They'd salvaged the inflatable boat from a sporting goods store two days earlier, patched twice already from debris along the way, and by the time the building finally came into view — its lower floors dark and flooded, its upper levels holding steady against the gray sky — Silver felt something in his chest loosen for the first time in weeks.
"That's it," he said, voice rough with exhaustion and disbelief in equal measure, guiding the boat carefully around a submerged car. "That's the building."
Dahlia stared up at the structure with an expression caught somewhere between relief and overwhelming emotion. "We're actually here."
"We're actually here," Victor confirmed, though his own gaze had already moved toward the water surrounding the base of the building, old caution refusing to fully surrender even now. "Let's not celebrate until we're inside."
