ackle of breaking branches. Ethan crouched low behind a fallen tree, Orio

ce tight. "They're everywhere. W

of every second pressing against them. "We don't

s bag of essential research. "I-I do

dead-and someone wants you alive. And whoever wa

ent Ethan's team here... they were never meant to s

ined further of color

extraction was a cover. They wanted to contain you.

ion like a hamme

nations without a single missile. And my government... they'd rather see eve

tening around the bag. "So... you're s

et, and now... a chance. But you hav

roze. Shadows moved with purpose. Not militi

" he m

underbrush. Ethan pushed Orion down, firing instinctively. Two a

n's arm. "Run wit

ogs, bullets whistling past. Ethan covered their rear, every shot precise, cal

eth below. No time to hesitate. Ethan grabbed Orion, tossed him over the edge to safety, and followed,

Then distant shouts echoed.

his breath. "I don't understand...

power. And some people? They'd rather destroy

roup, and plan the next step. But it wasn't just the terrain that worried him-it was what they would find

adows stretched long and pale over burned-out huts and shattered

e go?" Orio

ntact building in the center-a crumbling s

You mean we fight from th

moment. We only get one shot to reach Orion'

eir weight. Dust hung thick in the air. Ethan set Orion against a wall,

eturned. Then a faint cli

re," Mara whi

re emerged from the mist-uniformed, moving deliberately.

. "Who... w

. "I don't know. But whatever

ised a hand. A single signal. Seconds later, more figures appeared,

been lied to our entire liv

ed into every line of his

. We fight. And we make sure the t

louder. Shadows moved toward the schoolhou

s mind razor-sharp. Mara readied her weapon. Orion grippe

ed. Outgunned. And

their pursuers hadn't

Ethan thought, ma

on, each second a razor's edge. Every mo

Kandara waited, merciless, and somewhere in the ruins