The truck door slams shut behind them, echoing through the dock. Eli's body hangs limp between two guards, his head lolling with each step. His chest rises and falls, but only faintly—the tranquilizer dart still coursing through his veins. The guards carry him, their heavy boots reverberating off the concrete floors. 

Orion is sprawled against a wall, the rough bounds digging into his back, heart bashing hard against his ribs. His breathing is shallow. He can't focus. Can't think straight. 

They have him. 

His fingers claw the dirt, digging into his nails. He watches helplessly through the binoculars. If he runs after them, maybe he can save Eli. But they're too far now. He knows he won't make it. 

A hand grips his shoulder, snapping him out of his trance. Orion glances up to see Renji Saito, the teenager who had dragged him to safety—seventeen, once a captive, now the reluctant leader of their small group of survivors. 

"That's enough for now," Renji's voice is steady, though his eyes flicker with the same frustration. "We need to move." He gestures toward a narrow crevice in the wall where they've been hiding. 

Orion's gaze drifts back to the empty hallway. "Eli..." he whispers to the empty air. The weight of failure presses down on him, tightening his chest, stealing his breath. They were supposed to escape together. Now Eli is gone, and worse—they're not just taking him. They've taken them all. His classmates are being used as experiments. 

Every fiber of his being screams at him to run back, but his feet don't follow. Instead, he forces himself to turn away, the bitter taste of betrayal thick on his tongue. 

"I'll come back for you," he promises under his breath, the words hollow. 

Renji stands among the scattered debris of the abandoned apartment, the dust thick in the air. He surveys his team, a small, worn-out group huddled together. Two teenage siblings, a toddler and two children—Orion included. It's better than when he first started off alone. 

"We need supplies," Renji says, breaking the heavy silence. "One of us is already down." 

His gaze lingers on Leilani, the first person he managed to save. Her once tanned skin has flushed pale from blood loss. Her weak smile does little to mask the pain that gnaws at her. It tugs at Renji's conscience. 

"Someone will need to go in her place. We need someone fast." 

The others cast long glances at each other. Looking to someone who can pull them through this mess. 

"What about the black-haired kid?" Leilani's brother asks breaking the silence. "He escaped on his own. He's quick." 

Renji glances at Orion standing just outside the conversation. His shoulders are tense, muscles tight. He's already been wrestling with his own thoughts for hours now—Renji knows what's weighing on him. He also knows what he's about to ask of a kid still grappling with the failure of the night. 

"Orion?" Renji looks up, catching his eye. "Are you up for a quick run?" 

Orion clenches his jaw, his chest heavy. Getting in, getting out, hiding in plain sight—that's something he knows. But why waste time? 

"We can scout the area, too," Renji adds, offering a hint of what Orion really wants—a chance to plan for Eli. 

"Saito." Leilani's voice cuts through, soft but wary. "He's just a kid..." 

Renji frowns. "We can't afford to play nice, Lani. There are others in there—people like us. No one knows they exist. We are their only hope." 

"I can do it." Their gazes shift to Orion. "I'll come. But leaving Eli behind better have been the right move, or I'll make you regret it." 

Renji smiles, "then it's settled." He jumps down the platform, gesturing to take Leilani inside. "Come on. I'll show you where they're keeping the supplies." 

Orion follows Renji back into the forgotten alleyway. A cold shiver bites his skin, and he pulls his sleeves down, trying to block the chill. Autumn is around the corner. His breathes are wisp out a small cloud of steam, forming into a translucent cloud. Another breeze brushes past his neck. He trembles stepping outside. 

The black and blue bricks looms ominously overhead in a cloak of the blackened sky. He never knew the dark of the night could be so blinding, so lonely yet alive. The city is silent, save for the occasional drip from leaking pipes and the flicker of dying streetlights. It feels like before—the apocalypse, the cursed change—but now there's something else. A feeling. As if the whole world has awoken from a deep slumber. As if he's being watched. 

"Try to catch up." Renji's voice snaps him back. Like a fox, Renji darts ahead. He jumps onto a metal railing, barely touching it before vaulting over to a narrow beam, the whole structure shaking as his feet land with solid hold. He uses the momentum to grab a rusted pipe hanging above, swinging across to the next rooftop in one seamless leap. 

Orion's breath catches in his throat. He can't tear his eyes away. Everything Renji does feels almost unreal, he's in total control of his body, of every risk, every fall. The danger doesn't faze him—it's a game he has mastered long ago. 

"Eyes up, kid!" Renji's voice echoes from above, a smirk in his tone. Orion blinks, realizing he's stopped moving. His focus has slipped entirely from the mission, from Eli and the others, and locks onto the impossible stunts Renji is pulling. This is crazy—he is crazy—but he can't help wanting to keep up. 

He scrambles after him, his palms sweaty as he clutches the railing and tries to mimic Renji's moves. His arms trembles as he pushes off, vaulting the same way Renji has, but his grip slips when he reaches for the pipe. For a second, he hangs there, fingers barely holding on, his legs kicking uselessly beneath him. He almost fell—that was close. 

Renji lands ahead, glancing back over his shoulder. "You're losing ground!" His voice is taunting, but there's an edge to it. 

Orion clenches his jaw, he swings his legs up, trying to follow. His muscles tremble when he pulls himself up the beam. The pipe creaks beneath him, threatening to give way, but he doesn't let go. With a loud gasp he lands on the safe edge. Barely made it across. 

Renji. He looks up. He is already leaping onto another ledge, the gap wider this time. Ugh, Orion hesitates. His chest heaves, his arms are on fire, but Renji isn't stopping. He can't stop either. 

He launches himself across the gap, the wind rushing past him, and for a split second, he is weightless—just like Renji. But then his feet hit the edge of the ledge, and his ankle twists awkwardly, sending a jolt of pain through his leg. He stumbles, nearly falling. 

Renji is already at the top of the next stairwell, watching. "You good?" His smirk falters for just a second, but he doesn't move to help. 

Orion grits his teeth, pushing through the pain as he forces himself to stand. "I'm fine," he mutters, though his ankle throbs. 

"Don't give up on me now," Renji says, already turning to descend the stairwell. "We're almost there." 

Suddenly, Renji steps off the edge, vanishing from view. 

"Renji!" Orion sprints glancing down, there is no sign of a body, no sound of flesh hitting concrete. Just an empty tunnel. 

"Did I scare you?" Renji's voice echoes from below, but there is no sign of him. 

"Where are you?" Orion calls out. 

"Where are you?" The tunnel mocks him back. Orion squints, trying to make of the dancing shapes in the abyss. A hand clenches his shoulder and shoves him into it. Orion screams, the tunnel screaming with him—but he doesn't fall. He's still standing on solid ground. Except a single drop of sweat trailing down his face. It drips, soaking into the rusted rooftop. 

"Scary, right?" Renji chuckles, his hand still gripping Orion's shoulder. He pulls him back from the edge. "Gotta be careful. Can't have you falling." 

"B-but you fell!" Orion wipes the sweat from his brow. 

"Wrong." Renji kicks aside a collapsed billiard table, behind a metal door. "What you thought happened didn't." 

He slips into the darkness. Orion breathes in, calming his gasps, he glances behind, the pit no more there. An illusion? Or is he plain crazy? 

"You shoved me!" Orion slides through the narrow door into a cindered hallway. Renji uphead, walking as if he owns the place. 

"Why are you so calm?" Orion whispers, a wooden plank in hand. 

Renji doesn't look back. "You're too tense," he says casually. 

Orion tightens his grip on a wooden plank he found. "I can't help it." Anaki had drilled it into him for weeks—stay quiet, stay hidden, don't step outside. Act like the whole world's waiting to swallow you whole. Like some scared old man. 

"Lets see." Renji comes to a halt, the hall breaking up into two paths. He searches the complex map, tens of different lines intersecting about the layout of the building. Orion joins him, noticing the fancy paintings lodged on the pink hallways. "Where are we?" 

"The casino's left wing." 

"What casino?" 

"Casino Royale." Renji eyes him carefully. "This is where the Alias is holed up. You escaped from the South Wing. We're in the North now." 

"North wing?" Orion's gaze darts to the map, the North is also called Wing B then—his feet lift off before Renji could stop him. 

"Orion! Wait!" 

Orion doesn't look back. He sprints down the hall, taking a turn, he doesn't need to see the map twice, he's got the perfect memory. He takes a sharp turn, his ankle throbbing worse than before. But it doesn't matter, they must be here. He comes to a halt in a hotel floor. Somewhere around here. He nudges at the first handle. Locked. 

He moves on to the second. It opens, he rushes inside—empty. "Dammit!" Orion sprints to the next room—also empty. To the Fifth. Empty. 

Renji catches up to him, breathless, he's already on the tenth room, still finding nothing. No one. 

"This is Wing B—they have to be here!" Orion slams his fist against a doorframe. "Somewhere..." 

Renji bends over, catching his breath. "You can't just run off. It's too dangerous." 

"Where are they?!" Orion demands, his voice cracking. 

"They aren't here." Renji pulls out a torn out map, red markings stretched along. "They must have moved the others in the basement. Probably getting them ready for the...experiments." 

"The basement?" 

"Where you escaped from." Renji confirms. 

Orion stumbles back, "I could've got them out...with Eli." 

He slumps, hair digging into his tear-stricken eyes. Stupid. "I'm so stupid."  

Renji exhales rubbing his hands over his thighs, he strides to Orion, giving him a gentle whack on the back. "Come on, we're not abandoning anyone. We'll strike when the time is right." He looks up ahead, at the long stretched hallway. "And for our plan to work we need Lani to be in perfect health." 

Orion brushes back his face, his eyes slumping stoically. "Then lets get moving." 

That's the spirit." Renji pats Orion's shoulder and moves ahead. As they continue down the hall, the atmosphere changes. The pink hotel wallpaper gives way to floral patterns, and a strong coffee smell seeps into the air. They've reached the farthest part of Wing B, where dining tables sit abandoned, chairs flipped upside down as if forgotten. 

Renji crouches near two large metal doors leading to the kitchen. Orion stays by the doorway, keeping watch, his ankle pulsing harder. So far, they hadn't encountered anyone—or anything. 

"Psst." Renji gestures him over. They slip through the doors into an industrial kitchen stripped bare and repurposed into a makeshift medical bay. Metal shelves are lined with half-open boxes of surgical tools, gauze, and scattered medical supplies. 

The room is eerily quiet except for their shallow breaths and the faint hum of an old microwave. The cold, antiseptic smell stings Orion's nose, dragging him into memories he'd rather forget. His eyes fall on a box of syringes, and for a split second, he's back in his mother's hospital. She would know exactly what to do here. He clenches his fists and shakes the thought away. 

Renji starts grabbing items, stuffing them into his pack without much thought. "Let's not hang around. We don't have time for a shopping spree." 

Orion steps over to the shelves and begins sorting through the mess, he picks up a gauze, alcohol pads, needles—whatever might help. The girl is suffering from blood loss, right? He spots a pack of iron pills and tosses them in. Years of watching his mom, absorbing her endless lectures, are suddenly paying off. He pulls out a packet of sleeping pills, this could come in handy. 

Renji pauses, watching him. "You know your stuff." 

Orion doesn't look up, his eyes locked on a bottle of chloroform, focused. "My mom's a doctor." 

There's a moment of silence. Renji raises an eyebrow, waiting for more. But without another word, Orion shoves the vial into his bag. Renji doesn't press. 

"You good?" Renji slings his bag over his shoulder. 

Orion zips his pack shut. "Yeah, let's go." 

They move to the exit. Just as Orion reaches for the door handle, Renji yanks him back by his collar.

 "What the—" 

"Quiet." Renji presses him against the wall, listening. There's a sound—a shuffle of footsteps in the hallway. His arm stays out, blocking Orion. 

Neither of them move. Orion's heartbeat throbs in his head, rhyming with his breathes. Renji's eyes stay locked on the door, muscles coiled, ready to move. 

The footsteps get closer. Slowly. Heavy boots, more than one pair. And it's headed here. 

"Shit." Renji glances back, no exits. They're trapped. Orion grabs a syringe in his pack, his fingers gripping it tightly, even though he knows it won't help them now. He catches a glimpse of Renji's calm, controlled breathing, and for a moment, he feels something—envy. How does he do it? 

"Hide," Renji whispers, motioning toward a storage closet. 

Orion stares dumbfounded. There's no way they'll fit in that cramped space. His eyes dart around and land on a ventilation grate near the floor. Without thinking, he drops to his knees and starts prying it open. "Here!" he whispers urgently. 

"No way—" 

"We don't have time!" Orion hisses, the footsteps getting closer. 

"I won't fit you idiot!" Renji looks around, maybe a table? The door creaks open. Orion shoves himself into the vent, pressing his body against the cool metal, holding his breath.

Renji! He glances around for him. But the orange-hooded boy is gone. Orion's pulse pounds in his ears. Where is he? Did he hide in the closet after all? 

The sound of boots shuffles closer. Orion's eyes are glued to the slats of the vent, waiting for the inevitable. Then—one of the shelves creaks open. Orion covers his mouth to stifle a gasp. Did they find him? But then, after a few moments of rummaging, the footsteps fade. The guards leave.  

Orion waits a few more seconds before he pulls himself out of the vent, his limbs stiff from the cramped space. The kitchen is empty. He lets out a shaky breath. 

"Renji?" he whispers, feeling stupid for trying. 

"Close call, huh?" Renji's voice suddenly comes from behind him. Orion jumps, crashing into the kitchen sink. 

"What the—Renji!" Orion spins around, his heart still racing. 

"How do you do that?" 

"Do what?" Renji asks swinging the doors open. 

"Disappear and reappearing." Orion throws his arms, following him. 

Renji halts, he glances back grinning, "It's a trade secret." 

Orion scowls. "That's bull." 

Laughing softly, Renji gestures to a hidden counter. "Come on, let's go." 

"Wait, I know a shortcut." Orion's mind flicks through the map of the building. This time, he takes the lead. Renji raises an eyebrow but follows. 

"You do? How?" 

Orion stops at a window, pushing it open to reveal the ledge that connects to the rooftop. He looks over his shoulder, meeting Renji's gaze. "It's a trade secret." 

Renji chuckles. "Touché." And with that, they slip out into the night.