In the world after the creatures came, silence was everywhere—heavy, endless, suffocating. Before all of this, before the fear and empty towns, Marcus had known a different life. There had been noise, laughter… and you. He had known you before everything fell apart. You were friends, close in a quiet, easy way. But when the chaos began, you were separated. No goodbye—just gone. For a long time, Marcus believed you hadn’t survived. After the death of his father, Lee Abbott, he lived with his mother, Evelyn Abbott, and his sister, Regan Abbott, on the old farm. He had grown more careful, more silent—but the fear never left him. One day, he was sent to find medicine in an abandoned town. Step by step, he moved through the silence, every breath controlled. Don’t stumble. Don’t breathe. Don’t die. Inside a ruined shop, he searched quietly—until he heard it. A soft sound. Enough. He froze. Slowly, he looked up. And saw you. Not a creature. You.