The truck barreled through the night, its tires devouring
the cracked asphalt beneath us. Inside, the air was thick—thicker than the
smoke still clinging to my clothes, thicker than the blood drying on my skin.
But the weight pressing down on my chest had nothing to do with the battle we
just barely survived.
Malik.
He sat across from me, arms crossed, his expression carved
from stone. Not a word. Not a glance. Just the hum of the engine and the
occasional jolt as we sped over uneven ground.
The silence was unbearable.
Lily had curled into my side, her tiny fingers locked around
my jacket. Even in sleep, she held on like she was afraid I'd disappear. Eliana
lay slumped against the wall of the truck, her breaths shallow, her face pale.
Whatever she had unleashed back there had drained her, left her hollow.
Outside the reinforced windows, the world blurred
past—ruined buildings standing like broken teeth, streets swallowed by shadows,
flickering neon signs that still clung to life despite everything. In the
distance, something burned. Smoke curled into the sky, thick and endless,
swallowing the stars whole.
The world felt… wrong. Twisted.
I tore my gaze away and finally looked at Malik.
"I meant it, you know." My voice was quieter than I
expected. "What I said back there."
Nothing.
I swallowed hard. "I should've come back. I should've—" My
words caught, my throat tightening. "I was scared, bro. I didn't know how to
face you after what happened."
Still, nothing.
My fingers curled into fists. "Say something, Malik."
The truck hit a bump, jarring us, and finally—finally—he
exhaled, a long, slow breath. His shoulders relaxed just a little, but his gaze
stayed locked on the floor.
"You don't get to say that now," he muttered. His voice was
rough, edged with something raw. "You don't get to rewrite the past, Jamal."
I flinched. "I know. But I'm here now."
Malik finally met my eyes. There was anger there. And pain.
But beneath all of it, something else. Something I didn't dare name.
His jaw clenched. Then, after what felt like forever—he
nodded.
It was small. Barely anything. But it was enough.
For now.
A groan broke the moment. Eliana stirred, shifting against
the cold metal wall. She looked wrecked—dark circles under her eyes, her body
shaking with the effort of just sitting up.
"What… happened?" she mumbled.
"You tore through an entire squad like they were paper," I
said, forcing a half-smile. "It was… kinda terrifying, honestly."
Her brows furrowed. She looked at her hands like they
belonged to someone else. "I don't remember much. Just… anger. And then—" She
swallowed, her eyes darkening. "It felt like something inside me snapped."
"It did," Malik said, his voice flat. "And if you can't
control it, it'll snap again."
She didn't argue. Didn't even look at him. Just curled her
fingers into her palm and leaned her head back against the wall, exhausted.
Another silence settled over us. But this time, it wasn't
just tension filling the space. It was something else.
Dread.
Because outside, the ruins of the old world stretched
endlessly, the scars of war still fresh. We weren't just running from the
enforcers. We were running from something bigger.
And Malik was the first to break the quiet.
"The UK finally joined the war," he said suddenly, his voice
low. "They sent in their first wave three nights ago. Full-scale deployment.
It's official now."
I stiffened. "What?"
"They hit New Berlin first. Took out a whole city block in
under an hour. They're pushing into Eastern Europe now, and the resistance is
barely holding the line." Malik ran a hand over his face, sighing. "It's bad,
Jamal. Real bad."
Lily shifted against me in her sleep, a small whimper
escaping her lips.
I tightened my hold on her.
The world outside kept racing past. The war kept spreading.
And we were running out of places to run.