The base was already half empty when Xin came back outside.
Vehicles rolled out one by one, headlights off, engines kept low. People moved fast but quiet, carrying what they could, leaving behind what they had to. No one cried out loud anymore. They had learned not to waste sound.
Rion stood beside an old jeep, checking the engine with calm precision. He closed the hood and wiped his hands on his pants.
"It will make it to Droplin," he said. "Barely."
Xin nodded. "Barely is enough."
Tara approached them as the last supply crates were loaded onto other trucks. She looked tired, but sharp as ever. No armor on. Just a jacket and a sidearm.
"This is where we split," she said.
Xin leaned against the jeep. "You sure about this."
"I'm never sure," Tara replied. "I'm just usually right."
Rion glanced toward the dark road stretching away from the base. "How long before Dive notices we're gone."
"They already know," Tara said. "They just don't care yet."
Xin looked back at the base one last time. The place had never felt like home, but it had been shelter. Now it was just another empty shell waiting to be found and burned.
Tara stepped closer and lowered her voice. "Droplin is quiet because it's forgotten. Don't change that."
Xin nodded. "We won't."
She looked at Rion next. "You keep him alive."
Rion met her eyes. "And you keep the rest alive."
Tara smirked slightly. "That's the plan."
For a moment, none of them spoke.
Then Tara reached out and punched Xin lightly in the shoulder. "And try not to get shot in the heart again."
Xin smiled faintly. "No promises."
She stepped back and raised her hand once. A simple gesture. No speeches. No dramatic goodbye.
"Go," she said.
Rion climbed into the driver's seat. Xin got in beside him. The jeep's engine coughed, then settled into a rough growl.
As they pulled away, Xin glanced in the side mirror.
Tara was already turning back to the others, giving orders, moving forward without looking back.
That was how she survived.
The road out of the valley was cracked and uneven, but empty. The sky above was heavy with clouds, the kind that made everything feel smaller and farther away at the same time.
Rion drove in silence.
After a while, Xin spoke. "You've been to Droplin before."
"Yes," Rion said. "Once."
"What did you think."
Rion considered it. "It smelled like rain and rust. People there learned how to disappear."
Xin nodded. "Kaila liked that."
They drove for hours.
The farther they went, the quieter the world became. No sirens. No engines. Just wind and the sound of tires on broken asphalt.
Xin rested his head back against the seat and closed his eyes for a moment.
Droplin waited ahead.
With memories.
With money hidden in walls.
With ghosts that had never left.
Rion kept driving.