We don’t linger.
Can’t.
Silpha’s already moving, checking weapons, scanning exits.
"More’ll be coming," she growls. "They heard the shots."
I sling Joren over my shoulder.
Grab Aria with my free arm.
Double the weight.
Triple the need to fight harder.
Move faster.
Kill cleaner.
We sprint through the tunnels.
My boots pound the cracked floors.
My lungs burn.
But none of it matters.
Only them.
Only getting them out.
A second ambush waits near the sector junction.
This one’s smarter.
A barricade.
Five thugs.
Two with blasters already trained on us.
Silpha curses under her breath.
"No way through," she mutters.
I set the kids down again.
Tuck them behind a fallen crate.
"You stay," I say again, dead serious. "No matter what you hear."
Their faces are pale.
But they nod.
My brave little warriors.
I stand tall.
