Keira’s voice tore through the chaos: “What the actual fucking shit is this?!”

  Solara, sprinting at her side, snapped back without missing a beat: “Langston, that’s 348! Keep it up!”

  Behind them, the woods exploded with sound—White Deaths crashing between the trees, their guttural roars shaking the branches overhead. For monsters their size, they moved with terrifying speed, weaving through trunks and undergrowth like ghosts on the hunt. Every so often, a massive shape would flash by, white fur streaked with shadows, jaws snapping inches from their heels.

  Takeshi, wild-eyed and gasping, screamed, “This is all your fault, Caelan! Why the hell did I join—why me?!”

  Caelan just grinned, running with that mad glint in his eye as another White Death tore past them on his left, snarling. “What are you complaining about? I was heartbroken. I didn’t get to fight it last time. Come on, be a lad!”

  “If we survive this, I will kill you, Captain!” Takeshi bellowed back, dodging a tree as a monster’s roar split the air behind him.

  Milo, running backwards and blazing away with his rifle, hollered, “Is it me, or are they slower this time?!”

  Aidan, ducking and firing over his shoulder, shot back, “No, it’s the red-haired monster’s work. We’re just faster now—but will you stop being an idiot and watch where you’re going?”

  Milo laughed, not slowing at all. “Nope—not a chance! Wouldn’t be as fun that way!”

  Up ahead, Braen thundered through the trees with Veyra thrown over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes, a monster crashing through the brush not far behind. Veyra flailed, shouting, “Why the hell are you carrying me, Braen? Put me down, now!”

  Braen just grinned, barely outpacing a snapping jaw. “Your little legs won’t be fast enough! I will save you, my friend—don’t you worry!”

  Solara called out, breath calm even through the chaos, “So, Captain, what’s the plan here then?”

  Caelan’s grin was widening. “Clearing ahead! Use that funnel formation!”

  Solara’s voice cut through. “Right, you heard the man, Formation D! Takeshi, Veyra, Braen—left! Milo, Aidan—right! Keira, you see it?”

  Keira sprinted ahead, already breaking through the brush. “Already on it!”

  Keira ran through the clearing to the other side, heart pounding, screaming, “Try not to be completely useless and die while you wait!” as the squad turned to face the charging horde of White Deaths.

  Takeshi cried, “What the hell are we supposed to do here? They outnumber us at least two to one!”

  A White Death lunged at him, but Braen knocked it aside with her shield as Veyra let loose two arrows, both striking the monster straight in the leg. It crashed into the trees with a howl.

  Braen grinned at Takeshi. “Aww, don’t you worry. I’ll protect you with this adorable little shield you built for me.”

  Veyra called over her shoulder, “Well, maybe try hurting them. Don’t you have a grenade for that?”

  Takeshi, ducking behind Veyra and firing his pistol blindly at the monsters, shot back, “I don’t know, Veyra—I didn’t exactly have time to prepare for this! Blame the Captain and his goddamn mini-me!”

  Solara’s voice rang out: “Make sure we’re pulling back as we trained! Don’t engage too many at a time!”

  Milo was cackling like a madman, blasting through magazine after magazine.

  Aidan, frustrated, shouted, “Will you watch what you’re doing and listen to Solara? We don’t have unlimited ammo, you moron!”

  Milo yelled back, “Lighten up, bro! No point doing it if we can’t have fun!”

  Aidan groaned. “How the hell am I related to you two?”

  A White Death charged headfirst towards Caelan and Solara.

  Caelan, sword still sheathed, asked with a smile plastered across his face, “So—left or right?”

  Solara, already moving, smirked. “What is it you call me, your right-hand man? So left, obviously, Captain.”

  As Caelan finally drew his battered sword, deafening waves rippled through the battlefield—trees blowing, the whole squad glancing back for just a second as the monster thundered closer.

  Caelan, low and calm: “Low or high?”

  Solara grinned. “Silly question. You’re tiny—you take low, I’ll take high. Also, we need to look at getting you a new sword soon. That thing barely counts as a weapon anymore.”

  In a blur, they struck—the monster’s legs vanishing under Caelan’s swing, Solara’s blade flashing across its back. The White Death collapsed with a heavy thud.

  Caelan, dusting his blade: “There’s nothing wrong with my sword, thank you very much. Just a few chips and cracks. I’m gentle enough to make sure it doesn’t break.”

  Solara ruffled his hair. “Sure it will, little guy.”

  “I’m not that bloody small, Solara—just because you’re large—” Caelan protested.

  Another White Death barrelled toward them.

  Solara barked, “Switch! And what the hell do you mean by that, Caelan?”

  They moved, ready to intercept.

  Caelan, sidestepping: “You know what I meant! I meant tall.”

  Solara arched an eyebrow. “Yeah, sure you did, little man.”

  As more and more White Deaths charged from the tree line, Solara glanced at Caelan. “So, it’s about two miles to that vantage point—she should only need what, three more minutes?”

  Caelan laughed as a White Death swung at him. He caught its claws on his sword, holding it back with one hand. “Aww, you haven’t seen it yet, have you?”

  Solara sliced clean through another monster. “Seen what?”

  Caelan just smiled, eyes fixed ahead. “Why, she’s my hero.”

  Aidan shouted, “Watch out! See, Milo, stop messing around—!”

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  But before the White Death leaping for Solara’s back could even land, a thunderous CRACK split the battlefield—like three lightning bolts at once. The monster was launched out of sight, body slamming through tree after tree. Solara stood frozen, barely able to turn her head in time to catch it.

  Caelan just grinned wider, still holding the first monster at bay. “She’s honestly impossible. That’s why she can say what she wants around me; she backs that shit up.”

  As Solara turned to face the treeline once more, one moment the monsters were charging—then suddenly, in mere seconds, they were dropping to the ground. Keira had cut down six White Deaths, not a single missed shot. Solara blinked, glancing at Caelan. “Remind me not to piss her off, please, Captain.”

  Caelan just laughed. “No.”

  But as they smiled and caught their breath, it happened—the air went dry, the wind stilled, and in that instant, everything and everyone seemed to freeze. Even the grass looked like it had been forbidden to move.

  Then it emerged from the trees, striding slowly toward them. The monster was human in shape and size, but like the others, was covered head to toe in that strange, deeper fog-like substance—only this time, it shimmered with a dark emerald hue. Where its eyes should have been, there was nothing—just two bottomless voids. It was unarmed, but the way it walked, every step radiated intent.

  Even the White Deaths, those mindless monsters, stopped in their tracks as it passed.

  Caelan’s shout tore across the field: “DO NOT ENGAGE THAT THING NO MATTER WHAT. DESIGNATION: EMERALD. DO NOT ENGAGE!”

  As if on cue, the White Deaths began their charge again, almost as if the emerald monster’s arrival had spurred them on.

  Solara, hacking down another monster, tried to find a moment to shout over the chaos. “We should fall back until we know more—that thing is clearly on another level!”

  Caelan moved fast, cutting through a White Death with a flurry of small slashes, voice clipped and urgent: “I don’t think that thing will let us. It came straight for us. Deal with the White Deaths, then we all go at the same time—their lines are thinning. Stick to formation for now—we need to hold it.”

  The emerald monster just stood at the edge of the clearing, unmoving, while the last of the White Deaths came charging out from the trees. The team was pushed further and further back; every second, the chaos was growing.

  Up on the vantage point, Keira lay prone, watching through her scope as she reloaded, nerves tight. She caught the edge of that emerald figure and felt a cold shiver—there was something wrong about it. Swapping mags, she steadied her breathing, peering down the sight.

  For a moment, she could have sworn the monster was looking right at her—no, through her. Keira calmed her shaking hands, closed her eyes, and drew a slow breath. She opened them again, lining up the shot. “Watch this one, big bro. You’re going to love it,” she whispered.

  She grinned, almost to herself. “One shot.”

  Her finger squeezed the trigger—and as the rifle cracked, her mind slipped away for just a heartbeat. She was back on that first-ever zone survey, just two weeks after the war began…

  A cold night—Keira running through the forest, face streaked with mud, wind howling past her ears. Panic pulsed in her chest. The team had been separated when the attack came, dozens of black mist wolves surging from every direction. They’d barely escaped, but now she was alone.

  “Is anyone there? Where are yous?!” she shouted into the darkness.

  Somewhere up ahead, Caelan’s voice cut through the chaos: “OVER here!!” He was waving her down from behind a fallen log.

  Keira sprinted over, gasping. “Big bro—where are they—?” Then she saw the blood running down his right leg, a ragged bite mark cutting through his pants.

  Caelan winced but grinned. “I think they’re down there, sis.”

  Aidan’s screams echoed through the forest. Keira dropped to the ground, snapping open her sniper rifle. She found Milo, unconscious, and Aidan swinging a pistol wildly at three monsters as they stalked closer.

  She pulled the trigger—nothing. Click. Her hands fumbled, searching every pocket for a spare mag, panic welling up until Caelan crouched beside her.

  “Sis, I need you to calm down. You just need to reload—they’ll be fine, you’ve got this.”

  She looked up, tears cutting muddy tracks down her cheeks. “But how?” She pulled a single bullet from her pocket, holding it out as her hands shook. “Please help, big brother. Please.”

  Caelan placed his hands on her shoulders, voice calm and steady. “Keira, I know you’re scared. But if you don’t do this right now, your brothers will be eliminated from the war. Three wolves stand between them and you, right now. One bullet. If there’s even a single reason—any reason at all—to take this shot, this is it. What’s it going to be?”

  She wiped her eyes, nodded to him, and lay back down, slipping the single round into the chamber. Caelan leaned in and whispered, “Go on, sis… one shot.”

  She breathed in, slow and deep. Every memory—birthday, late-night talks, every time her brothers had pulled her through—flashed through her head at the same time. As she looked through the scope, it felt like time itself bent around her. Doubt threatened, but her own voice inside roared to her: You are fucking Keira Langston. If any asshole can do it, it’s you. Just fucking do it—show this world you’re done letting it take from you, never again. If this is all I have, I’ll give it to you every time, no matter what.

  She fired.

  The bullet sailed through the air—time itself feeling, just for a moment, like it was guiding it—cutting through all three wolves in a perfect line. Aidan turned, stunned, as the monsters dropped where they stood.

  Keira lay there in shock, gun still hot in her hands. Caelan scooped her into a hug, laughing with pride. “Oh my god, what a fucking shot, sis—that was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen! What the hell was that?”

  He held her close, whispering, “I’m so proud of you.”

  Keira just clung to him, letting herself breathe for the first time in minutes.

  Caelan helped her up, limping but smiling. “Come on, then—let’s get those two knuckleheads and get the hell out of here.”

  “Thank you for trusting me,” Keira whispered.

  Caelan grinned. “Wasn’t just me—Aidan and Milo never shut up about you never missing anything. Honestly, I get it now, especially with them on the line.”

  Keira managed a laugh, sniffling. “Why the hell are the three of you so sappy? I know I’m perfect. Don’t need to remind me every second—well, maybe every other second.”

  Caelan laughed, ruffling her hair. “And let’s not forget that beautiful, legendary god-sized ego.”

  They both grinned, supporting each other as they went to find their brothers, the fear giving way—just a little—to hope.

  As she came back to the moment, her breath caught as she watched the bullet slicing through the air toward the emerald monster. Her chest tightened. Why does it feel like this? Why now? It’s exactly like that night in the forest. My aim was perfect. I’ve corrected for wind—did I miss something?

  The world seemed to slow; every rotation of the bullet was clear in her scope. That’s when she saw it—the creature wasn’t moving, but it was watching the shot as closely as she was. Was it daring her? Wait—the fog is moving?

  In uneasy silence, she watched as the fog began growing from the monster at terrifying speed, twisting into a clawed hand reaching for the bullet. Keira’s breath caught. Crap—

  A roaring bang cracked through the battlefield, freezing every soul in place. Caelan’s eyes snapped wide, dread crawling up his spine. All they could see from their position was a cloud of smoke billowing up from Keira’s vantage point. Her sniper rifle—shattered—lay in pieces on the ground.

  But there was no sign of Keira.

  Aidan’s scream tore through the chaos—“SIS!”—while Milo dropped to his knees in shock, staring at the empty spot where his sister had just been. Before either could move, a White Death lunged from the treeline, bearing down on Milo, who didn’t even see it coming.

  Aidan’s mind reeled. No. This can’t be—I have to do something. Come on, Aidan, move. You can’t just stand by and watch again. Fucking move! But his legs wouldn’t budge, panic pinning him in place as he choked out a sob. Why can’t I ever do anything? Even when they’re in danger—why am I so useless?

  He reached out, screaming, “Milo—behind you!” but the words were too late. The monster was already mid-leap, claws bared, as Aidan squeezed his eyes shut, helpless. Please…

  Then, silence. All Aidan could do was watch as the White Death came down on Milo, the world narrowing to teeth and fog and his brother’s wide eyes.

  And then, without so much as a blink, he was just there—Caelan, blade already drawn, standing over Milo.

  The White Death’s head seemed to drift away in a different direction from its body, the cut so fast that Aidan’s brain took a second to catch up. Sound slammed back in with a dull boom as the shockwave hit, sending Aidan crashing to the ground while the creature’s body was hurled end over end into the treeline.

  But this time, he wasn’t the grinning, reckless Caelan they knew. He stood with cold, singular purpose, no trace of a smile—just fury and absolute resolve. Without looking back, he snapped, “BOYS! KEIRA! NOW!”

  Aidan grabbed Milo and ran, neither saying a single word, both knowing exactly what mattered in this moment.

  Caelan stood alone, unblinking, facing down the emerald monster, daring it to react in any way.

  Under his breath, just loud enough for him to hear, he whispered, “One shot… right, sis?”