By the time they reached the outer perimeter the sun was already sinking low, dragging the sky down into shades of burnt orange and dull grey, and whatever sense of normalcy had been clinging to the day finally gave up the fight as the scale of what lay ahead came into view, because the road didn't look like a road anymore, it looked like something breaking apart, vehicles packed unevenly, some still moving inch by inch while others had been abandoned entirely, doors left open, belongings scattered, and Logan slowed the RV before bringing it to a stop because there was no way in hell they were getting any further with it, not through that mess, not with people flooding forward like that. Mike pulled up behind them and stepped out of his car almost immediately, both of them exchanging a quick look that said everything without needing words, and Logan knew right then that from this point on they were on foot whether they liked it or not.
He moved fast, the switch flipping inside him without hesitation, years of training rising back to the surface like it had been waiting for this exact moment, grabbing his bag, pulling the Winchester Model 70 into his hands, checking it out of instinct rather than necessity, while Sarah stepped out with Mia already in her arms, holding her tight against her hip, the little girl clinging to her without fully understanding why everything suddenly felt wrong, and Tyler stayed close behind them, his movements sharper now, more aware, while Mike circled slightly to the side, eyes scanning the crowd like a man who knew exactly how quickly situations like this could spiral out of control. "Stay close, don't drift, not even for a second," Logan said, not raising his voice but making sure it cut through everything else, and then they started moving.
The crowd swallowed them almost immediately.
There weren't just a few hundred people, not even close, there were thousands pushing forward in uneven waves, not organized, not controlled, just desperate bodies trying to move toward something they believed might save them, and the air itself felt heavier, filled with noise that didn't stop for even a second—people shouting over each other, arguing, pleading, some yelling names, others just yelling because they didn't know what else to do—and as Logan pushed through, keeping his body angled slightly to shield Sarah and Mia, he caught flashes of things that stuck whether he wanted them to or not, abandoned cars with their engines still running, doors hanging open like the people inside had just vanished, a man dragging a suitcase that had already split open, spilling clothes across the ground, someone shoving past him hard enough to almost knock him off balance, and then a woman, somewhere to his left, her voice cutting through everything else as she screamed a name over and over again, her daughter's name, panic breaking her apart as she turned in circles looking for someone who wasn't there anymore.
And then he saw it.
At first it didn't even register properly, just something off in the distance, something wrong with the horizon, like the sky itself had bent slightly, and Logan slowed just enough to focus, his eyes narrowing as the shape began to form in his mind, a massive curve stretching across the landscape, barely visible unless you actually paid attention to it, like light was being distorted around something enormous, something unnatural, and for a brief second his brain tried to reject it because it didn't make sense, because nothing that big should exist like that, not something built by people, not something meant to hold an entire world inside it.
The dome.
But it wasn't just the dome that hit him.
It was the wall.
A massive circular barrier rising up in front of it, not fifty feet, not something you could compare to normal structures, but something far more imposing, towering into the sky like a man-made cliff, reinforced with layers of steel and composite materials that looked like they could take a direct hit from anything and still stand there like it didn't give a damn, stretching endlessly in both directions until it disappeared into the distance, and along that wall stood watchtowers, evenly spaced, rising even higher, each one armed to the teeth with mounted guns, sniper positions, and floodlights that swept across the land in slow, mechanical movements, scanning everything, everyone, not missing a single detail.
"Jesus…" Mike muttered under his breath, almost to himself.
"There's no way they built this shit in a few years," Tyler said, his voice quieter, uncertain, like he didn't know whether to be impressed or terrified.
Logan didn't answer.
His eyes had already moved forward.
There were only a handful of entry points, massive reinforced gates cut into the wall, and they had reached the South sector gate, though calling it a gate felt too simple for what it actually was, because it looked more like a controlled choke point designed to filter people in a way that left no room for mistakes, no room for chaos, even though chaos was exactly what surrounded it. The closer they got, the worse it became, the tension rising like pressure about to snap, small fights breaking out over bags, over food, over space, someone trying to snatch supplies from another person and getting punched for it, children crying because they were scared or lost or just overwhelmed, and somewhere in the distance a gunshot cracked through the air, sharp and sudden, cutting everything for a split second before the noise swallowed it again.
Above them, two helicopters circled slowly, their blades chopping through the air with a constant, heavy rhythm that never faded, hovering near the wall, occasionally dipping lower toward the secured entry zones before pulling back up again, while armored trucks were positioned near the gates, soldiers moving around them, shouting orders that barely carried through the noise, trying to control something that was already slipping out of their hands. Loudspeakers crackled with announcements, voices telling people to remain calm, to cooperate, to have faith, to pray if they needed to, the kind of shit people said when they didn't have real answers, when they knew damn well not everyone standing there was going to make it inside.
The entire place felt alive in the worst possible way.
A mix of desperation, fear, anger, and something darker beneath it all. And Logan could feel it. Every second they stood there, every step they took forward, it was getting worse.
By the time they finally reached the front, the movement slowed into something almost suffocating, not because people had calmed down but because there was nowhere left to go, bodies pressing forward in uneven waves that kept collapsing into each other, and just ahead of them stood the gate, massive, cold, controlled, with a narrow line of families being filtered through one at a time while soldiers stood rigid on either side like nothing happening around them mattered, and Logan could feel the tension crawling under his skin as he counted roughly seven families ahead, watching closely as one of them was suddenly directed to the right, separated from the rest and allowed through without hesitation, disappearing past the barrier like they had just been handed a second life. He didn't say anything at first, just took a slow breath and turned his head slightly, looking back at his own family as if memorizing them for a second longer than necessary, pressing a brief kiss against Sarah's head, brushing Mia's cheek gently, and giving Tyler a firm pat on the shoulder that carried more meaning than words, before turning back toward the gate, trying to hold onto that thin thread of control that was starting to slip.
Then the noise shifted.
It didn't explode all at once, it built, like something underneath the crowd had cracked open, voices rising, arguments turning sharper, people pushing harder, and Logan frowned slightly, his instincts kicking in before his mind could fully process it, stepping away from his family and glancing back at Mike, "Stay with them, I'll check what the hell's going on," and without waiting for a response he pushed forward through the crowd, adjusting the rifle on his shoulder as he moved, slipping between people, brushing past arguments, until he reached the line of soldiers holding position near the gate, their faces tight, their posture tense in a way that told him this wasn't routine anymore.
"What's the issue?" Logan asked, direct, no bullshit, and one of the soldiers looked at him briefly before answering, his voice controlled but clearly strained, "Some of the people here don't meet the eligibility criteria for entry, sir, we're verifying IDs and restricting access temporarily," and that was enough to set the crowd off, because the moment those words started spreading, people began to react, shouting, arguing, demanding explanations that no one was really prepared to give, the energy shifting from desperate to volatile in seconds.
Logan felt it immediately.
This was about to get ugly.
Before he could say anything else, he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned sharply, his body already reacting, only to see Mike standing there, breathing slightly heavier from pushing through the crowd with the others close behind him, and the look on his face told Logan everything he needed to know before he even spoke. "They're changing the list," Mike said under his breath, leaning closer so only Logan could hear him over the noise, "High-profile families, people with connections, they're pulling them in first now, which means they're slowing everyone else down, maybe even cutting people off entirely until they're done, this is turning into a fucking selection line."
Something inside Logan snapped.
Not loudly, not dramatically, just enough.
He stepped forward immediately, his voice rising as he addressed the nearest soldier, "Run the check for my family, now," and there was no hesitation in the way he said it, no request, just demand, and the soldier hesitated for a fraction of a second before pulling out the retina scanner, bringing it up and gesturing for Logan to step closer. The device flickered as it scanned, projecting his information onto the small screen—name, age, service history, family details—all of it laid out in cold, digital clarity, and for a moment the soldier's expression changed, just slightly, a flicker of recognition, of understanding.
"You served," the soldier said quietly, almost more to himself than to Logan.
"Twenty-three years," Logan replied immediately, his voice tight, controlled but barely holding, "so don't stand there and tell me I don't qualify."
The soldier didn't respond right away.
Because he couldn't.
Logan could see it in his face, the hesitation, the conflict, the fact that he wanted to help but was bound by something bigger than both of them, and after a moment he stepped aside, speaking into his comms, relaying the information up the chain, waiting for a response that felt like it took longer than it actually did, and when he finally turned back, the look in his eyes had changed.
It wasn't uncertainty anymore.
It was resignation.
"I'm sorry," he said, and that was it.
That was all Logan needed to hear.
The anger hit him instantly, rising fast and hot, cutting through everything else as he stepped forward, his voice breaking loose without restraint, "Sorry? What the fuck do you mean sorry, I served this country for twenty-three goddamn years, I did everything right, I paid my taxes, I followed the rules, and now you're telling me my family doesn't get in?" and the soldier didn't respond, didn't argue, didn't even try to justify it because there was nothing he could say that would make it better, and that silence only made it worse.
Logan shoved him.
Hard.
Not enough to knock him down, but enough to break whatever line had been holding, and instantly the other soldiers reacted, stepping in, weapons raised, one of them firing a warning shot into the air that cracked through the noise like a whip, forcing the crowd back just enough to create space, and for a second it felt like everything might spiral completely out of control, Logan's body tensing as if he might actually fight his way through, but Mike grabbed him, pulling him back just enough to stop him from doing something that would get him killed right there.
"Not here," Mike said, low and firm, "this isn't how we do this."
Logan stood there for a moment, breathing hard, staring at the gate, at the people still being let through, at the ones being turned away, and then something in him shifted again, not calm, not acceptance, but something colder.
"Let's go," he said finally.
The walk back felt heavier.
Slower.
And when they reached the spot where they had left their vehicles, it got worse.
Mike's car was gone.
Just gone.
Logan stopped, scanning the area, his jaw tightening as the realization hit, "Son of a bitch…" and then he saw movement near the RV, someone trying to force their way in, hands slamming against the window, desperate, aggressive, and before thinking he stepped forward, raising the rifle, his voice cutting through the air, "HEY! HEY!" but the person didn't stop, didn't even turn, and Logan fired.
Not at them.
At the ground just beside them.
The shot cracked loud enough to echo, kicking up dirt and debris, and that was enough, the person stumbling back in panic before turning and running, disappearing into the chaos like they had never been there.
Logan didn't wait.
"Get inside, now," he said, opening the door and ushering everyone in, locking it behind them as soon as the last one stepped through, the sound of the lock clicking into place feeling far too small compared to everything outside, and inside the RV the world felt quieter but not safer, Sarah sitting with Mia held tightly against her, Tyler beside them, all three of them clinging to each other like that might be enough to hold things together.
Mike dropped into the front seat, running a hand over his face before looking at Logan.
"What the hell do we do now?" he asked.
Logan stared ahead through the windshield, the chaos still unfolding outside, the dome standing in the distance like a promise they had just been denied, and for the first time in a long time, he didn't have an answer.
And that was worse than anything else.