The days grew colder. Winter settled over the city, and the chaos slowed but did not stop. People still argued in the streets, but their voices were softer, weighed down by snow and silence. Lily and Finn tried to live quietly, but it was becoming harder. Every day they felt the world closing in on them.
One evening, while they were walking near the river, Finn stopped suddenly. "We can't keep running from this," he said. His breath turned white in the air. "If we hide forever, it will destroy us. We need to make a choice."
Lily hugged her coat tighter. "What choice?"
He looked straight at her. "Either we face Dr. Alba and try to control the story, or someone else will find us and take that control away. At least with her, we might have some power."
Lily shook her head. "I don't want to be anyone's story. I just want to be… us."
"I know," Finn said softly. "But maybe being us is bigger than just us."
The words haunted Lily. That night, she couldn't sleep. She lay awake, staring at the ceiling, listening to the city outside. Sirens wailed in the distance, the world restless even in the dark. She wondered if their love, fragile as it was, could survive being turned into something larger.
The next morning, another letter arrived. This one was different. The handwriting was not Dr. Alba's. It was rough, hurried. It read: "We know who you are. Meet us at the warehouse on 5th, midnight. Or the whole city will know."
Lily's blood turned cold. She showed it to Finn, and his jaw tightened. "It's starting," he said. "Others are after us now."
They argued about what to do. Lily wanted to ignore it, but Finn said they couldn't risk exposure. If people found out their names and faces, they would be hunted. At last, they agreed to go together, but carefully.
The warehouse on 5th was dark and abandoned. They slipped inside, holding their breath in the silence. A small group of people was waiting, their faces hidden by scarves and shadows. One man stepped forward.
"You're the immune ones," he said. His voice was sharp. "We've been searching for you."
"Why?" Finn asked. His hand brushed Lily's, steadying her.
"Because you are proof," the man said. "Proof that love is real. Proof that Alba's formula failed. People need to see you. They need hope. If you come with us, we'll protect you. We'll show the city the truth."
Lily's stomach turned. She didn't like the way the man's eyes shone, hungry, desperate. He didn't see them as people. He saw them as weapons.
"We're not proof," Lily said. "We're just… us."
But the man shook his head. "No. You're more than that now. Whether you like it or not."
The group pressed closer. Finn pulled Lily toward the door. "We're leaving," he said firmly.
The man stepped in their way. "If you walk out, others will find you. Worse than us. At least we believe in you."
Before things could turn violent, a new voice cut through the shadows. "That's enough."
Dr. Alba stepped out from the dark, her eyes fierce. The group froze, anger flashing in their faces. She didn't flinch. "If you touch them, you'll destroy the last thing this city has left."
The man spat on the ground. "You destroyed this city, Alba. You don't get to decide what's left."
But Dr. Alba stood tall, her voice hard as steel. "Take one more step, and you'll regret it."
Something in her tone made the group hesitate. Finn seized the moment, pulling Lily toward the exit. Together with Dr. Alba, they ran into the night, not stopping until the warehouse was far behind them.
When they finally slowed, Lily bent over, gasping for breath. "Why… why did you help us?" she asked.
Dr. Alba's expression softened. "Because they were right about one thing. You are important. But you are not theirs. You are not anyone's weapon. You are people. And if you don't want to be used, then you need me."
Finn glared at her. "We don't need you. We don't trust you."
Dr. Alba nodded. "I understand. But you will need someone. Because they will keep coming. And not all of them will let you walk away."
Lily felt trapped between them. She hated Dr. Alba for creating the formula, but she couldn't deny the truth in her words. The world knew about the immune ones, even if it didn't know their names. And once a secret like that began to spread, it could never be pulled back.
That night, back on the rooftop, Finn paced back and forth. "We should leave the city," he said. "Go somewhere far. Somewhere no one knows us."
Lily hugged her knees. "And what happens when they find us there too?"
Finn stopped, his face tight with frustration. "Then what do you want, Lily? To let Alba pull us into her world? To stand on a stage while the whole city stares at us?"
"I don't know!" Lily shouted. Her voice cracked. "I just know I'm tired of running. I'm tired of being afraid."
Finn's anger faded, replaced by sadness. He sat beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Me too," he whispered.
For a long time, they sat in silence, the city lights glowing below. Somewhere in that silence, Lily made a quiet decision. Maybe they couldn't run. Maybe they couldn't hide. But if they had to face the world, they would do it together.
The next day, Lily wrote a letter—not to the group in the warehouse, not to the city, but to Dr. Alba. It said only one sentence: "If we must face them, we will do it on our terms.