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Chapter 25: The Runaways
The night air was thick with smoke and gunpowder, the scorched remnants of Bastion’s facility still burning in the distance. The rhythmic thrum of helicopter blades echoed across the hills as searchlights swept the landscape like fingers of judgment. Somewhere in that darkness, Dante, Aria, and Lira were running for their lives.
Dante’s coat was shredded at the sleeve, blood soaking through the fabric. He didn’t limp, didn’t slow. His jaw clenched like a vice, eyes scanning every shadow in the forest around them. Lira brought up the rear, silent and efficient, her rifle slung across her chest. Aria staggered between them, one hand clutching her side where a jagged piece of metal had cut deep. The pain was secondary to what echoed in her skull.
A voice.
No—
