Dawn came slowly.
Mist clung to the trees. The air was heavy with the moisture and smoke from the small fire that Mira had built just before sunrise. It crackled weakly, the light from it scattered across the tired faces huddled around it. They sat in a loose circle, sipping boiled water and chewing on the dried rations that they had on hand. No one had slept well. Shifts had been taken but nerves had kept most of them only half-awake anyway.
Adrian sat back against a tree, wrapping a fresh bandage around his shoulder. The cut wasn't deep but it throbbed in time with his heartbeat. Across from him, Julyah crouched near a canvas tarp. She was checking their remaining supplies.
"We lost one of the water filters," she said quietly. "And the backup medkit. Gone during the fight."
Bryce swore under his breath. "Figures." Adrian looked up at her. "What about food?"
Julyah opened another pack and counted the contents. "Two days' worth. Maybe three if we ration. The solar cells are fine, but our power storage's low."
Greer looked around the clearing. "Then we move. Today."
Adrian nodded, then held his hand out to Julyah. "Come with me. We need to talk."
They walked a short distance away, stopping by a fallen log that overlooked the valley. Pines stretched below them in waves of green. Julyah pulled her jacket tighter around her shoulders. Her hands were still cold.
"You think they'll come back?" she asked.
Adrian shook his head slowly. "No. People like that don't regroup. They scatter."
Julyah didn't answer. Her eyes stayed on the horizon. It was beautiful up here. Too beautiful for the things they'd seen. For the memories that clung like soot.
Adrian sat beside her. "You've been quiet. Since the villa."
She swallowed hard. "It doesn't feel real."
"I know."
"Do you think it was always meant to fall?" she asked. "That place… the defenses, the layout, the tech. It wasn't just a rich man's hideout. Someone planned that place like a survival hub."Adrian tilted his head.
"You're thinking military?"
"No," she said. "Smarter than that. Strategic. Controlled. Like someone built it for a long-term emergency."
He stayed quiet.
"I keep thinking about my parents," Julyah said softly, her voice barely louder than the wind moving through the trees. She sat with her arms wrapped around her knees, staring into the fire as if it held answers.
"Before they died… they were in Geneva. Some kind of convention. An international summit on emergency response. Global resource sharing, new disaster protocols, things like that. It was supposed to be important. Big names from all over the world. Scientists, diplomats, government reps. My mom said it could change everything."
She paused, swallowing the lump in her throat.Her eyes reflected the flames.
"But they never came back. Their plane went down on the return trip. Mechanical failure, they said. No survivors." Her fingers tightened around her sleeve. "They had so much knowledge. So many plans. Ideas that might've helped people survive this. But it all died with them."
She looked up, her voice lower now. "Sometimes I wonder if this whole collapse was already in motion, even back then. And they saw it. Maybe that's why they were there. Trying to stop it. Or maybe they knew it was too late."
Adrian didn't speak at first. He just listened, his brow furrowed and his jaw tense. Then he shifted closer, the firelight drawing long shadows across his face.
"They raised you well," he said finally. "You notice things others don't. You ask the right questions. That's not nothing, Julyah. That's them living through you."
Her eyes met his. "But it's not enough, is it? Knowing doesn't fix anything. It doesn't bring them back."
"No," Adrian said. "It doesn't. But it might help keep the rest of us alive."
The flower-shaped tattoo on Julyah's wrist itched faintly. She rubbed it with her thumb, a habit she barely noticed anymore. Sometimes, it pulsed—just a flicker of warning when danger was close. But right now, it wasn't urgent. It wasn't warning her. It was warm instead. Comforting. Like it was… listening.
"I didn't ask for this," she murmured, her gaze fixed on the fire. "The bracelet—"
"Tattoo," Adrian said, cutting in gently. "I've suspected for a while that it's something more than it looks. Magical, maybe. I saw it when you pulled that weapon out of thin air. It didn't come from a bag. It came from you."
Julyah let out a soft sigh. She wasn't surprised. Adrian always saw more than he let on. "I knew I couldn't hide it from you, Mr.Politician," she said with a faint smile. "You read people too well."
"I try," he said, leaning forward, elbows resting on his knees. His voice lowered, but it didn't lose its strength. "But I'm not going to say anything. I haven't told anyone, and I won't. Your secret is safe with me. Your safety… that comes first."
She looked at him then, really looked. In the firelight, his face seemed softer, the hard lines around his eyes less sharp. His brows were still furrowed in worry, but there was something else behind his words—something steadier than fear.
"Thank you," she said, her voice quiet but sincere."That's enough for me."
There was a long pause between them. Not heavy. Just full. Like the air was finally making room for trust.
Behind them, Bryce called out. "Got something!"
They turned and jogged back. Bryce stood by the satellite radio, holding up the device like it was a winning lottery ticket.
"Signal came through," he said. "Weak, but real."
Greer snatched it from him and turned up the volume. The voice crackled through static, clipped and robotic.
"...main bases still operational… Northern Outpost, Beacon Zone, and Gate 9 confirmed. Smaller safehouses compromised. Avoid red zones. Repeat—"
The message looped.
Everyone exchanged looks.
"Beacon Zone," Ellis whispered. "That's not far. It's northeast, past the old mining route."
Bryce nodded. "We'd need to detour through forest and backroads. Might take four days."
"Longer with a busted RV," Mira muttered.
Adrian crossed his arms. "Then we start prepping. That's our path now. If Beacon Zone's real, it's the safest place left."
Greer folded the map open. "We head northeast. Avoid major towns. Follow the ridge until we reach the old quarry. Then cut east."
Ellis knelt beside the fire. "What if it's a trap? What if the signal's bait?"
"Then we deal with it when we get there," Adrian said. "But sitting here isn't an option."
Julyah stood. "We move. Tomorrow. Before the next group finds this place."
No one argued.