired, Garrick.”

“That's not what I asked.”

She exhaled.

“Of course I'm upset. I spent three years building a life there. I had a home, a garden, and people I cared about. I didn't want to leave any of it behind.”

“Then why do you keep acting as though it doesn't matter?”

“Because it does matter.”

Her voice came out sharper than she intended.

She paused, then continued more quietly.

“But grieving won't bring it back. And it won't feed anyone here.”

Garrick studied her for a moment before nodding.

“You don't need to be an Alpha to lead people, Elena.”

She looked up.

He gestured toward the hall, where survivors were mending clothes and preparing their first meal.

“They're following you because you know what needs to be done. You don't have to keep proving you're capable.”

Elena looked away.

“Tomorrow,” she said, returning to the plants, “we repair the eastern fence and inspect the stream.”

Garrick smiled faintly.

“I'll make sure the hunters are ready.”

That evening, the survivors gathered around a small fire inside the communal hall.

Their first meal consisted of thin broth made from the wild greens the hunters had collected, a little dried meat, and whatever food families had managed to save.

Nobody complained.

Children ate beside their parents. The elderly sat near the fire, wrapped in blankets. Garrick and the hunters took turns watching the entrance.

Elena was halfway through her bowl when a man spoke from across the fire.

“What happens if another group arrives?”

“We assess them before allowing them inside,” she answered.

“And if they're infected?”

“We keep our distance and look for a way to help without endangering everyone here.”

“What if an Alpha's patrol comes looking for survivors?”

Elena set down her bowl.

“If a patrol arrives, we'll find out what they know. But until then, we prepare as though no one is coming.”

A woman stared at her.

“You really believe that?”

“I believe we cannot afford to wait for someone else to save us.”

Nobody argued.

Outside, the wind rattled the loose shutters. Somewhere in the forest, a wolf howled, and another answered from farther down the mountain.

Luma stirred uneasily.

Something isn't right.

Elena listened until the howls faded.

What do you mean?

Her wolf hesitated.

I don't know.

The uncertainty troubled Elena more than an answer would have.

She rose and crossed to the doorway. Beyond the settlement, the forest lay dark beneath the rising moon. There were no lights on the distant roads, no signs of approaching patrols, no reassuring sounds from the world beyond the mountains.

Only darkness.