The camp lay in the ruins of an old train station. Rusted rails cut across the cracked ground, and shattered glass crunched beneath Ben's boots as the soldiers shoved him forward.
Tents and scavenged shelters lined the broken platforms. Smoke from makeshift fires curled into the night sky, carrying the scent of burnt meat and grease. Dozens of eyes followed them—men and women dressed in scraps of armor, their faces hollowed by hunger and suspicion.
Ben swallowed hard. These weren't just survivors. They were wolves.
The scarred man raised his arms as they entered. "Brothers, sisters—look what fortune's brought us! Fresh blood."
The camp stirred with whispers. Some hungry. Some hateful.
Ben's pulse hammered, the fire inside him threatening to ignite again. He forced it down. Not here. Not yet.
As the crowd dispersed, they were dragged toward a dark corner of the station where prisoners were kept. A chain-link cage stood there, reinforced with rusted steel bars.
"Inside," a soldier growled, shoving Ben hard. He stumbled, but Lena caught his arm, steadying him before he fell.
The door clanged shut behind them.
For a long moment, silence hung heavy—broken only by the crackle of distant fire.
Then, a voice whispered from the shadows of the cage.
"You shouldn't have come here."
Ben's head snapped up. In the far corner sat a boy—no, a young man, maybe a year younger than Lena. His face was thin, his clothes tattered, but his eyes… his eyes weren't dead like the others. They still had light.
"Who are you?" Ben asked cautiously.
The boy leaned forward, his chains rattling softly. "Name's Kai. And if you want to live past tomorrow… you'll need to play smart. Scar doesn't keep people around unless they're useful."
Ben frowned. "And what about you? Why are you here?"
Kai gave a bitter smile. "Because I stopped being useful."
Lena's gaze sharpened. "Then why warn us?"
Kai's smile faded. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Because I see it in him." His eyes locked onto Ben. "Something different. Something Scar will want to break. And if you let him, he'll turn you into a weapon. Or a corpse."
The fire inside Ben stirred again at the words. For the first time, someone other than Lena sensed it.
And Ben didn't know if that made Kai a friend… or another danger.