Agatha nodded, her jaw set. "We're fighting for more than survival. We're fighting for the future."
Bell stepped toward the intact tank and placed his hand on the glass beside Arlen's. "If this child is like you... then maybe there's still hope. Maybe the Spire isn't the end."
The child's eyes met theirs—clear, searching, waiting.
Kev swallowed, a strange mixture of fear and determination tightening his throat.
"We take him with us," he said. "We keep him safe. We find out what he knows, what he remembers."
Lena shot a glance at Parvi, who was already moving to prepare the equipment needed to carefully extract the child.
The others began gathering supplies, their movements steady but tense.
Outside, the world waited.
A world twisted by the Spire's dark embrace.
The journey out of the bunker was slower, heavier.
The weight of what they carried pressed down on them—not just physically, but in their minds, in their very souls.
