As the truck rolled into the old town, deia’s gaze swept over the ruins.
Most of the houses were barely standing—crumbling walls, broken roofs, and windows shattered long ago. Snow covered the streets and buried so of the buildings.
The rusted cars that frozen in ti clogged the streets, forcing Lucian to use his ability to clear a path.
"What’s the point of taking shelter here? Might as well sleep on the street," deia muttered, "If all we find are frozen corpses, I won’t be shocked."
Lucian kept his eyes forward. "There’s got to be sothing," he said, "They wouldn’t pick just any place to hide."
These weren’t ordinary people, they were soldiers, trained to survive in a world that had long since turned its back on them. They weren’t the type to die easily.
But even soldiers could freeze. No amount of training could stop the cold from sinking into their bones, slowing their thoughts, stealing their strength.
"I hope you’re right," she murmured.
They drove through the town a few more tis before deia finally spotted sothing—a pub. It wasn’t in great shape, but compared to the other buildings, it could be a temporary shelter.
But, she didn’t see any signs of life—no burning wood, no sounds coming from inside.
Still, it was possible they had refrained from lighting a fire out of fear that their presence would be discovered.
Surviving in this cold without fire? It sounded like they had a death wish.
"Wait here." Lucian parked the truck a fair distance away from the pub, not wanting to startle anyone. However, deia was certain that if the soldiers were still alive inside, they would have already noticed the truck.
"I’m afraid they might have set traps around their hideout," Lucian said.
Many of them had been wounded and were on the verge of freezing to death. It made sense that they’d set up traps. Anyone in their position would have done the sa.
deia knew Lucian could handle them, so she didn’t bother stopping him. Instead, she leaned against the truck, arms crossed, watching as her boyfriend observed the ground with sharp, calculating eyes.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t much to see. Thick snow covered everything, concealing any potential dangers beneath its surface. That was why Lucian took a different approach, he picked up a rock and tossed it forward.
The mont it landed, a bear trap snapped shut, its rusted tal jaws clamping down with a vicious clang.
At that mont, deia caught sight of a silhouette moving inside the pub. It was faint, barely visible through the dim light, but enough to confirm that soone was staying inside the pub.
She tapped the side of the truck, a silent signal to Lucian, then subtly gestured toward the pub.
Lucian followed her gaze, nodded once, then continued forward. Carefully weaving past the scattered traps, he reached the entrance and pressed his back against the doorfra before knocking firmly.
"I an no harm," he called out, his voice sounding calm. "We’re here because your captain, Ethan Callaway, asked for our help."
Silence.
The door didn’t budge. No response. No movent.
They didn’t believe him.
Not that deia could bla them. Trust was a dangerous thing in tis like these. Lucian, of all people, knew that. He had spent years on the run, never opening a door without a weapon in hand, never trusting a friendly voice on the other side.
Even dropping their captain’s na wasn’t enough.
For all they knew, Lucian could be lying. The people hunting them knew their identities as well—so what difference did it make that he knew their captain’s na?
"He’s safe with us." Lucian rested a hand on the door handle. "We found him buried under the snow, barely breathing, but we managed to save him."
He sighed, trying again. "Look, we’re not your enemy. We just want to help. But if you don’t back away from the door and stop pointing your weapons at us, then we won’t be able to save your dying comrades."
Silence.
Lucian’s jaw tightened. It was clear—words alone weren’t going to gain their trust. He glanced toward deia, shaking his head slightly.
She got the ssage instantly. Ti to wake up the sleeping beauty.
Without hesitation, she reached over and slapped Ethan across the face. Not hard enough to bruise, but firm enough to snap him out of his half-conscious state.
"What? What?!" Ethan jolted upright, eyes wide in panic—until they landed on deia’s face. His breath hitched, his confusion lting into sothing softer, sothing dangerously close to awe.
deia inwardly clicked her tongue. ’Seriously?’
She wasn’t even using her seduction skill, so why was this man looking at her like she was the love of his life?
Then again, could she really bla him? Only a fool wouldn’t fall a little in love with her after seeing her beauty.
"Ethan, you begged us to save your comrades," she said briskly, cutting to the chase. "But they won’t open the damn door because they don’t believe us."
Ethan frowned, rubbing his temples. "I... did I?" He sounded genuinely lost, like his brain was still catching up.
"Yes! You even knelt in front of , crying your eyes out, begging to help."
Ethan groaned, pressing a hand to his forehead. He clearly had no mory of that.
deia gave his back a solid pat, not exactly gentle. "Oh, don’t overthink it. People with hypothermia barely know what’s going on half the ti. Now get up and tell your damn comrades you’re with us before they actually freeze to death."
Co on, deia didn’t have ti to waste—not when her points were right in front of her. If she couldn’t save these people, it would take even longer to find other survivors.
Without hesitation, she dragged Ethan out of the truck, pushing him forward so they could finally put an end to this standoff.
But the second his face was visible, a window flew open with a bang—and a rifle was suddenly aid straight at her head.
"Oh, wow! Let’s all calm down!" deia started to step forward, but a man with a bandaged head imdiately shouted, "Stay where you are and let Captain Callaway go!"
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