The city did not forgive hesitation.
They moved quickly through the ruins, the skyline fractured by skeletal towers and collapsed bridges. Smoke drifted in the distance—too controlled to be accidental. Someone else was operating in this zone.
Thomas felt it in his gut.
Since leaving the outpost, the atmosphere around them had shifted again. Not just tension—anticipation. The kind that came before consequences.
Mira led the group with clipped efficiency, her posture rigid, rifle never lowering. Rea stayed close to Thomas's left, attentive but restrained, clearly forcing herself not to revert to instinctive dominance. Elisa walked several steps behind them now, unusually quiet, eyes scanning rooftops and alleyways with predatory focus.
None of them spoke.
That silence told Thomas more than words ever could.
"They know," he said finally.
Mira glanced back at him once. "Yes."
"About the data core?" he asked.
"About you," Elisa corrected calmly from behind. "Information travels fast in a dying world. Especially when it's valuable."
Rea stiffened. "You're saying they're hunting him."
"I'm saying," Elisa replied, "that you don't ambush a group like ours unless you're after something specific."
Thomas absorbed that without flinching.
He was no longer just surviving events.
He was provoking them.
They reached a partially intact transit station by late afternoon. Broken platforms descended into darkness, but the structure itself offered cover and multiple exits—ideal for temporary refuge.
Mira signaled them inside.
"We stop here," she said. "Short rest. Then we decide."
"Decide what?" Thomas asked.
Mira didn't answer immediately.
Instead, Elisa did.
"How far you're willing to go," she said. "And how much risk the rest of us are willing to take for you."
The words hung heavy.
Rea turned sharply. "That's not a question."
"It is," Elisa replied evenly. "Whether you like it or not."
Thomas stepped forward before the tension could ignite.
"If there's something you're not saying," he said, voice calm but firm, "say it now."
Mira studied him for several seconds. Then she nodded once.
"There's a faction operating nearby," she said. "Militarized. Organized. They're collecting men."
Rea's eyes darkened. "For what?"
Mira's jaw tightened. "Breeding programs. Control. Leverage."
Silence followed.
Thomas felt something cold settle in his chest—not fear, but understanding.
"They won't stop," he said.
"No," Elisa agreed. "And if they identify you as viable—"
"They'll escalate," Thomas finished.
Rea moved closer, her voice low and intense. "Then we kill them first."
"That's not strategy," Elisa said. "That's emotion."
Rea rounded on her. "You think I don't know the difference?"
"I think," Elisa replied calmly, "that your priorities are obvious."
Mira intervened before it turned volatile. "Enough. This isn't about winning an argument. It's about survival."
She turned to Thomas.
"You're the variable," she said. "If you stay with us, this group becomes a target."
Thomas didn't hesitate. "Then I won't stay."
Rea reacted instantly. "No."
Elisa's eyes narrowed. "Interesting."
Mira held up a hand. "Explain."
"I won't put all of you at risk because of me," Thomas said. "I can move independently. Draw attention away."
Rea grabbed his arm—not violently, but urgently. "You think splitting up makes you safer?"
"No," Thomas replied. "I think it gives you a chance."
The words struck harder than any argument.
Elisa regarded him thoughtfully. "You're willing to isolate yourself."
"I'm willing to choose," Thomas said. "For once."
Mira exhaled slowly. "That may not be an option."
Before Thomas could ask why, Elisa raised her hand slightly—signal sharp and precise.
"We're not alone," she said.
Movement erupted from the upper platform.
Figures emerged from the shadows—armored, coordinated, weapons raised. Not scavengers. Soldiers.
Mira cursed under her breath. "They tracked us."
The firefight was immediate and brutal.
Thomas didn't wait for instructions this time.
He moved.
He took cover, identified firing lanes, relayed positions without panic. Rea fought fiercely beside him, her movements lethal but controlled. Elisa disappeared into elevation, flanking with surgical precision. Mira anchored the center, commanding without shouting.
They were effective.
But they were outnumbered.
A smoke grenade detonated near the far exit. Voices echoed—orders, confident, disciplined.
"This is bad," Rea muttered.
Thomas scanned the station, mind racing. Then he saw it—a maintenance tunnel, half-collapsed, narrow.
"This way," he said.
They moved under fire, barely slipping through before the entrance collapsed further behind them. The tunnel plunged downward, dark and claustrophobic.
They didn't stop running until they emerged miles away, breathless and shaken.
When they finally paused, reality set in.
Elisa leaned against a wall, blood streaking her arm. "They weren't testing us," she said. "They were confirming."
Mira nodded grimly. "They'll regroup."
Rea turned to Thomas, her expression fierce. "You see now? This isn't something you walk away from."
Thomas met her gaze steadily. "I know."
"And you still want to leave?" Elisa asked.
"No," Thomas said. "Now I want to plan."
That earned reactions.
Rea looked relieved—then alarmed.
Elisa smiled slowly.
Mira straightened.
"Say it," Mira said.
"They're organized," Thomas continued. "Which means they're predictable. They think in assets and control."
He looked at each of them in turn.
"They want me alive," he said. "That's leverage."
Silence followed.
"You're suggesting bait," Elisa said carefully.
"I'm suggesting initiative," Thomas replied.
Rea's voice was sharp. "Absolutely not."
"I won't be captured," Thomas said. "But I can be seen."
Mira's eyes narrowed. "That's dangerous."
"So is waiting," Thomas countered.
The weight of the decision pressed down on them all.
Elisa broke the silence first. "He's not wrong."
Rea spun on her. "You're agreeing with him?"
"I'm acknowledging reality," Elisa replied. "He's already a focal point. Pretending otherwise is denial."
Rea looked back at Thomas, conflict tearing through her expression. "If something happens to you—"
"It won't," Thomas said quietly. "Not if we're smart."
Mira considered for a long moment.
Then she nodded.
"Alright," she said. "We adapt."
Rea exhaled sharply, forced to accept the outcome.
Elisa stepped closer to Thomas, her voice low. "Congratulations," she said. "You've just become a strategic asset."
Thomas met her gaze evenly. "I intend to stay human."
She smiled faintly. "That may be the hardest part."
As night settled over the ruins once more, the group moved again—this time with intent, not reaction.
Thomas walked at the center, no longer shielded, no longer hidden.
He felt the danger pressing in from all sides.
But he also felt something else.
Control.
And he knew, with unsettling certainty, that every choice from this point forward would reshape not just the world around him—
—but the bonds, rivalries, and desires of the women walking beside him.