The tunnels were quiet when morning came—not that the boys ever truly woke to sunlight anymore. Down here, "morning" was just the moment the cold settled into their bones enough to remind them they were still alive.
Gavin moved first.
He shifted carefully, easing Lux from his shoulder so he wouldn't wake him. The younger boy murmured softly but didn't stir fully. His warmth radiated faintly even in sleep, comforting and unnerving in equal measure.
Varik stretched out with a groan from the opposite wall, his joints stiff.
"We leaving now?" he muttered, rubbing his eyes.
"Yeah," Gavin said, voice low. "We need to move before any patrols start to swarm above."
Varik exhaled harshly. "Right. Outer sectors."
The word landed like a weight between them.
Gavin checked their supplies—scrap food, two cracked canteens, a frayed blanket, one functional shiv. Not nearly enough for a week. Definitely not enough for the outer sectors.
He set his jaw. "We'll steal more before we leave the midline. Keep your eyes open."
Varik scoffed. "When do I not?"
"I mean more than usual."
Varik's expression darkened at the implication—but he didn't argue.
Gavin nudged Lux's shoulder. "Hey. Time to wake up."
Lux blinked groggily, eyes bleary before they sharpened. "Are we… leaving now?"
Gavin nodded. "Before trouble finds us again."
Lux swallowed, anxiety creeping in. Varik caught the look and flicked his forehead lightly.
"Don't look like that. We survived a Dyrheim yesterday. And a gang. And your meltdown."
His voice softened. "Compared to all that, walking's easy."
Lux tried to smile. It wobbled.
Gavin slung the pack over his good shoulder. "Stay close. Don't drift. Don't talk loud. Move when I move."
Varik tightened his grip on the pipe he'd scavenged from the fight, resting it on his shoulder like a club.
Gavin stared,"We avoid everyone we can. Fighting slows us down."
Varik agreed.
Lux looked between them, quiet admiration softening the fear in his chest. Even with their bruises, exhaustion, and dried blood, the two older boys carried themselves like people who refused to break.
Lux wished he could be like that.
Maybe one day.
Maybe sooner than he wanted.
They moved.
Through winding corridors that twisted like veins beneath the city.
Up rusted ladders slick with frost.
Across cracked platforms where ancient pipes dripped chemical snow.
The deeper they went toward the midline, the more the sounds of the slums returned—distant shouts, the clatter of machinery, the hiss of gas vents.
Lux winced at every sound.
Varik kept glancing over his shoulder.
Gavin watched everything.
When they reached a drainage duct that opened toward a mid-sector catwalk, Gavin raised a hand for silence.
Voices carried from above.
"…told you I saw something last night—"
"Probably another rat. Or some junkie freezing to death."
"No. It was heat. Like… real heat, the typa of heat you feel from actual Pathfinders."
Gavin's blood ran cold.
Varik's eyes narrowed.
Lux's breath caught.
A pair of silhouettes crossed the metal grates overhead. Not gang members—these ones wore insulated jackets with reflective plating. Sector patrols. Not as dangerous as full military units, but dangerous enough to report anomalies.
And anomalies meant attention.
Attention meant death.
Gavin motioned them back into the shadows.
The voices continued.
"… Luminous Foyd said all units report anything unusual. Something's got the Houses jumpy."
"Good. Maybe they'll finally clean up this dump."
"Yeah right. Only time they come down here is when one of the Freakborn pops off."
"Just our damned luck," Varik cursed. "These bums usually just slack off all day and are barely doing their jobs but right when we need them gone their swarming like maggots."
Gavin let out a long breath. "We're running out of time, it looks like we're already being hunted."
"Yeah," Varik agreed. "But we already knew that."
Lux looked pressed, "They're coming aren't they?"
Gavin hesitated—not long, but long enough.
"Yes," he said. "Eventually."
Lux swallowed. "What will they do if they catch me?"
Varik answered bluntly. "I don't know, but I know for sure it won't be good."
Lux went pale.
Gavin shot Varik a warning glare
"What?" Varik hissed. "He asked."
Gavin knelt in front of Lux. "Listen. We won't let them touch you. Not the gangs. Not the Houses. Not anyone. Understand?"
Lux nodded weakly.
Gavin squeezed his shoulder. "Good."
Varik smirked. "Besides, if they want Lux, they've gotta get through me first. I'm the only one allowed to pick on this runt."
Lux blinked at them, warmth blooming in his chest—different from the dangerous kind. Softer. He wished that kind of warmth was the only one he had.
They climbed from the duct into a derelict storefront half-buried in rubble. Snow drifted through shattered glass. Old signs flickered faintly overhead.
Varik checked left. Gavin checked right.
Clear.
For now.
They moved quickly, keeping low as they crossed into the open section of the mid-sector. It was quiet—too quiet. No scavengers. No gang patrols. No usual noise.
"Something's off," Varik muttered.
Gavin agreed instantly. "Stay sharp."
Lux looked around nervously. "It's never this empty…"
The air felt stale and pungent , a feeling of dread slowly crept upon the boys as the moved.
They walked another path length before they saw it.
A scene so gruesome that everything they've seen until now paled in comparison.
Gavin's faced twisted in disbelief and horror.
Varik's stomach turned violently.
Lux struggled to hold in his disgust by vomiting.
Infront them were bodies, a lot of them. Some of gang members, some of Sector Scouts amd some of ordinary people.
Their bodies were organized in circular patterns and their limbs were placed outside each circle.
"Wha—what the hell happened here?"
The boys froze.
Was it because of fear?
Was it because of repulsion?
No, it was neither of these.
It was because in the middle of all this carnage sat a singular figure.