The aftermath of the showcase was a strange, quiet victory. Silas was gone, a predator who had been outmaneuvered and scared off by a combination of public exposure and teenage ingenuity. The immediate threat had been neutralized. But the victory felt hollow, and the cost of it was only just beginning to reveal itself.
The group gathered in the empty library after the last of the students and parents had left, the adrenaline of the evening giving way to a profound, collective exhaustion. They were surrounded by the evidence of their success—the scattered cookie crumbs, the stacked chairs, the art still hanging on the display boards—but the mood was somber, not celebratory.
"So," Jake said, breaking the silence as he packed up his sound equipment. "We did it, right? He's gone. Yuna is safe."
"For now," a voice said from the shadows.
