It had been hours since Cherie lay down beside the grave.
The rain had stopped a long ti ago, but the ground was still damp beneath her. The dirt had settled into sothing heavy and cold, clinging to her clothes and skin. She did not seem to notice anymore.
A cigarette rested between her lips as she stared ahead at nothing in particular.
Every now and then, she took a slow drag.
The ember at the tip glowed faintly, then dimd again.
Smoke drifted upward and disappeared into the quiet air.
Her body barely moved except for that.
She looked like she had been left there, like part of the ground itself.
Eventually, her hand lifted.
Two fingers pinched the cigarette and pulled it from her mouth. She held it there for a second, staring at the thin line of smoke curling into the air.
Then she pushed herself up.
Her joints felt stiff as she sat upright. Dirt flaked off her clothes as she moved. Her hair hung loosely around her face, still damp in places.
She stayed still for a mont after sitting up.
Then she reached for her satchel.
It had been lying beside her the whole ti.
She slung it over her shoulder and brushed so of the dirt off her arms and legs. It did not do much. The stains were already set in.
The cigarette found its way back to her lips.
She stood.
For a mont, her thoughts felt slow. Like they were moving through smoke.
She did not have a plan.
That realization sat heavier than anything else.
Part of her still wanted to keep going. To keep searching for the others. To believe that soone was still out there waiting to be found.
But another part of her knew better.
Maybe that Chapter was over.
Maybe it had been over for a while now, and she just refused to accept it.
Cherie turned her head and looked at the grave one last ti.
It was quiet.
Too quiet.
She held her gaze there for a few seconds, then turned away.
This ti, she did not look back.
The walk through the trees felt shorter than before.
Or maybe she just did not care enough to notice the ti anymore.
Eventually, the campsite ca into view.
Saul was the first to notice her.
He stood up almost imdiately, arms folding across his chest as concern spread across his face.
Cherie slowed as she approached, but she did not stop.
It was strange that she ca back here at all.
Saul and Jackson were still strangers.
She barely knew anything about them.
A small part of her questioned why she returned instead of walking off on her own.
But another part of her rembered Hailey’s words.
About finding sothing different.
About trying.
Maybe this was her trying.
"It’s a sha," Jackson muttered, just loud enough to be heard. "She was really hot."
Saul shot him a sharp look.
Jackson raised his hands slightly in mock surrender, like he knew he had crossed a line but did not care enough to take it back.
Cherie said nothing.
She stopped a few feet from them, her expression unreadable.
"Hey," Saul said.
Cherie flinched slightly, like she had been pulled out of her thoughts.
She looked up at him.
"I did not know her long," he continued, choosing his words carefully, "but she seed like a good person."
Cherie stared at him.
Her eyes widened just a little, like the words caught her off guard.
Then she let out a quiet, uneven chuckle.
It broke halfway through.
She nodded slowly as she sniffled, trying to keep herself steady.
Saul stepped closer and placed a hand on her shoulder.
She did not react much.
She did not pull away, but she did not lean into it either.
He hesitated.
It was clear he did not know what to do.
After a second, he placed his other hand on her opposite shoulder and gently pulled her forward into a hug.
It was awkward.
Uncertain.
But it was sothing.
For a mont, Cherie just stood there.
Then her arms lifted slowly.
She hugged him back.
They stood like that in silence.
Cherie’s eyes stayed open the whole ti, staring past his shoulder. Her mind was still moving, still trying to process everything that had happened.
"Okay, this is great and all," Jackson said after a mont, breaking the quiet, "but can we head back to the clearing? These woods give the creeps, and we have to hit the road tomorrow."
Saul did not respond right away.
He stayed there for another second, still holding Cherie like he was not sure if letting go was the right move.
Then he pulled back.
"...Yeah," he said quietly. "Let’s go."
Cherie lowered her arms.
She said nothing.
But this ti, when they turned to head back, she followed.
—
The mont I saw Annie, my hand moved on instinct.
The Glock was already in my grip before my brain had ti to catch up. I pulled it from my nether regions, where I had hidden it and aid it straight at her chest.
Everything exploded at once.
They didn’t think I’d really co in here unard, did they?
Voices rose around . Guns clicked as they were raised in my direction. Boots shifted across the concrete floor as her people reacted.
Aubrey and Lila closed in at my sides without telling them to.
"Woah, woah, woah— what the fuck???" soone shouted.
"I wouldn’t do that," another voice warned.
I kept the gun steady.
Well too bad you are not .
Annie stood across the room, a few feet behind the two body bags on the floor. Her expression shifted from surprise to sothing sharper. Confusion mixed with irritation.
She glanced to one of her n.
"Soone tell why he’s ard."
Her tone was calm, but there was sothing under it.
Sothing tight.
My grip on the Glock tightened slightly.
"You people had one job," she added.
One of the n stepped forward a little, clearly uncomfortable.
"We patted them down," he said quickly. "I did not know he would hide it in his—"
He stopped himself.
Annie did not even look at him again.
Her attention ca back to .
I did not lower the gun.
"You have so explaining to do," I said. "Who are those in the bags?"
I nodded toward the bodies on the floor, then brought the barrel back up to her.
For a second, the room held its breath.
Then Annie smiled.
It ca slow.
Deliberate.
"You are in no position to demand explanations," she said.
"Do not fuck with ," I shot back.
One of the enforcers to my right shifted his aim slightly.
"Just give the word, Annie," he said. "I’ll shoot him where he stands."
"Like hell you will," Lila snapped.
She stepped forward, fast enough to make a few of them flinch. A small knife glead in her hand, held low but ready.
That got a reaction.
A few more guns adjusted toward her.
Aubrey stayed quiet behind . I could feel her there, tense but not moving.
Looks like their search was just as sloppy with her.
Annie’s eyes flicked toward Lila for a mont. Her expression darkened, but only slightly.
Then she looked back at .
And smiled again.
"Yeah," she said casually. "Sorry. I got impatient waiting for you, so I killed them before you got here."
She tilted her head slightly.
"Sha, really. I was looking forward to doing it in front of you."
For a split second, sothing twisted in my chest.
Then the lattice cut through it.
Cold and clear.
It had already mapped the space. Already picked up the heat signatures bleeding through the walls. Two bodies in the next room. One male. One female. Alive. Restrained.
Carl.
Adira.
Not here.
Not dead.
So she was playing gas.
Fine.
I could do that too.
I let out a slow breath through my nose.
"Then I guess we should call ourselves even, then?" I said.
Annie’s smile faded just a little.
I kept going.
"I took out what, half your people outside?" I shrugged slightly, keeping the gun steady. "Give or take."
I paused just long enough.
"Oh, and your sister," I added. "Let’s not forget that."
That landed.
I saw it in her eyes.
The shift.
Subtle, but real.
I tilted my head slightly, like I was trying to rember.
"What was her na again?" I said. "Yennifer? Jasmine?"
I rembered.
"Yasmine," Annie snapped.
The word ca out sharp.
Cold.
The room changed instantly.
The tension spiked so fast it felt like the air got thinner.
Every gun stayed trained on , but now there was sothing heavier behind it.
Annie’s expression hardened.
There wasn’t a smile this ti. Good.
I was under her skin.
That was exactly where I needed to be.
Because while she focused on , on what I was saying, on what I was trying to provoke—
I was already working on a plan to leave here with Carl and Adira.
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