The valley was quiet, too quiet for what they had survived. Mist rolled lazily over the broken terrain, painting the world in soft grays and golds as the first sunlight touched the earth.
Ezra stood by the truck, his jacket draped over his wounded side. The bandages beneath were already soaked through, but he didn't care. He was watching Kai — who had climbed the small ridge and stood there, staring at the horizon like it held every answer he'd ever chased.
There was something haunting about Kai in the dawn. He looked like a man pulled between life and vengeance, between who he used to be and who he was forced to become.
Mara slammed the truck door shut behind Ezra, breaking the silence. "You know," she said, her voice dry as the dust beneath their boots, "normal people celebrate surviving. They don't just… brood about it."
Ezra glanced at her, half-smiling. "We're not normal people."
"Clearly." She sighed and stepped up beside him. "How bad is it?"
"The wound?" Ezra asked.
She gave him a look. "Your ego. The wound I already know about."
Ezra chuckled faintly. "It's nothing I can't handle."
"That's what you said before you passed out in the middle of a gunfight."
"Still made it out alive, didn't I?"
Mara shook her head but didn't push further. Beneath her sharpness was concern — the kind she'd never admit to out loud. "We can't stay here long," she said. "The soldiers who were after us… they'll regroup. And this time, they won't underestimate us."
Ezra's gaze drifted toward Kai again. "He's not going to run this time."
Mara followed his line of sight. "No, he's not. Which scares me more than anything."
Kai turned then, as if sensing their eyes. He made his way back down the ridge, each step measured, heavy with thought.
"We need to move east," he said, his tone clipped. "There's an old military relay station two miles from here. If we can reach it, we can intercept their comms — find out who's still hunting us."
"And if it's a trap?" Mara asked.
Kai met her stare evenly. "Then we make sure it's their last one."
Ezra stepped forward. "Kai."
The other man paused, his dark eyes flicking to him.
"You've been awake all night," Ezra said softly. "When was the last time you actually slept?"
Kai gave a short, humorless laugh. "Sleep's a luxury I can't afford."
"Try," Ezra replied. "You're no good to me dead on your feet."
For a moment, the air between them tightened, as if they were both remembering what almost happened — the explosion, the bullets, the way Kai had screamed his name in the chaos.
Then Kai's expression softened, just slightly. "You worry too much."
"And you pretend too much," Ezra countered.
Mara groaned. "If you two start flirting again, I'm shooting one of you. Maybe both."
Ezra smiled faintly, but Kai didn't. His hand brushed Ezra's arm briefly — a silent thank you, a wordless don't push me further right now.
They started walking east.
By midday, the mist had burned away, and the sun bore down on the cracked fields. The relay station appeared on the horizon like a relic — rusted metal, shattered antennas, windows half-boarded and streaked with grime.
Jace had been driving their second vehicle — a black SUV that had seen better days. He pulled up beside them, stepping out with a rifle slung across his shoulder. His eyes flicked to Ezra's bandaged side. "You look like hell."
Ezra smirked. "And you look like someone who's about to complain."
"Always." Jace grinned, then looked past him toward Kai. "You found the place?"
Kai nodded. "We need power to get the system running. The generators might still be intact."
Mara and Jace went to check the perimeter while Kai and Ezra entered the main control room. The air inside was stale, thick with dust and memories.
Ezra trailed his hand along the wall, brushing aside years of decay. "You really think this will work?"
Kai was already at the console, prying open the old panel. "It has to. If we can't intercept their transmissions, we'll never see them coming."
Ezra leaned against a broken desk, watching him. The light from the window fell across Kai's face — sharp cheekbones, faint scar beneath his eye, the kind of face you didn't forget even if you tried.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Kai asked, not turning around.
"Like what?"
"Like you're trying to memorize me."
Ezra smiled faintly. "Maybe I am."
Kai paused, his tools stilling. "You shouldn't."
"Too late."
For a heartbeat, the tension was palpable — thick, alive. Kai's hand trembled slightly before he resumed working. "You don't make things easy."
"I never do."
The generator sputtered to life with a cough of smoke. The screens flickered, a faint hum filling the room. Kai typed quickly, his eyes scanning lines of static and data. Then his jaw tightened.
"They've already moved," he said. "Two units heading north — the same direction as Mara's group. They're going to cut us off."
Ezra's pulse spiked. "How long do we have?"
"Less than an hour."
Ezra turned for the door, but Kai grabbed his wrist. "You're not going out there."
"The hell I'm not—"
"You can barely stand!" Kai snapped, stepping closer. "You think bleeding all over the dirt is going to help them?"
Ezra yanked free. "I'm not sitting here while they die."
Kai's voice dropped, raw and breaking. "I can't lose you again."
Ezra froze.
For a second, all he could hear was the hum of the monitors and the pounding of his own heart.
Kai's eyes were wild, his chest rising and falling fast. "Not again," he said, quieter now. "Not after everything."
Ezra swallowed, the fight draining from him. "Then come with me."
Kai hesitated, then nodded once.
By the time they reached the northern ridge, gunfire was already echoing through the trees. Mara and Jace were pinned down behind the SUV, bullets sparking off metal.
Ezra ducked beside them, firing a few rounds toward the soldiers advancing through the brush. "You always know how to make an entrance," Mara gritted out.
"Miss me?"
"Not even a little."
Kai flanked left, moving like a ghost — precise, deadly, efficient. Within minutes, three enemies were down, and the others began to retreat.
Silence fell again, broken only by the crackle of burning brush.
Jace exhaled. "Guess we're still alive."
"For now," Mara said, wiping blood from her cheek. "But this was no random ambush. Someone leaked our location."
Ezra glanced at Kai, whose jaw had tightened again.
"Whoever it was," Kai said, loading another round, "they're close. And next time, we won't let them walk away."
The look in his eyes was no longer just rage — it was purpose. Controlled. Cold.
Ezra felt a chill crawl up his spine, even as a part of him couldn't look away.
He reached out and touched Kai's shoulder. "Don't lose yourself to it," he murmured.
Kai turned his head slightly, eyes dark and distant. "Then keep me from falling."
Ezra smiled faintly, gripping tighter. "Always."