Night made the world softer, but no safer.
The air outside St. Briar carried a strange stillness — too quiet for a town that size, too sharp for comfort. Jayden crouched behind the husk of an abandoned truck, the gravel cold beneath his hands. Beside him, Ortiz breathed slow, steady, trained like a man who'd spent years hiding in worse places.
They were close now — close enough that Jayden could smell the damp pine of the woods that ringed the group home, close enough to feel the pull of it in his chest.
Layla was somewhere beyond those lights.
---
The Watchers
The town wasn't asleep.
From their spot on the ridge, Jayden could see flashing lights washing over storefronts and billboards. Patrol cars lined the highway like a string of restless animals. Two roadblocks guarded the bridge that led into St. Briar proper.
Ortiz adjusted his cap. "They're expecting us."
Jayden nodded. "They've been expecting me since the night I ran."
They'd seen the signs — posters tacked to gas station doors, their mugshots printed over the word WANTED. The faces didn't look real anymore. The photo of Jayden was old, harder somehow, like a warning carved into paper.
Ortiz pointed toward the far end of town. "See that warehouse? Back entrance opens onto the river. We could slip through the drainage there."
Jayden followed his finger. It wasn't much of a plan, but then, nothing about survival ever was.
---
The Man at the Gas Pump
They moved at midnight, keeping to the shadows. The hum of generators and the occasional bark of a police radio cut through the air.
When they passed the edge of a small gas station, an old man stepped out from the light — same weathered type as the one they'd met at the silo. He looked right at Jayden.
"Stop," Ortiz whispered.
The man's voice was gravel. "Don't run. I ain't with them."
Jayden tensed. "Then who are you with?"
"Used to work for the county. Maintenance. I know St. Briar. You're walking into a hornet's nest."
Jayden didn't lower his guard. "You think I don't know that?"
The man's eyes softened, seeing something familiar in Jayden's face — that same hunger to move forward even when the road was burning.
"You got someone there?"
Jayden nodded once.
The man exhaled. "Then listen. The north road's useless. They've got checkpoints on both ends. But the old sewer tunnel under the east lot — that one's still open. You'll smell it before you see it."
Ortiz frowned. "You sure?"
"Used to fix pipes there. It ain't clean, but it's quiet. You'll make it close to the facility fence before dawn."
Jayden looked him in the eye. "Why are you helping us?"
The man shrugged. "Had a brother once. System chewed him up, too."
He stepped back, fading into the glow of the gas station like he'd never been there.
---
The Sewer Road
The smell hit them first. Rust, mold, rot — the stink of forgotten places. But it was shelter, and shelter was rare.
Ortiz pulled the grate loose with a grunt, metal scraping against concrete. Jayden dropped inside first, landing in knee-high water that bit cold through his jeans.
The tunnel stretched out like a throat swallowing light. Each echo sounded like a heartbeat too loud.
They moved fast, guided by the faint sound of wind up ahead. Jayden's flashlight beam jittered across graffiti and cracked walls — no one saves us, burn the system, freedom costs.
Every word felt like prophecy.
---
The Sound Above
Halfway through, they heard it — boots on pavement overhead, muffled but close. Voices.
"Search grid's moving east. They might've come through the service access."
Jayden pressed a hand against Ortiz's arm, freezing them both.
He could hear the dogs now — their low growls vibrating through the concrete. He held his breath, every nerve on fire.
A beam of light passed through a crack above. It lingered for two heartbeats, then faded.
Only when silence fell again did Jayden move.
They ran.
---
The Fence
The tunnel opened into a narrow ditch on the far side of a hill. Beyond it, in the distance, Jayden could see the faint outline of a tall fence under the stars. Barbed wire glinted like frost.
That was St. Briar.
Ortiz climbed up beside him, panting. "We actually made it."
Jayden's heart hammered, but his voice stayed calm. "Almost."
From the west came the sound of engines. Headlights swept through the trees. A search convoy.
Jayden cursed under his breath. "They're sweeping back already."
"Then what?" Ortiz asked. "You got a plan for this part too?"
Jayden's eyes locked on the fence. "Yeah."
He started forward, crouching low.
---
The Flashlight
They were halfway across the ditch when a beam of light caught them.
"Hey! Stop right there!"
A voice shouted from behind. The beam swung wild, cutting through the dark.
Ortiz dove behind a rock. Jayden dropped to one knee, heart exploding in his chest.
"Hands where I can see them!"
Jayden's mind raced — too many open angles, nowhere to hide. Then, from the corner of his eye, he saw it: the slope of a drainage pipe cutting beneath the fence line, half-collapsed but still open.
He pointed. Ortiz understood.
They bolted.
Bullets cracked behind them — warning shots, not yet meant to hit. The sound tore through the night, echoing off metal and dirt.
Jayden threw himself into the pipe, scraping elbows and knees as he crawled. Ortiz followed, breath ragged.
They emerged on the other side — mud, brush, and silence.
The facility loomed in the distance now, faint orange lights glowing behind the trees.
Jayden lay on his back, gasping, staring up at the black sky.
"We're here," Ortiz said, voice trembling with disbelief.
Jayden nodded, eyes locked on the horizon. "Not yet. But close enough to smell it."
---
The Sketch
He pulled out his soaked sketchbook, flipping to a clean page. His hands shook, but the pencil moved anyway.
He drew the fence line, the lights beyond it, the outline of the girl he'd never stopped chasing.
Underneath, he wrote:
Sometimes freedom is just the courage to keep moving.
He tore the page out, folded it once, and tucked it into his jacket — a piece of proof for when Layla finally saw him again.
The night swallowed their breathing. The stars looked like holes in the ceiling of a world trying too hard to hold them in.
They had crossed into the lion's den.
And for the first time, Jayden didn't feel afraid.