grey light breaking through a bruised-up sky,

bell tower quiet but the dead piled high,

Rose stood still with the binocs low,

no more movement on the roads below.

north side smoke where the bridge line stands,

no sign of Kebab… no trace, no plans,

radio hiss where his voice should be,

just an empty channel in the frequency.

south road—Loz with a heavy lean,

Blue at his side but her eyes not clean,

both been bit, but they still hold tight,

“held the line though… we won that fight.”

east came Ken with a slower pace,

metal glove dark, blood on his face,

didn’t speak—just a nod, then still…

like he’s fighting something stronger than will.

Fox from the west with the dawn at his back,

no wounds deep but his breath off-track,

“road’s clear,” he said… then looked around-

“…we’re short a man.” ...no other sound.

We held…

We held…

Through the night, through it all…

We held…

vespa coughing but it still pushed through,

sidecar shaking with a battered crew,

Rose at the front, no time to break,

every turn now a choice they make.

“listen close—we ain’t letting go,

bitten don’t mean they’re lost, not so,

mayor’s bunker—steel and sealed,

we lock it down ‘til a cure gets revealed.”

Loz half-laughed through the creeping pain,

“guess we're VIP's with the zombie strain,”

Blue gave a grunt like she understood,

still right there like she always would.

Ken just breathed, slow and thin,

grip still tight on the blade and skin,

Fox kept watch as the town rolled past,

empty streets from the dying blast.

Stony silent as they rolled away,

from the ground they held through their longest day,

Rose didn’t look back… couldn’t afford—

too much weight in what they carried forward.

We held…

We held…

Through the night, through it all…

We held…

bunker door shook under Fox’s knock,

steel slid back with a trembling lock,

mayor inside with a ghost-white face,

safe in his hole while we held the place.

“I—I stayed for command—” he tried,

Rose stepped in, cut that lie aside,

“save it. we need this room, this key—

they’re not dead yet. They’re with me.”

laid them down where the air ran cold,

not a grave—just a place to hold,

Ken, Loz and Blue on borrowed time,

we’ll find the cure, a lifeline.

Loz leaned back with a fading grin,

“we’re still us… don’t forget that, yeah?”

Blue stayed close, eyes locked on him,

like she chose that fight… thick or thin.

Ken by the wall, eyes locked ahead,

still not gone… but not full here instead,

Fox turned back to the door, stood guard,

world outside still brutal, still hard.

Mayor stepped up, hands unsteady, slow,

looking at people he didn’t know—

not like this… not like war-made steel,

not like scars you can’t conceal.

“you… you saved it…” voice unsure, thin,

while they stood there worn and grim,

he reached inside, pulled something old—

a rusted chain, a key of gold.

“by what remains… I give this right…

freedom of Stony… earned this night.”

placed it in Rose’s steady hand,

like passing over a broken land.

she took it quiet—no pride, no claim,

just weight… and the cost… and the names,

looked back once at her battered crew—

“this ain’t the end. We see this through.”

We held…

We held…

Through the night…

Through it all…

We held…

“Fox… let’s find Stoo…”