Soldiers formed a corridor around the SUVs, their rifles raised not to kill but to salute.

From the side of the collapsed wall, Kai watched the SUVs that gleamed like oil slicks. Clara’s hands slipped from Kai’s shoulder the moment the lady in white stepped forward.

"Who is that?" she asked, squinting at the lady.

Kai didn’t answer; he simply watched the lady move from the paved ground to the muddy path.

Behind the lady, four men fanned out, wearing dark suits. They walked like predators, scanning the crowd with their wild eyes.

Soldiers gave way for them as if they owned the place.

The lady stepped into the shadow of a mango tree. She swept her gaze across the tents, the refugees, then the soldiers.

"Is he even here like they said?" She said in a low voice filled with exhaustion. Just as she sighed and lifted her head toward the collapsed wall, she smiled.

"Do you know her?" Clara asked, shifting her focus from the lady to Kai.

"Yes, from Vamus College."

Clara shifted her gaze quickly toward the lady. "What’s her name?"

"Tessa Lin Yu."

Tessa walked toward Kai’s direction. In a flash, seven of the men who came with her formed two lines and followed her.

...

Beside the medical bay, Jinx stood there, hand at her side. Black stood at her back, arms wrapped around her waist.

"Again," Black said, placing his hands on Jinx’s shoulder. "Don’t drop your elbow."

"I’m not," Jinx pulled herself away.

She reset her stance, gripping the wooden training knife.

Black moved two steps back, then relaxed his hands.

Jinx squeezed her eyes and swung the sword toward Black’s ribs.

He sidestepped, caught Jinx’s wrist, and twisted it gently. "You were too slow. Try again."

Jinx hissed as she got hurled forward. ’Slow. Catch this then.’ She said in her head and grinned.

She swung the sword so fast that the wooden blade bounced off Black’s waist before he could even notice she had moved.

"That’s good." He acknowledged, brushing his palm at where the blade had struck.

"The first was just to test you," Jinx said, smiling. "Should I change to the left?"

Black gave her a secret look, then grinned. "Yes."

Jinx swapped the sword to the left, then tried moving it. "Shit, I can’t."

"Nothing is impossible. Try harder." Black insisted, folding his arms to his chest.

Just as she forced herself to move the sword in an upward arc, it slipped from her numbed fingers.

"This is stupid," Jinx screamed, then stamped on the fallen sword.

Black loosened his arms from his chest, then shook his head. "It’s not stupid, it’s necessary." He closed the gap between them. "You won’t always have the luxury of choosing which arm to fight with."

Jinx’s eyes were filled with exhaustion as she looked at him. There, memories of Lieutenant Gray, Mike, and Oin flashed into her eyes.

She gave the sword a swift look, then sighed. "Why do you care if I can fight?"

Black hesitated, then placed a hand on Jinx’s shoulder. "Because you’re going to need to..." he paused without explaining further.

"Pick it up and let’s try again." He whispered, raising his own wooden sword.

The memories played in Jinx’s eyes until she crouched down and picked the sword up.

Seconds bled into minutes, then hours.

And during those times, they moved not with speed but with purpose. Every swing of the sword carried a tear that only Jinx and Kai knew about.

When they stopped after two hours, Black collected the sword and placed it in the bag he brought.

"Well done, White Rabbit."

Jinx frowned. "White Rabbit?"

A subtle laugh escaped from Black. "You’re white, fast, and act like you’re always running from something."

"Does that..." Jinx paused, arguing when she realized Black’s words were true. She walked to the pawpaw tree at their side and placed her left palm on it.

Two leaves fell from the tall branches. They floated in the air until finally landing on Jinx’s white hair.

Her chest rose and fell slowly as every face she had known, every person she had trained with in Bion City, seized her vision.

"Jinx," Black called out, then walked toward her.

When Jinx turned and faced him, tears had engulfed her so much that even staring without blinking caused her eyes to pain.

"Come here," Black grabbed her and wrapped his arms around her.

Sobbing sounds erupted from Jinx when she felt the warmth in Black’s embrace. "I’ve lost all my loved ones."

"It’s okay," Black increased the grip with every passing second. "You haven’t lost all of them."

Jinx pulled back just to see Black’s face. "Who, tell me, who?"

Black looked at her red eyelids, the tear lines. He hesitated before loosening his arms from her waist and cupping her face.

"Clara is there, Kai is there," he paused, wiped the tears away. "I’m also there. And I won’t go anywhere no matter what happens."

They stood under the shade of the pawpaw tree while the world slowly moved to sleep.

...

That evening, while Black was walking Jinx to his sky, a loud scream shot from the entrance of the Redbull.

The weak volunteers who had been stationed at the barracks’ entrance set off into a run. "Move out for shelter."

They commanded all the little boys and girls who had left their tents and were playing on the field.

Behind the running soldiers, blood sprayed across the walls of the barracks as a soldier’s head was plunged from his body by a Wingreaper.

Countless Wingreapers soared high in the sky, flapping their wings harshly. The blood dressing their faces and mouths began dripping and landing on the ground as they scattered across the sky above the barracks.

"Get in the car," Black ordered, politely pushing Jinx inside.

"No!" Jinx resisted and looked at Black’s eyes. "I can’t leave without Kai and Clara coming along."

Black turned, looked at the creatures filling the sky like stars, and back at Jinx. "Fine."

’Fuck!’ He screamed in his head as the two left the car’s side and dashed through the fleeing crowd. "Hold my hands so you don’t get stamped on."

Jinx gripped Black with her right arm and followed his footsteps.

At the same time, Merlin and a few soldiers exited from the training yard, wearing full combat outfits. He turned to Nally. "Make sure each of the untrained personnel is safe, you understand."

"Yes, sir," Nally answered, tightening her jaw.

He stood there and watched the soldiers move out into the chaos one after another without even taking a single step.

Just as the last soldier vanished from his sight, Merlin went back to the instructor’s building.

Inside, Wang and a few other strong soldiers sat there as if the world turning upside down was just a game.

Merlin stormed the room with heat but froze. "What’s going on? We are under attack."

Wang whirled the chair he sat in around, then crossed his legs.

"Sit down and relax," he gestured at an empty seat, then smiled.

"Sit?" Merlin glanced at Wang, the five elite soldiers, and back at Wang. "Are you serious?"

Wang took in a deep breath, then ran his fingers on the table. "Let them play a little."