The Army
Two weeks after the Entity struck back.
Arden Vale stood in an abandoned warehouse in South Boston, near the docks. The air reeked of salt, rust, and forgotten machinery.
Fifty-three people watched her.
They were the freed players. Rescued from Stations, pulled from Games. Survivors who chose to fight instead of hide.
She didn't remember all their names—she couldn't remember most of them—but she knew their faces. She knew they were here, and that mattered.
Riley stood beside her. Seventeen, blonde, and fiercely determined. The girl Arden tried to save, failed, and then saved anyway.
"Report," Arden ordered. Simple, direct.
Riley stepped forward, clipboard in hand. Numbers. Data. War statistics.
"Seven Games are running simultaneously. Game 249 through 255. Three hundred twenty-nine players trapped in total."
She flipped a page.
