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The jungle metal groaned beneath their feet as Siara's group pushed deeper toward the signal spike Tanya had marked on her map. Pluto walked ahead, drone controller in hand, scanning every inch of the shifting mechanical forest. Luna supported the badly limping Tim, and Tanya kept glancing at Tango, who stubbornly insisted he was "fine" even though every step made him wince.
They didn't expect to find anyone alive in this sector—Devon's earlier radio transmission had been cut off mid-sentence—but hope clung to Siara's expression like a shadow.
"Keep moving," she urged. "Richard's close. I know it."
Another minute. Another metal groan beneath the false soil.
Then Pluto's drone camera froze.
On the screen: a collapsed section of the jungle floor… and three figures slumped beside it.
Devon.
Asuka.
And Richard—unconscious, barely breathing.
Siara didn't wait for confirmation. She ran.
"Siara, WAIT!" Pluto shouted—but she was already sprinting through the clearing, crashing through branches and mechanical vines.
She reached Richard's side and dropped to her knees so hard the impact echoed. Her eyes widened—his leg was bent wrong, his ribs wrapped hastily but swollen, his skin pale beneath dirt and blood.
"Richard… Richard, hey—hey, look at me." Her voice cracked. She touched his cheek, gentle but trembling. "Please wake up."
His eyelids fluttered, and for a moment the world stilled.
"…Siara?" His voice was broken, barely more than a breath.
She exhaled in relief, forehead pressing against his. "I'm here. I'm right here. You idiot—why would you fight that thing alone?"
Devon, sitting nearby with his arm wrapped in a torn shirt, answered weakly, "Because he's Richard. And… he killed one. Crushed two others. It was insane."
Asuka groaned beside him. "Guy's got more hero syndrome than Steve Harrington. We told him to fall back but NOOO—"
Richard tried to smirk but winced, clutching his ribs.
Siara shot Asuka a death glare. "Stop making him talk."
Pluto and Tanya arrived next, followed by Luna dragging the injured boys.
Pluto crouched beside Richard, pulling out his pack. "I'm staying with them," he decided immediately. "You guys—Luna, Tanya, Tango, Tim—you go. The lab's close. We need answers before this place shifts again."
Siara didn't even look up. She was already tying a splint around Richard's leg with her jacket, whispering soft reassurances, brushing dirt from his hair like she'd done it a hundred times.
Devon watched quietly.
For the first time since the nightmare started, he looked like a little brother again—just scared and grateful.
Tanya checked her map, swallowed nervously, then stood. "The lab entrance should be only half a mile from here. If we hurry, we can get inside before the jungle moves again."
Luna squeezed Siara's shoulder. "We'll be back. I promise."
Siara nodded, eyes never leaving Richard. "Just… come back safe."
The exploring group gathered their gear and headed toward the looming steel shadows ahead.
Back at the clearing, Siara gently lay Richard's head in her lap, running her fingers through his hair as he drifted in and out of consciousness.
"You're not dying on me," she whispered.
"Not after everything."
Richard managed one small, crooked smile.
"With you here… I won't."
Pluto sat facing the forest, gripping a metal pipe like a weapon, eyes scanning the shadows for movement.
Protecting them.
Guarding the injured.
Keeping watch through the dangerous, shifting metal jungle.
Night was falling again.
And somewhere ahead, the lab waited.
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