The Safe Zone - Ascension (Book 4)

Chapter 15: The Hidden Base

Lena:

The silence after Thorne's departure was deafening. The camp, buzzing with tense energy just minutes before, now felt hollow. Those who had chosen to stay were scattered in small groups, speaking in hushed tones or staring blankly into the distance as if trying to make sense of what had just happened.

I stood in the center of it all, feeling the weight of their eyes on me, the judgment, the doubt. I could feel it pressing against my chest, tightening around my throat like a noose. Thorne had taken nearly half of our remaining forces; with them, he'd stolen the last remnants of unity that had held us together.

"We're still here," Ethan said quietly at my side, his voice barely above a whisper. He knew me too well—knew the guilt and fear twisting inside me. "We're still fighting."

But his words, though well-meaning, did little to ease the gnawing ache that had settled deep in my gut. How many more would abandon us before this was over? How many would die because I had led them here, to this desperate, broken place?

I closed my eyes momentarily, trying to gather myself and push away the doubts threatening to tear me apart. But they were always there, lurking beneath the surface, waiting for moments like this to sink their claws in. "We have to move," I finally said, forcing my voice to steady. "Thorne's departure changes nothing. We stick to the plan."

Zara, standing across from me, nodded curtly. Her expression was tight, her eyes dark with the same anger that had simmered between us for days. I knew she blamed me for Thorne's defection just as much as I blamed myself. But there was no time for that now. Not if we wanted to survive.

"We need to get to the Directive's hidden base before they realize what we're planning," I continued, my voice growing stronger with each word. "It's our only chance to stop Phase Three before it's too late."

The words felt hollow, even to me. But they were all we had left.

We moved out at dawn, the few of us slipping through the dense trees bordering our camp and into the wilderness beyond. The forest was thick and overgrown, the canopy above blocking out most of the early morning light. It felt like the trees were closing in on us, casting long shadows that seemed to whisper of the danger we were walking into.

Ethan walked beside me, his footsteps silent on the damp earth, his presence a quiet comfort even amid my turmoil. He hadn't said much since Thorne's departure, but I could feel the tension radiating from him, the exhaustion that hung over him like a shroud. Whatever hope he'd been holding onto seemed to dim with each passing hour, but he kept going. For me, for us, for the tiny sliver of resistance that still believed we had a chance.

Zara led the way ahead of us, her shoulders set in a determined line. She didn't look back at me once, but I could feel the weight of her anger in every step she took. Thorne's betrayal had hit her hard. He had been a mentor to her once, a commander she had trusted, and now he was gone, along with the soldiers he had taken with him.

"Lena," Ethan said softly, his voice pulling me from my thoughts. "We're getting close."

I nodded, eyes scanning the surrounding forest as we pressed deeper into the undergrowth. The Directive's hidden base was buried beneath an old city's ruins, long abandoned after the fall. We'd received intel about its existence months ago, but pinpointing its location had taken this long. And now, with Phase Three looming, we had no choice but to strike.

We couldn't afford to be wrong.

The forest eventually gave way to a vast expanse of cracked asphalt and crumbling buildings—the remains of what had once been a thriving city. Now, it was little more than a ghost town, overrun by nature, its streets littered with debris and twisted metal.