Mira and her group finally reached the shorelines after a difficult struggle to keep everyone together. The thick fog had made the journey much harder than expected. Visibility was poor, the ground kept shaking beneath their feet, and every few minutes another crack seemed to appear somewhere on the island. Still, they had managed to make it. The connected wooden rafts they had spent days building were waiting near the shore, ready to give them at least a chance of surviving if the island completely broke apart. "Get those rafts in the water!" Mira instructed. Her voice carried through the fog as the people immediately began moving. They pushed against the heavy logs while others loosened the ropes holding the rafts together. Nobody needed to be reminded twice, they all understood what was happening now. The island that had once felt like a safe home was becoming something they had to escape from. Another wave of vibrations suddenly passed through the ground. Everyone froze for a

Sunset City Scofield family estate. An overly expensive car rolled through the gates of the property and came to a smooth stop near the main entrance. Ruby Michelle Garner stepped out and looked around with open curiosity. "So this is the Scofield estate in Sunset. Wow..." She whispered. The property was larger than she had expected, surrounded by carefully maintained gardens and tall walls that gave it the feeling of a private fortress. Ahead of her, Adrian stood waiting. Ruby smiled as she approached him. "Hello there, Blackwood." Adrian gave her a brief nod. "Welcome." He turned and began walking toward the entrance, expecting her to follow. As they walked in, he explained that she was only staying temporarily because the Scofields valued their privacy, and external visitors were hardly ever welcome on the property, not to mention visitors who used to work for the UCA. Ruby listened quietly before giving him a knowing look. "In short, you don't trust me enough yet." She mu

Barry eventually walked back onto the deck and found Michael standing alone near the railing. He leaned against it beside him and looked out at the ocean. “You know…” Barry began quietly, “I honestly thought we were never going to find you.” Michael glanced at him. “I thought nobody was coming… However, I didn't doubt the fact that everything would be handled even if I never made it out.” Barry shook his head, “We weren't going to stop looking. And handling things… That's not my role, it's yours.” Michael smiled faintly at that. There were still a thousand questions between them, and they would eventually have to talk about everything that had happened. But neither of them wanted to do that right now. The important thing was that they had found each other, and Michael was no longer missing. Mira soon joined them, carrying a cup of something warm that one of the workers had given her. She looked much more relaxed now, though exhaustion was still obvious on her face. “So this is w

“So this place… is called the Blackwater Expanse?” Michael asked as he picked up the map from the table. His eyes moved across the markings, studying the unfamiliar stretch of ocean. “So we’ve been trapped in an area that’s controlled by a member of the UCA. It’s why no one could find us…” The realization settled over him slowly. All those months of wondering why nobody had come, why every attempt to escape had failed, and why they had seemed to disappear from the rest of the world suddenly made sense. They hadn't simply been lost… They had been hidden. “And that ‘someone’ has suddenly switched sides and is now working with you because they had cold feet?” Mira asked, looking at Michael. She leaned back in her seat, her expression doubtful. “Sounds very suspicious.” Michael understood her concern, even if he didn't have an answer for it. Barry folded the map and placed it back on the table. “Whether Ruby turns out to be a liar or not doesn't matter. We found you guys…” He looked

Minutes later, Lawrence and the soldiers on deck ran out toward them. They had heard the explosions and seen the flashes from inside the ship, and nobody needed to explain that they were under attack. Lawrence immediately looked toward Michael, “What’s going on?” Michael turned toward him. Behind Lawrence, several soldiers were already preparing their weapons and equipment, their faces tense as they looked toward the harbor. The ship continued moving forward despite the attacks, though the captain was keeping the vessel at a careful speed. Michael pointed toward the distant harbor. “Those bastards are trying to stop us from going home. That’s unacceptable, don’t you think?” Lawrence followed Michael’s pointed finger and saw the distant flashes of gunfire and explosions. His expression changed almost instantly as the exhaustion he had carried from Fog Island was replaced by anger. “After everything we’ve been through?” His eyes darkened as another projectile rose from the harbor,