"So, what should I do with you?" John asked Zara.
"W-what do you an?" Zara asked, her voice trembling.
"I an, you are a spy. I don’t see any reason why I should keep you alive."
"WAIT! You can’t do that," she begged.
"Why not?" John asked, his eyes narrowing.
Zara looked away in sha.
"Because I... I..."
"What? Spit it out!" John demanded.
"Because I love you, John. I’ve always loved you."
John’s eyes narrowed.
"What?"
"I said, I love you," Zara repeated, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"You love ?" John asked.
"Yes, I do." She said, resting her arms on his chest.
"John, ever since I fir—ouch, hey!" Zara whined as John delivered a slap to the back of her head.
"Zara, I don’t have ti for your bullshit. You’re a spy. I should kill you right here," he said as he pulled out his dagger.
"Wait! I can help you. I have a map of the portal’s location," she pleaded, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a small piece of paper.
John swiped the map from her hand, and his eyes narrowed as he studied the map.
"This is good, but you’re coming with ."
Zara smiled through her tears.
"Of course, John. I’ll do anything you ask to," she said, sniffling.
John nodded and turned to Lydia.
"Lydia, I need you to stay here and lead the base."
Lydia nodded.
"Alright, John."
John turned to Zara.
"Zara, I’m going to trust you to lead this mission. We will go in, and you will lead us to the portal. No funny business."
"I understand, John. I won’t let you down," she said.
"Good. Let’s go."
John and Zara left the base and made their way to the portal. The portal was located in an old warehouse on the outskirts of town. It was dark and abandoned, and the only light ca from the full moon overhead.
"Here it is," Zara said, gesturing towards the portal.
"It doesn’t look like much," John said, staring at the shimring blue circle in front of them.
Zara shrugged.
"Liam said it only needs a little bit of energy to activate it."
"Where did he get the energy from?" John asked.
"I don’t know," Zara answered.
"Alright, let’s go," John said.
They approached the portal and stepped through it. They found themselves in a forest, the trees looming overhead and blocking out the sunlight.
"What is this place?"
"I don’t know. Liam didn’t tell ," Zara said.
"Let’s find out," John said.
They made their way through the forest until they ca upon a clearing. A single big rock sat in the middle of the clearing, surrounded by a few small bushes.
"There’s nothing here," Zara said.
"Let’s keep walking," John said.
They walked around the clearing until they reached the other side. The forest stretched out before them, seemingly endless.
"We should go back," Zara said.
John shook his head.
"No, we need to find the colony. I need to know what Liam is up to."
Zara sighed and nodded.
"Okay, let’s go then."
They continued through the forest, keeping an eye out for any signs of civilization. As they walked, the forest began to change, and the trees beca taller and denser. The air felt heavier, and the temperature seed to drop.
"This place is giving the creeps," Zara said.
John nodded.
"Yeah, this forest isn’t natural."
"What do you an?"
"I an, it looks like it’s been planted here overnight. There aren’t any birds or insects, and the air feels heavy."
"This is so creepy."
"Let’s keep going," John said.
They continued walking until they ca upon a large cliff overlooking a valley below. The valley was filled with rows and rows of tents, and there was a faint glow from the centre of the valley.
"What is this place?"
"Beats ," Zara said.
A distant scream startled them, and they instinctively ducked behind the nearest tree.
"What was that?"
"I don’t know."
John poked his head out of the cover.
"Sothing is wrong here."
"Why don’t we check out the camp in the valley?"
John thought for a mont.
"Yeah, that might be a good idea. We can see if there are any survivors."
They made their way down the cliff and into the valley, carefully avoiding the tents.
As they got closer to the centre of the camp, they could hear the murmurs of people talking.
"Stay quiet," John whispered.
They crept closer and peered through the flaps of a tent. Inside were a group of n and won sitting in a circle, talking in hushed tones.
John pulled back the flap and stepped inside. The group of people jumped to their feet and stared at John and Zara, their eyes wide with fear and surprise.
"Who are you?"
John raised his arms and said, "I’m sorry, we were running from a group of Clawbacks and we were surrounded, then we found the portal and arrived here sowhere. Can you help us?"
A middle-aged man stepped forward and said, "You’re not supposed to be here. You’re not on the list."
"What list?" John asked.
The man shook his head and said, "No, I’m sorry, but you have to leave."
John tried to reason with the man, but he stood firm and said, "Is there a way to get on this list?"
John said, feigning interest, "What do I need to do?"
The man smiled and said, "Well, you can join the New Earth Guard, and if you prove your worth, you will be added to the list."
John nodded and said, "Okay, what do I need to do?"
The man looked around and said, "et here tomorrow at dawn, and we’ll talk."
John scratched the back of his head and feigned awkwardness. "We don’t have a place to stay, can we stay in one of the tents?"
The man thought for a mont and said, "Yeah, sure. You can stay here, but you have to be gone by morning. I’ll take you to a tent."
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