2025-11-14 23:41:42
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25. The Rules of Monsters
“Nothing,” Kael muttered, looking away from her. “It’s nothing.”“Really?” the girl asked again. “You looked a little worried. If it’s something important, you can tell me. I won’t tell anyone.” She gave him a friendly smile.Kael didn’t know why, but in that moment, something felt different. The way he looked at her changed. He couldn’t tell if it was distrust, or simply the realization that he had no real reason to trust her at all… not even after the deal they’d struck to work together.“I’m fine,” he said finally, forcing a small smile.“Alright,” the girl said after a moment of silence, eyeing him with curiosity. “If you insist.” She muttered it lightly before dropping down beside him, catching Kael’s attention.She had a bottle of red wine in one hand and a glass in the other. She held them so casually it was obvious she’d done this a hundred times. As she studied the label with a distant look, Kael couldn’t help thinking that for all her toughness, drinking was probably her esc
24. Midnight Fears
Inside the building, everyone slowly drifted into sleep. Kael lay on his back, staring at the dark ceiling above him, but no matter how hard he tried, sleep wouldn’t come. His thoughts raced, refusing to let him rest.After a while, he let out a quiet sigh and sat up. He needed air. In truth, he needed space to think…Careful not to wake anyone, he pushed himself to his feet. The mattress creaked softly under his weight. He froze, glancing around. Everyone seemed asleep.Or so he thought.From the shadows behind him, the scar-jawed girl’s eyes opened just a fraction. She watched him slip away, then she closed them again, as if nothing had happened.---Cold air washed over him the moment he stepped outside. The district was silent and empty… but somehow, it felt easier to breathe out here.Kael walked a little farther and stopped beside a cracked concrete platform, half-ruined by time. He lowered himself onto it, rubbing the side of his aching head. A long, tired breath escaped him, t
23. Uneasy Companions
Night fell over the broken district. Inside a cracked, empty building, the group huddled around a small fire. The warm glow pushed back the cold, giving them a little comfort. The scar-jawed woman cooked a mix of white grains and chopped meat in a pot over the flames. The smell was so good that everyone inched closer. “Careful,” she warned when a biker with burn marks leaned in too much. “Burn yourself again and I’m not helping you.” “That was one time,” Nile muttered, which made the others laugh. They passed around metal plates to one another, eating slowly out of it and enjoying the warmth. Some joked, some stayed quiet. And for once, everyone felt a little at peace. Everyone… except Lance. Half his body was still under the van, his tools scattered around him as he worked. He could hear them laughing… chatting… and enjoying themselves like they hadn’t turned his beloved van into a wreck earlier that day. Frustrated, he tightened a bolt a little too hard. “Unbelievable,” h
22. Pay Up, Hero
“Wait,” Kael said, completely confused. “You’re seriously asking us to pay you? You just tried to kill us!” “Oh, I’m very serious.” She crossed her arms. The firelight slid across her visor, making her eyes glow like embers. “You want me to save your life again? Then I need compensation. And don’t forget, we did try to warn you about that passenger you rescued before you decided to go all Mad Max on us. You took out half my crew! So yeah, I’m charging extra for damages.” Kael just stared at her with his mouth hung open, unable to process a word of it. She tilted her head at his stunned expression. “What? You think bikes grow on trees?” Kael rubbed the back of his neck. The truth was… they kind of did. In this dead world, you could find abandoned vehicles everywhere if you tried. Her argument made no real sense, and yet somehow, she made it sound perfectly logical. He felt thrown off, completely knocked out of rhythm. But in a strange way, he understood her. She wasn’t some no
21. Debt to a Phoenix
“Kael! Deal with her! I need to get us out of—” His sentence ended abruptly as the van tipped sideways. Kael grabbed the seat instinctively as the whole vehicle rolled. Bodies slammed into walls, seats and occasionally each other. The roof hit the ground first, then bounced, then rolled again. Crash—crack—BOOM— When everything finally came to a brutal stop, the van was upside down. Kael groaned and pushed himself up from what used to be the ceiling. “I swear… this tunnel just hates me.” he muttered. He looked around through the flickering emergency lights. Lance was coughing. He was bruised but alive. And the scar-jawed girl? She was already climbing to her feet. She was staggering, but her expression was nothing short of murderous. “You’re dead,” she hissed. Kael just sighed which seemed to reveal his predicament on the matter. “Can we take turns? I’m tired.” Her only answer was a scream of rage as she charged at him. Kael barely had time to react. He grabbed her a
20. Breaking Point
Kael ran forward, his armored boots pounding on the wet ground. Steam rose off him as the smoke cleared, showing the bright red glow of his helmet’s lenses. Each step he took echoed loudly through the tunnel. Seeing him, the girl gasped. “What are you—?” Kael didn’t answer. He didn’t even slow down. Two bikers charged at him from opposite sides, their engines screaming through the tunnel. The first rider swung a spiked bat at him. Kael ducked under it, grabbed the man's arm, and yanked him clean off the motorcycle. The man went flying and crashed hard into the tunnel wall. The second biker tried ramming him from the side. Kael jumped, landing on the edge of the bike like he had rehearsed it a thousand times. The man's eyes widened. Kael kicked him square in the chest, sending the rider tumbling across the ground as the bike skidded away in a shower of sparks. Kael blinked behind his glowing lenses and whispered, almost impressed, “Okay… this is actually kind of coo
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