Adam and Grace ran as fast as they could, away from the carnage, away from the people. There was no going back—the Administrators would kill them if they tried.
Forward.
That was the only way.
But ahead, another army waited. They knew they were only delaying their deaths.
Still, they moved forward.
Hope.
This was what hope meant—running blind in the darkness, believing that somewhere, eventually, there would be light.
They had been running for only seconds.
It felt like eternity.
But then—
"You two! Here!"
Light.
Jake stood in the doorway of a small restaurant, its windows barred with metal shutters. He waved them in.
"Hurry!"
Adam and Grace forced their legs to move faster, teeth gritted, lungs burning. They never looked back—never checked if anyone was following.
"Inside, now!"
The moment they stepped through, Jake slammed the shutters down behind them.
It was dark. But for the first time, they could breathe.
Not safe. Not yet. But breathing.
"Hide in the kitchen," Jake ordered, peering through the gaps in the shutters. "We're not safe yet."
"Thank you." Grace wasted no time expressing her gratitude.
As soon as Adam set Samantha down, she ran to Jake, tugging at his shirt. "Thank you again, mister."
Jake smiled softly, patting her head. But he didn't speak—just nodded before returning his focus outside.
Samantha turned back to Adam, hugging his leg. "Thank you too, mister. Thank you."
Adam crouched, bringing himself to her level. His voice softened. "It's… okay."
For a moment—just almost—a smile threatened to break through.
"And thank you for being brave," he said. "Now, I need you to do something, okay?"
Samantha nodded hesitantly. "What… what is it?"
"I want you to keep being brave." Adam swallowed. "And I want you to listen to your mother, okay? No matter what happens, don't let go of her hand. Promise me."
"Hmm."
Samantha sniffled, wiping the tears from her face before running back to Grace. She clutched her mother's hand as tightly as she could, then looked back at Adam.
"I promise."
Adam nodded. "Good."
He cast a glance at Grace before finally following Jake's instructions and heading toward the kitchen.
To their surprise, there were already people hiding inside—about five of them. At first, the group stared at Adam and Grace in shock. But the moment they noticed the Red Halos hovering above their heads, they silently returned to what they were doing: panicking in hushed whispers, hands clasped in prayer.
Adam and Grace exchanged looks before settling near an oven. Carefully, they lowered themselves to the floor, mindful not to disturb anyone.
Grace immediately tended to Samantha, making sure she was comfortable—but she needn't have worried. The moment Samantha lay in her lap, she drifted into sleep.
And as soon as she fell asleep, the tears that Grace had been trying to hold onto immediately burst from her eyes. Her entire body convulsed, but she cried quietly in fear that she would wake her daughter.
She wanted to cover her face, to catch the tears before they fell on her daughter, but she couldn't bring herself to let go of her.
Then, she felt a nudge.
She turned.
Adam sat beside her, silent, his shoulder subtly leaning in, offering a certain solace as she rested her face on it and used it to hide her tears.
She stayed like that for minutes, soaking his shoulder in tears.
But he never said a thing.
He let her cry until she had nothing left.
When it was over, she exhaled a deep, shuddering breath and whispered, "Thank you."
Adam sighed too, shaking his head. "I should be the one thanking the two of you. If you hadn't woken me up… I'd still be there. And I'd be in a lot more pain."
"Hmm," Grace sniffled, wiping the last of her tears as she glanced down at Samantha, brushing gentle fingers through her hair.
"You're… good with kids," she murmured, then looked at Adam. "Did you have younger siblings growing up?"
"No." Adam closed his eyes. "But… I had someone I treated like an older sister. She always comforted me when I was scared."
Grace hesitated, then asked, "How old are you?"
Adam looked up, thoughtful. "I don't know. But I guess… twenty-seven?"
Grace nearly choked. She clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle her reaction, then leaned in, whispering harshly, "You're only three years younger than me? I thought you were, like… a teenager! You look so young. Wait—you were also born before the Game?"
"Yes," Adam nodded, "I might be older, I… don't know. My memory's hazy before the asteroids fell. But I remember it, I was running away."
"I'm… the same," Grace smiled, but she tilted her head and leaned away to get a closer look at Adam's face, "But I'm just shocked, you look… so young. I thought you were born after the Game."
"No…" Adam lifted his knees and hugged his legs to hide his face.
"You know, I was playing with my friends at school when it happened. None of us really knew it happened. We were… completely unaffected, I didn't even think it was a big deal until my dad was summoned to the game four years later. All I remember was that the world started changing after that moment. What about you? Do you have… any fond memories you remember before the Game?"
Saw. Needles. Scalpels. Blood. Lots of blood.
"I… same." He forced the words out, shaking his head as if to dislodge the images flashing through his mind. "Playing with… friends."
A lie.
"That—"
But a lie he did not have to keep for a long time at all.
"Shit! They're coming in!"
All of a sudden, the moment between the two shattered as they were reminded of where they were.
Jake barreled into the kitchen, his voice cracking with haste. "The Blues know we're inside! They're surrounding the restaurant!"
Without hesitation, he grabbed a knife from the counter. "Make sure the back door is shut tight!"
He pointed to the nearest person to do it, but they didn't react—too consumed by fear, hands clamped over their ears, eyes squeezed shut.
"Shit!"
Jake moved to secure the door himself, but before he could take a step, Adam was already on it.
He shook the door, testing the lock, then shoved one of the heavy counters in front of it. He pressed his weight against it, making sure no one was getting through.
Jake watched him for a moment, then gave a small nod. Without a word, he handed Adam the knife.
"Protect them," he said. "And whatever you do, don't go outside. If they realize someone's hiding in here, you'll all die."
Then his voice dropped, colder than before.
"But… if they do get in, I want you to kill the mother and daughter."
"…What?"