The tunnel stretched on, damp and silent, their breaths the only sound as they pressed forward. Dust clung to their faces and clothes, still thick from the collapse behind them as Jake led the way.Elena kept glancing back, listening for pursuit that never came. “We bought time, but not much,” she murmured.“They’ll dig through eventually,” Reeva said, wiping grit from her eyes. “Council doesn’t leave bodies buried for long.”Jake slowed only enough to check Lina, who was limping but keeping up. “How bad?”“Just twisted it when we ran,” Lina admitted. “I can move.”“You will,” Jake said, not unkindly but firm. “No stopping.”The tunnel finally widened into a forgotten maintenance chamber. Broken machinery and collapsed beams littered the floor. Jake raised his hand, signaling a halt. They dropped into place, breathing heavy, backs pressed to the cold walls.Reeva slid to the ground with a groan. “That was close. Too close.”Jake didn’t answer right away. He stared at the dirt-streaked

Reeva tightened the last line and stepped back, her voice low but sharp. “Charges armed. On your word.”Jake crouched beside her, scanning the shadows. “Wait until I say.”Lina swallowed hard, clutching the detonator. “The guards are rotating. If they spot us before—”“They won’t,” Elena cut in, her rifle steady against her shoulder. Her eyes didn’t leave the perimeter.For a few tense seconds, the only sound was the low hum of the relay tower above them. Jake counted the patrol’s steps in his head, measuring the rhythm. He waited for the moment when the guards turned their backs, when their lines of sight overlapped just enough.“Now,” he ordered.Reeva tapped Lina’s arm. Lina pressed the trigger.A thunderous crack ripped through the night as fire tore along the tower’s foundation. The ground shook. Metal screamed and groaned. Then, with a violent crash, the lower half of the relay buckled. Sparks burst across the sky, raining down in arcs of burning light.The patrols shouted in pa

Jake didn’t sit down again. The decision had already been made the moment the runner spoke of Southbank. He turned back to the table and dragged the map toward him, his fingers leaving smears of soot across the paper.“Sector Nine’s relay is gone. That gave people a taste of freedom. Southbank just paid the price for it. If we let that stand without response, the Council wins the story. We can’t let them.”Reeva leaned over the map. “You’re talking about another strike? We just pulled off one miracle. Do you think we can do it again without losing half our people?”Jake’s eyes were steady. “We don’t need another miracle. We need precision. One hit, targeted, not just to hurt them but to show people that Southbank wasn’t abandoned.”Elena moved around to his side, arms folded, gaze sharp. “You want to link the two. Blackout and Southbank. Make them one story.”“Yes,” Jake said. “They hit Southbank because they’re afraid of what the blackout meant. We answer so everyone knows their fear

Jake stood at the edge of Sector Twelve, his boots scraping against the broken concrete as he surveyed the scene. Elena, Reeva, and Lina stood nearby, their expressions unreadable, but Jake knew what they were thinking. This was it. The next move could either break them—or push them over the edge of something bigger than they had imagined.The education hub loomed ahead—a hollow, decaying structure that had once been a place of innovation and learning. Now, it was nothing more than an echo of what it used to be, its once-pristine walls now scarred by years of neglect and misuse. The building had become something else entirely, a symbol of how the Council had twisted everything it had touched.Jake’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the crumbling structure. He knew they weren’t there to play games. This wasn’t about reclaiming something for the people, but about stealing the one thing Amanda used to control them all—her voice. It was the printing presses they were after. The words that ke

Jake led the way through the dim streets, his footsteps steady and purposeful. The weight of the moment hung heavily on his shoulders. South Ridge was close now, the area where they had been gathering intelligence about the Council's latest sweep. His gut churned with the knowledge that they were walking into a trap—there was no way the Council would let their interference slide without retaliation.“We need to stay sharp,” Jake said, his voice low. The shadows swallowed them whole as they moved further into the derelict area. Broken buildings and empty storefronts lined the narrow streets, the city’s decay more pronounced here than in other sectors. “Stay close. No distractions.”Lina was the first to speak, her voice barely above a whisper. “How do you know they haven’t already moved everyone out?” She adjusted her gear as they neared the corner of the street. “What if they’ve caught on to us?”Jake didn’t flinch. “Because we haven’t been that careless. They’re still looking for us