The Safe Zone - Ascension (Book 4)

Chapter 10: The Price of Victory

Lena:

The explosion behind me was deafening, a massive roar of fire and metal tearing through the underground facility. The blast sent a shockwave through the ground, shaking the foundations of the Directive's core, the epicenter of Phase Three. I felt the heat of the flames licking at my back as I ran, the sound of collapsing steel reverberating through the narrow passageways. But I didn't look back. I couldn't.

I couldn't bear to see what we'd lost.

My heart raced, every beat pounding against my ribcage as I kept moving forward, trying to ignore the weight that had settled in my chest, the grief that clawed at me, threatening to tear me apart. Carter was gone. He had fallen, bleeding out on the cold, concrete floor while the battle raged around him. I had wanted to stay, to drag him to safety, to save him like he had saved me so many times before. But his final look had said it all—he knew his time was up.

And I had left him.

I could still feel Ethan's hand on my arm, pulling me away and forcing me to leave Carter behind as the drones closed in and the explosions neared. The image of his lifeless body slumped against the wall was burned into my mind, replaying again and again like some cruel punishment.

The victory tasted like ash in my mouth.

We had destroyed the facility. We had stopped Phase Three from launching, at least for now. But it had come at too great a cost. The Directive wasn't done—not by a long shot—and we were weaker now, bleeding from the inside. How many more would we lose before this war was over?

"Lena, come on!" Ethan's voice cut through the haze of my thoughts, and I looked up to see him ahead of me, motioning for me to keep moving. His face was pale, streaked with dirt and blood, his expression grim. He hadn't spoken much since we left the core, the weight of the battle hanging over us like a storm cloud. But his eyes... there was something broken in them. Something I hadn't seen before.

He was still reeling from his captivity, from the time he'd spent in the hands of the Directive, from the horrors they had inflicted on him. And now, he was watching us fall apart, one by one.

I pushed myself forward, my legs heavy with exhaustion, my lungs burning from the dust and smoke that filled the air. We were deep underground, navigating the twisted labyrinth of tunnels beneath the Directive's facility, but the exit was close. I could feel the faint stir of fresh air just ahead, the promise of daylight waiting to pull us out of the darkness.

Zara was beside me, her face drawn and tight, her eyes red-rimmed from the tears she hadn't allowed herself to shed. She had been quiet since Carter's death, but the grief radiated off her in waves. I knew she blamed herself just as much as I blamed myself. We had all chosen to come here but weren't prepared for the cost.

We reached the rusted metal door that led to the surface, and Ethan wasted no time pushing it open. The heavy steel groaned in protest but eventually gave way, flooding the tunnel with blinding light. I shielded my eyes as we stepped out into the open, the cool breeze hitting my face like a balm after the suffocating heat of the facility.

We were free, but I didn't feel it.

The world outside seemed too quiet and peaceful after the chaos we had just left behind. The facility we had destroyed was nestled deep within an abandoned industrial complex, the crumbling remains of old factories and warehouses surrounding us like the bones of a dead civilization. The sky was a deep, bruised purple, the sun setting on the horizon, casting long shadows across the landscape.

I dropped to my knees, my legs finally giving out beneath me. The exhaustion hit me like a freight train, the adrenaline that had kept me going draining from my body all at once. My hands trembled as I pressed them into the dirt, trying to steady myself and hold on.