A heavy silence settled over the clearing.

Nobody spoke.

Nobody moved.

The realization hit harder than any argument.

Yesu was gone.

"How long?" Farida asked quietly.

Isaiah opened and closed his mouth.

"I... don’t know."

His answer only made things worse.

"How do you not know?" Reggie snapped.

"I was busy!"

"We were all busy!"

"Enough."

Grover’s voice cut through the rising tension.

The bruised boy scanned the clearing.

"When was the last time anyone actually saw her?"

The squad exchanged looks.

Nobody had an answer.

Farida frowned. "Last I saw her, she was helping me camouflage the pit."

"Then Finch called her over." Carrots added.

Every head turned.

Finch froze. His expression tightened.

"What?"

"You were the last person with her."

His eyes darted away briefly. "She was holding a string while I set the alarms."

"And then?"

Finch hesitated.

"I don’t know. When I turned she wasn’t there anymore. I thought she was with you guys."

That didn’t help anyone’s nerves.

"Where do you think she went?" Someone wondered aloud.

Soraya remained silent. Watching. Thinking.

Reggie faced her immediately. "Well?"

Soraya looked at him. "Well what?"

"You’re the leader. Then lead."

The words landed like a slap.

For a moment, Soraya simply stared at him. Then her gaze shifted beyond him toward the forest.

Toward the direction Yesu had vanished.

***

On a lonely tarred road cutting through the forest, two men dressed in black stood guard outside Doctor Heckman’s mobile laboratory.

The trailer sat motionless by the roadside.

So did everything else.

The road stretched empty in both directions.

There were no vehicles. No people. Just trees.

And mosquitoes.

The second guard slapped one against his neck.

"I miss the Facility." He grumbled.

Another mosquito buzzed near his ear.

"There are too many mosquitoes out here."

He scratched his neck.

"I honestly don’t know how those students survive during Trials."

The first guard glanced at him. "You do remember you used to be a student, right?"

"Barely." The second guard yawned. "My school only had Trials in Zone 25 once."

He shook his head.

"Thank goodness for that."

The first looked him over. "I can see why you ended up a minor security guard."

The second almost laughed.

"Oh?" He gestured between them. "Then what exactly are you doing here standing beside me?"

The first guard didn’t answer.

The second folded his arms. "By the way, what Academy did you attend?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Nothing personal." The second said lightly. "Just wanted to know. We’ve been together for two years and I don’t know a thing about you."

The first looked annoyed.

"Together?" He asked. "Do you have a death wish?"

The second grinned. "Fine. Fine. Just spill it. What Academy?"

"Helios."

The reply was immediate.

The second guard blinked.

"Wait."

He stared.

"You’re joking."

No response.

"You actually attended Helios Academy?"

The first remained silent.

The second burst out laughing.

"I don’t believe it." He studied him from head to toe. "You went to Helios and you’re this easy to beat?"

The grin widened.

"Not to mention sluggish."

The first finally turned. "Who are you calling sluggish?"

"You."

"Me?"

"Who else?"

The second was enjoying himself far too much.

"You weren’t even able to catch up to a high school student."

The first opened his mouth in an attempt to say something in defense—

Then suddenly stopped.

His expression changed.

The second noticed immediately. "What?"

The first tilted his head slightly.

Listening.

"I hear something."

Both men turned toward the trailer.

Silence.

Then—

Crash.

Something shattered inside.

The sound echoed across the empty road.

Both guards stiffened.

A second crash followed.

Much louder.

"Shit." The second guard muttered. He was already moving. "Looks like the subject’s awake."

The two men rushed toward the trailer.

The first reached the doors and yanked one open.

The second moved beside him.

Both peered inside and immediately froze.

Computer monitors littered the floor in pieces.

Several machines had been overturned.

Sparks occasionally flickered from damaged equipment.

The chair Yesu had been strapped to sat empty.

And a few meters away stood Yesu herself.

A computer terminal was raised above her head.

She threw it.

Crash.

Plastic and metal exploded across the floor.

Doctor Heckman stood backed into a corner, protected by a cluster of neatly arranged chairs.

A notepad rested in his hands.

"She’s attempting an escape." He informed them.

He didn’t sound concerned. Or particularly surprised.

The guards moved instantly.

Yesu grabbed another monitor, inclining it in their direction.

"I’d stay back if I were you. I’m kind of pissed."

She didn’t look it. Not even slightly angry.

The first guard lunged.

The monitor flew toward him.

A blast of air erupted from his palm.

The monitor veered aside and smashed into a table.

He reached for her.

Yesu dragged a nearby table between them and kicked it.

Hard.

The entire thing shot forward.

The guard was knocked backwards.

"Ouch." Doctor Heckman remarked sympathetically.

The second guard advanced.

Without hesitation, Yesu snatched up the tube containing her blood sample.

The contents splashed directly into his face.

"What the—!"

He stumbled back in shock.

Yesu climbed onto the table and jumped.

Trying to slip past him.

The first guard recovered and grabbed her.

Pinning her down.

Yesu drove an elbow into his eye.

He winced and released her.

The trailer doors stood wide open.

And beyond them were trees.

Freedom.

Yesu sprang to her feet.

The second guard caught hold of her immediately.

Nearby, a mathematical compass lay on a desk beside Doctor Heckman’s sketches.

Yesu grabbed it.

And drove it into the guard’s arm.

"Agh!"

Doctor Heckman clutched his notepad tighter.

"Ouch again."

He quickly scribbled something down.

The second guard recoiled.

Yesu shoved him away.

The first grabbed her again.

A needle plunged into her neck.

She punched him in the nose.

Blood burst free.

Then she kicked him squarely in the stomach.

The guard doubled over.

And Yesu bolted.

Straight through the trailer doors.

And she was gone.

Both guards stared after her for a moment.

Doctor Heckman’s pencil was moving furiously across the page. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

He sensed the eyes on him.

Looking up, he frowned. "What are you staring at me for?"

The guards blinked.

"Shouldn’t you be chasing her?"

That broke the spell. Both men sprinted outside.

Doctor Heckman watched them go.

Then chuckled softly.

***

Yesu ran.

Branches whipped past her. Leaves crunched beneath her feet.

The forest swallowed her whole.

She had expected the sedative to take effect.

Expected her limbs to become heavy. Expected darkness to come again.

But nothing happened.

She kept running.

Doctor Heckman’s voice surfaced in her memory.

’Adaptation.’

Yesu’s eyes narrowed.

Behind her, footsteps echoed through the trees.

The guards were coming.

Fast.

She didn’t know where she was. Didn’t know where she was heading.

But she knew one thing.

The Scales had to reach her squad before seventeen hundred.

And she would not fail.