The Safe Zone - Ascension (Book 4)

Chapter 12: Breaking Point

Lena:

The tunnel was suffocating in its cramped quarters, and heavy silence filled it. The sounds of the battle still echoed in my mind—the screams, the explosions, the crack of gunfire. But here, underground, it was as though we had slipped into another world, where the crushing weight of our defeat pressed down on us like a physical force.

We had lost. Again.

I stumbled over uneven stones, my legs burning from the frantic run through the tunnel. Every breath felt like fire in my chest, and my body was drenched in sweat and grime, but I kept going. I had to keep going. Ethan was just ahead of me, his figure barely visible in the dim light of the single flashlight that Zara carried at the front of the group. The others followed behind us, their footsteps heavy and slow.

The tunnel stretched forever, and the darkness grew thicker with each passing moment. The air was damp, clinging to my skin like a shroud, and the walls were slick with moisture. I tried not to think about how far underground we were, how the weight of the earth pressed down on us from all sides. Instead, I focused on putting one foot in front of the other.

But the grief, the anger, the guilt—it was all there, simmering just beneath the surface, waiting to explode.

Carter was dead. The Directive had overrun our camp. And now we were on the run again, barely holding on by a thread. How many times had we been here? How many times had we fought, only to be beaten down repeatedly?

How much more could we take?

"Lena," Ethan called softly, his voice breaking through the fog in my mind. "Are you okay?"

Was I okay? I didn't even know anymore. My body was running on autopilot, moving because it had to, not because I had any control over it. On the other hand, my mind felt like it was unraveling, piece by piece. But I couldn't say that—not to him or anyone. I had to be strong and keep it together.

"Yeah," I muttered, my voice barely audible. "I'm fine."

It was a lie, of course, but Ethan didn't push. He just nodded and turned back toward the front, his shoulders tense with exhaustion. He was barely holding on to himself; I could see that. Whatever the Directive had done to him during his captivity had left scars deeper than I could understand. But he kept going, just like I did.

We had no choice.

The tunnel finally began to slope upward, and I felt a flicker of hope stir in my chest. We were getting close to the surface, to the temporary safe house we had scouted out days before. But the hope was fleeting, quickly smothered by the weight of everything that had happened.

As we reached the end of the tunnel, Zara stopped and crouched down, her fingers brushing against the ground as she searched for the hidden latch. The heavy steel door above us was covered in dirt and debris, perfectly camouflaged to blend in with the forest floor above. After a moment, she found it, and with a grunt, she lifted the door open, revealing the cool night air beyond.

We climbed out of the tunnel and into the forest one by one. The air was fresh, the sky clear, and the stars twinkled above us, utterly oblivious to the chaos we had just left behind. It was a jarring contrast—this peaceful, quiet world compared to the inferno we had just escaped.

I stood there momentarily, breathing in the crisp night air, trying to steady myself. But the calm didn't last long. The weight of everything we had lost came crashing down on me again, harder this time, and I felt my chest tighten.

Carter was gone. Our camp was gone. And we were left running, hiding, with no clear direction.

"How long do you think we have before they find us again?" Zara asked, breaking the silence. Her voice was rough, strained from the weight of it all. She leaned against a tree, her face pale in the moonlight.