The clearing was quiet except for shallow breaths and the occasional rustle of the trees overhead. The forest, mechanical and alive beneath its disguise, hummed faintly—almost like it was listening.
Richard lay propped against a backpack, his ribs tightly wrapped with makeshift bandages. His leg was splinted, but the pain still flashed in his eyes whenever he shifted. Yet he stayed awake, alert, refusing to relax completely.
Siara knelt beside him, adjusting the splint with careful hands. "Does it hurt here?" she whispered.
"It all hurts," Richard muttered, trying to smirk, "but I'll live."
"You almost didn't," she whispered back, her voice trembling before she caught herself. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and steadied her breathing. She wasn't going to fall apart—not when he needed her.
Tango lay a few feet away, arm in a sling, bruises running across his shoulders. Tim was worse—bandaged head, bruised ribs, every breath shaky. Pluto sat beside both boys, cross-legged, silent and still like a guard dog carved from stone. His camera drone hovered nearby, running a slow defensive perimeter scan.
"Signals are weird," Pluto muttered, checking the monitor. "Something's jamming the feed every few minutes."
"Is it the jungle moving again?" Siara asked quietly.
"Maybe. Or someone messing with us."
Richard grunted. "Someone. Not something."
A few feet away, Tanya tightened the straps on her backpack, spreading out the mechanical map she'd drawn from Pluto's earlier scans. "The lab's about half a mile west. Straight line… if the forest stays put."
"It won't," Luna said, eyes narrowed. "But we have to try."
Devon crouched beside his brother. "We'll be quick. Just need to get inside, find whatever answers we can, and come back."
Siara shot him a look. "Be careful. Especially you."
Devon gave a tiny, reassuring grin. "I know. Big brother would kill me if I didn't."
Richard snorted. "Damn right I would."
Asuka tightened her gloves, rolled her shoulder, and straightened. She still limped, but her eyes burned with fight. "Let's move before the forest decides to play musical chairs again."
Tanya folded the map, slipped it into her jacket, and nodded. "Stay hidden, stay quiet, and stay alive."
Pluto tapped the drone. "I'll keep the feed open. If anything moves near you, I'll ping your receivers."
"Good," Tanya said. "Because we need every advantage we can get."
Siara squeezed Richard's hand before standing. "Come back. All of you."
Luna gave a reassuring smile. "We will."
Devon tapped Richard's uninjured leg. "Don't go anywhere."
Richard groaned. "Not funny."
Asuka smirked. "It kinda is."
They headed off—Tanya leading with the map, Asuka limping slightly behind her, Luna covering the rear. Devon paused just long enough to glance back at Richard, Siara, Pluto, Tango, and Tim clustered together in the fading light.
Then he disappeared into the shifting forest.
The clearing grew still. The drone circled above, scanning, buzzing faintly like an electronic guardian angel.
Siara sat beside Richard again, fingers trembling slightly as she brushed dirt off his sleeve.
"You should rest," Richard whispered.
"I'm not leaving you," she said simply.
Pluto glanced up from his screen, voice low. "Movement at the edge of the clearing. Not close enough to threaten us yet."
Richard's jaw tensed. "Stay sharp."
The wind shifted, the trees creaked, and the world felt like it was holding its breath.
Half a mile away, the others walked straight toward the heart of the jungle.
Toward the lab.
Toward answers.
And maybe toward something far worse.
---