The first rays of a sickly sun cut through the broken windows of the abandoned train station. Dust motes danced in the faint light, settling over the battered floor where Amara sat beside Leo's small frame. His breathing was steady now, but his eyes remained closed. The boy's chest rose and fell like fragile wings—life hanging on the edge.
Amara sat back against the cold wall, exhaustion heavy in her limbs. She hadn't slept properly in days—not since the ambush. Not since the endless running.
Kael stirred across the room, rolling his broad shoulders and flexing his fingers. The night had been quiet, but tension crackled in the air like static.
"I'll scout the perimeter," Kael said without looking at her.
Amara shook her head. "Not today. The patrols are too close. We move after dark."
Kael studied her with a sharp glance, then nodded. "What's the plan?"
She handed him a crumpled map, edges worn from use. "We hit the Red Line sector clinic. It's the last safe place with medical supplies."
Kael scanned the scribbled notes, eyes narrowing.
"The Dominion's chokehold is strongest there. But there's a rebel network. If we get inside, we might find allies."
Amara's fingers traced the route—through the ruins, past the fallen bridge, then across the open wasteland.
"Open wasteland?" Kael's tone was skeptical.
"Better than Dominion checkpoints," she said grimly.
Kael leaned back. "You sure you want to trust rebels? I've seen what they do."
Amara's gaze hardened. "Better than the Dominion."
Hours later, the trio—Amara, Kael, and Leo—prepared to leave. Leo's injury was stable but still raw. Amara wrapped his shoulder in fresh bandages and gave him a ration bar.
"Eat this," she urged gently. "It'll give you strength."
Leo nodded weakly, eyes wide but tired.
Kael strapped his rifle across his back, eyes scanning the shadows.
"We move fast," Kael said, voice low. "Stay close. No noise."
They slipped out of the station, moving through twisted steel and crumbled concrete. The city was a skeleton, bones stripped clean by war and neglect.
As they crossed the burnt-out marketplace, Kael paused, hand raised.
"There," he whispered.
In the distance, a group of Dominion soldiers patrolled, their boots crunching gravel.
Amara swallowed her fear and led Leo into a ruined alley.
"Hold here," Kael instructed.
He melted into the shadows, circling wide, eyes sharp for movement.
Seconds stretched into minutes.
Then a shot rang out.
Chaos erupted.
Amara grabbed Leo and ran blindly, footsteps pounding behind them.
She darted into an underground sewer grate, prying it open just as a second shot echoed.
They plunged into darkness.
The air was thick and damp. Water dripped somewhere far off.
Leo whimpered.
Amara's hands trembled as she pulled him forward.
"Keep moving," she urged.
They stumbled through the tunnels, disoriented and terrified.
After what felt like an eternity, they emerged in an overgrown park, sunlight filtering through skeletal trees.
Kael was waiting, rifle ready.
"Cut it close," he muttered.
Amara didn't answer. Her heart was racing, her thoughts scattered.
They rested briefly before continuing.
Days passed as they made their way toward the Red Line clinic. Along the way, Kael revealed shards of his past—a soldier who'd lost everything in the war, haunted by ghosts and regret.
Amara shared little of her own story—except that healing was all she had left.
Leo, fragile but spirited, clung to them both, a reminder of what was worth fighting for.
At the edge of the Red Line sector, they found ruins smothered in propaganda posters—calls to loyalty and obedience. But beneath the surface, resistance thrived in secret.
A ragged woman with piercing eyes greeted them at a hidden entrance.
"Name's Mara," she said. "We heard you were coming."
Mara led them through underground tunnels, past armed guards and whispered meetings.
Inside the clinic, the air smelled of antiseptic and hope.
Amara knelt beside an array of supplies—bandages, antibiotics, morphium.
"This is a miracle," she breathed.
Mara smiled sadly. "It comes with a price. The Dominion will come looking for us. We're a target now."
Kael's jaw clenched.
Amara looked at Leo, now sitting weakly but alert.
"We'll be ready," she said.
But as night fell, a distant rumble shook the clinic.
Dominion forces were closing in.
The war was far from over.