The Veteran Professional marches away, boots grinding against the packed dirt, eyes fixed on the exit.

  “You’re going nowhere,” Uddin says, stepping into his path.

  “Move. Now!” His voice cracks like thunder, echoing off the stone walls.

  “We can’t go out there. There are men hunting us,” Uddin pleads. She tries to push past him, but her grip clamps around his wrist—iron, unyielding. She doesn’t move.

  The Veteran’s breath turns ragged.

  He collapses, knees hitting the dirt with a dull thud. His hands press into the cold ground as if trying to anchor himself. A broken sound escapes him.

  “Tell them,” the girl says, her tone slicing through the silence.

  “Tell us what?” Moon Black demands, her hand resting on her sword.

  “He left me to die,” the girl says. Her words land heavier than the distant shouts outside.

  “Enough drama!” Moon Black snaps. “We have an army on our heels.”

  Daisy steps forward. “Maybe we should let him speak?”

  “Know your place,” Moon Black says coldly.

  The Feather-Hat peeks through a crack in the door. A faint orange glow flickers somewhere beyond. “The sounds are fading. Let’s move.”

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  Uddin turns back to the girl. “Wait. How do you know my name?”

  “I’ll tell you later,” the girl says, glancing toward the door. “We need to leave. This place isn’t safe.”

  Uddin and Daisy haul the Veteran to his feet. He stumbles but doesn’t resist.

  They slip into the biting night air.

  Smoke lingers in the wind. Somewhere far off, metal clashes once—then silence.

  “We head west,” the Tactician whispers.

  “Why west?” Moon Black asks. “Outlanders patrol that territory.”

  “Trust me.” The boy’s young face hardens.

  “Fine,” Moon Black sighs. “West. If this goes wrong, I’m blaming you.”

  They cut through a narrow alley where yellow streetlights flicker weakly overhead. Trash litters the stones. A foul stench rises from a thin stream of runoff creeping along the side.

  “Ew. This stinks,” Moon Black mutters, pinching her nose.

  “Keep quiet,” the Tactician murmurs.

  He stops at a simple wooden door wedged between crooked walls and knocks in a steady rhythm.

  A pause.

  A bolt slides.

  A chubby man opens the door, eyes tired, suspicion sharpening when he sees the group.

  “Young Boy Justice! It’s been a while,” the man says, stepping aside. “Son, where have you been?”

  “No time to explain,” he says, hands trembling slightly now that they’ve stopped running.

  The man furrows. "What have you gotten yourself into?"

  "Please, Me Rob, we need to leave fast."

  He pleads

  The man’s gaze lingers on Moon Black. “Who are your friends?”

  Daisy opens her mouth, but Moon Black pulls her back. “We’re from a nearby town,” she says smoothly.

  The man studies them another second, then nods.

  “It’s almost dawn. I’ll show you the back path.”

  He guides them through a cramped hallway and out to a hidden trail behind the house.

  “Go straight. Don’t stop until you’re home.”

  Justice pauses at the doorway. “Thanks, Mr. Rob. I owe you.”

  “No, you’ve been good to me. My door is always open,” the man says quietly.

  They step back into the early dawn.

  The sky lightens at the edges, pale and uncertain.

  Moon Black looks ahead at the long road stretching west.

  “Good to know,” she says. “We’re safe… for now.”

  No one answers. Because everyone knows 'for now' never lasts.