The jungle was quieter than usual.
Malik Haruna sat cross-legged beneath a canopy of twisted vines, the data chip from Kael Idris glowing faintly in his palm. Around him, the surviving runners of Ranch 7 gathered in a loose circle, their faces lit by the flickering flame of a scavenged lantern. The Hunt had ended hours ago. They had survived - again. But survival was no longer enough.
Aria Venn leaned against a moss-covered boulder, arms crossed. "We need to know what we're risking. If we're going to follow this plan, we need to trust each other." Malik nodded. "Then we start with the truth."
He looked around the circle. Twelve runners. Twelve stories. Twelve reasons to fight.
Elen Raye -The Botanist
Elen spoke first, her voice soft but steady. "I was a researcher in Bogotá. Studying plant communication. I believed the forest could speak - not in words, but in signals. When the Vexari came, they burned my lab. Took my team. I survived by hiding in the roots of a ceiba tree."
She touched the vine beside her. "This jungle saved me once. I owe it everything." Malik nodded. "And it will help us escape."
Theo Marr -The Soldier
Theo's voice was gravelly. "I was stationed in Alaska. My wife and daughter were evacuated to orbit before the Vexari breached the perimeter. I don't know if they're alive. But I know where their pod is. I memorized the coordinates. He looked at Malik. "If your plan gets me to that ship, I'll follow you into hell."
Sera Nyx -The Hacker
Sera sat with her knees pulled to her chest, eyes flickering with guilt. "I was part of the first escape attempt. I triggered the lockdown. I thought I could override the system, but I miscalculated. Three runners died."
No one spoke. The silence was heavy. "I've been decrypting Kael's code ever since," she said. "I won't fail again."
Zion Vale -The Dreamer
Zion smiled faintly. "I was a student in Port of Spain. Studying astronomy. I used to sketch cities on other planets - places where humans lived freely. I still do."
He pulled a folded scrap of cloth from his pocket. On it, a charcoal sketch of a city floating above a river of stars.
"I believe we're meant to reach them. Not just escape - evolve."
Kira Thorne -The Fighter
Kira cracked her knuckles. "I trained in Kingston. Muay Thai, jiu-jitsu, capoeira. I fought in underground circuits. When the Vexari came, I fought back. They liked that. Made me a runner."
She looked around. "I've survived longer than most. But I'm tired of surviving. I want to win."
Tamsin Quell -The Cryptographer
Tamsin's voice was barely above a whisper. "I found Kael's first message. It was hidden in the ruins of the old observation tower. I didn't tell anyone. I needed time to decode it."
She looked at Malik. "You finished what I started. Now we finish what Kael began."
Malik stood, the chip pulsing in his hand. "Kael's plan is more than escape. It's liberation. He mapped the stasis pods. He built a signal disruptor. He even found a way to hijack the orbital drones."
He looked at each runner. "But it only works if we move together. No secrets. No fear."
Aria stepped forward. "Then we start tomorrow. We train. We prepare. And next week, we learn - not to survive, but to adapt." The terrain is never the same; we need to prepare for that and any uncertainties.
The flame flickered. The jungle stirred.
And for the first time in years, the runners of Ranch 7 felt something they had forgotten. Purpose.