How easy it would be to close that distance again.
I stop myself.
Step back.
Hard reset.
Nope.
Not happening.
Not again.
“We need to move,” I say.
“Yeah,” he agrees quietly.
But he doesn’t look away right away.
Neither do I.
And that—
That is the real problem.
4
Jase
Location: Abandoned Village — Moving Inland
Time: Night
We don’t get far.
That’s the problem with professionals.
They adapt fast.
Too fast.
We cut through the back of the village, keeping low, using shadows and broken walls for cover. I’ve got a route in my head—north ridge, tree line, then disappear inland.
Simple.
Except nothing tonight is simple.
The first flare goes up behind us.
White light floods the village.
“Move,” I snap.
We run.
Boots hit dirt, then stone, then broken ground as we push past the last of the buildings. The second flare goes up ahead of us.
That’s when I know.
