---
The forest finally broke open into the faint outline of the town. After hours of carrying two half-conscious bodies and fighting off the remains of the Plagued creatures, the group stumbled out onto the empty road that led toward H.R General Hospital.
Devon supported Richard's weight on one shoulder, Asuka on the other, both exhausted and covered in dirt, ash, and dried blood. Richard drifted in and out of consciousness, ribs crushed, leg broken, his breathing shallow and uneven.
Pluto carried Luna bridal-style, her silver hair streaked with dried red where her eyes had bled. Her face was pale, but she was alive. Barely.
Tanya waved frantically at an approaching car. "Help! Please!"
The driver slammed the brakes. Within minutes, paramedics swarmed the road.
Everything after that blurred.
---
The Hospital
Luna woke up first.
White ceiling. Blinking fluorescent lights. The faint smell of antiseptic.
Her head felt like it was splitting open. A steady beep kept rhythm at her bedside.
She sat up too fast and winced.
Siara was asleep in the chair next to her, arms crossed, looking like she'd fought the entire forest herself. Tim and Tango were in beds across the room—bandaged but stable. Pluto sat between them, keeping watch like a silent guard dog.
"Richard?" Luna rasped.
Pluto looked up. His expression said everything: things were bad.
"He's in ICU," he said quietly. "His ribs punctured his lung. He… he lost a lot of blood."
Luna's chest tightened. "I need to see him."
"You can't," Siara mumbled, waking up. "They're still stabilizing him."
Luna felt helpless—the worst feeling she knew.
---
The Next Day — Back to School
They should've stayed home. They should've been recovering.
But Siara insisted, and strangely, everyone listened to her.
"We need to act normal," she said. "If the government lab notices survivors… we become targets."
So they walked into school bruised, exhausted, and mentally fractured.
Recess came like a silent breath of relief. Siara gathered them under the tree behind the gym.
"Okay," she said, flipping open a notebook. "We're forming a club. Officially, it's 'Forest Exploration Society.' Unofficially… it's how we cover our investigation."
Tanya nodded. "We need records, plans, patterns, everything."
Devon crossed his arms. "I'm not sitting around while Richard's fighting for his life."
"You won't be," Siara answered flatly. "This club is for him."
That was enough.
They all agreed.
---
Luna's Vision
As Luna stepped aside to breathe, her head suddenly throbbed—hard.
Colors flickered. Sound warped.
Her silver hair shimmered under the sunlight.
Her vision blurred and then—
She saw him.
A tall shadowed figure standing in the school courtyard.
Eyes glowing faintly.
Limbs distorted.
The Collector.
Luna gasped as the vision ripped through her mind. Her eyes began to bleed. Her legs gave out—
—but someone caught her.
A boy. Dark hair. Sharp jawline. Cold, controlled eyes.
He steadied her effortlessly, like he had done it a hundred times before.
"You okay?" he asked.
She blinked up at him, still half in the vision.
"I… I don't know."
He helped her stand. His grip was strong, confident.
"I'm Zane," he said. "Zane Lawson."
Luna stared at him, breath caught in her throat. Not because he was handsome—though he was—but because her heart reacted like it already knew him.
And somewhere far away, something in the forest stirred.
The Collector had seen her too.
---