The world outside their cell erupted into chaos. The sudden, absolute blackness was followed by shouted curses, the clatter of dropped equipment, and the confused barking of orders. The compound, a well-oiled machine moments before, was now a disoriented organism stumbling in the dark. Inside the cell, it was time. Leo didn't hesitate. He slammed his shoulder into the door, right next to the lock. The loose strike plate, its top screws missing and the bottom ones weakened, splintered the doorframe with a sound like a gunshot. The door flew open. They spilled out into the chaotic night. The only light came from the emergency lanterns in the command hut and the moon, a sliver of cold silver in the sky. "Now! Go!" Leo hissed.They moved like ghosts, splitting into their pre-assigned pairs. Alex and Riley melted into the shadows between two buildings, heading for the command hut. Samir and Lily sprinted for the jungle's edge and the path to the ridge. Leo and Maria ran for the armory. The

The grief for Jake was a luxury they could not afford. It was a weight they had to bury in the soft soil of the ridge and leave behind. Leo‟s orders were not a suggestion; they were a survival algorithm. In the predawn gloom, they performed the grim task of redistribution. The two AK-47s went to Leo and Maria. The machetes were given to Samir and Lily. Alex, proven capable and ruthless, took the remaining knife and a fierce, unspoken determination. They split the ammunition and the leaf-pouch of water with an efficiency that was chilling. “The rules,” Leo said, his voice low and hard, his eyes scanning the dark jungle below. “One: Move always. Never sleep in the same place twice. Two: Water is life. Find it, purify it, protect it. Three: The high ground is your friend. See without being seen. Four: Kill only from necessity or absolute advantage. Noise is your enemy. Silence is your shield.”He looked at each of them, imprinting the rules like commandments. “We meet in seven days. The

The northern spire was a jagged tooth of black rock clawing at the sky, visible for miles. It was a place of exposure, a terrible rendezvous point, which was precisely why Leo had chosen it. No one would stage an ambush there; there was nowhere to hide. Leo and Samir reached it first, climbing the treacherous, windswept slopes to a small, sheltered ledge halfway up. They had a panoramic view of the jungle canopy below and the endless blue of the ocean beyond. For the next two days, they waited, watching, their rifles never far from their hands. On the morning of the seventh day, a figure emerged from the green tapestry below. It moved slowly, painfully, but with a determined purpose. It was Alex. He was gaunt, his clothes in tatters, the gash on his forehead a angry red line. But he carried a rifle now, and his eyes held a flat, dead calm that hadn't been therebefore. He saw their signal—a specific arrangement of stones—and began the climb. No one spoke when he reached the ledge. A n

The balance of power had shifted. The hunters were being systematically dismantled, and the phantom in the jungle was proving to be a more brilliant tactician than The Jackal had ever anticipated. His men were demoralized, his resources were being bled dry, and his control over the island was slipping through his fingers like sand. He stood on the porch of the command hut, the once-bustling compound now feeling hollow and silent. The charred skeleton of the fuel dump was a constant, ugly reminder of his failure. He had underestimated the teacher. He had mistaken patience for weakness, and intellect for passivity. It was a fatal error. His second-in-command, a hulking, brutal man named Gregor, approached, his face grim. "We lost another one. Pavel. Found him by the stream with his throat cut. The traps... the men are refusing to patrol the western sector."The Jackal did not respond with anger. Anger was for lesser men. He felt a cold, clarifying fury. This was no longer about containi

The silence after the storm was the loudest sound Leo had ever heard. The sporadic gunfire had ceased, replaced by the crackle of the burning generator hut and the moans of the wounded. He sat in the command hut, the smell of cordite and blood thick in the air, the dead Jackal a silent testament at his feet. One by one, they found him. Maria was the first, her rifle held loosely, her face smudged with soot and sweat. She saw the body, saw Leo sitting in the chair, and wordlessly began checking him for injuries, her medic's hands moving automatically. Alex entered next, his eyes scanning the room, his own weapon ready until he confirmed the threat was gone. He gave Leo a slow, grim nod. The hunter‟s work was done. Samir, Lily, and Riley followed, their faces etched with the same hollow exhaustion. They stood in the small room, the six of them,surrounded by the evidence of their carnage. They had done it. They had taken the island. They were alive. No one cheered. No one celebrated. Th