She didn’t run. Just stared. Shaking, but standing.
“You were going to find your son,” Kael said. “Still want to?”
She froze, probably wondering how I knew, but didn’t ask.
She hesitated. Then nodded.
“Then climb on.”
“I can’t,” she whispered. “I’m… an amputee.” noveldrama
I crouched without hesitation. “It’s not a problem.”
Her breath hitched, but she approached anyway. There was no trust in her eyes—just desperation. The kind that comes from knowing no one might ever see you again.
Kael helped her onto my back.
“I won’t tell anyone,” she muttered, gripping me tight.
I didn’t answer.
I took off in a single motion. The ground shrank beneath us as ash spiraled into the air.
We rose again. Higher. Heavier.
The wind shrieked around us. Down below, another Gamma patrol swarmed the body. Orders shouted. Lights turned. But they wouldn’t catch us.
“Go west,” the woman said, arms locked tight around me. “He might be hiding in the school basement. He’s been running ever since my parents were conscripted. He’s a good kid.” She said it like she needed to convince us.
I didn’t speak.
My wings burned from the cold. My ribs ached from the effort.
At least we were headed west. Tonight hadn’t been a complete waste. We were still making ground.
Kael settled behind her, steadying her.
Even then, I could feel her quivering—whether from fear or cold, probably both.
Her grip on my membrane was desperate. She could’ve torn it.
“Steady. You’re alright,” Kael muttered as we glided due west, no longer off course.
His arm braced her middle, keeping her steady as my wings worked overtime, cutting through clouds like knives. Her breath hitched with every gust, but she didn’t scream. Just gripped tighter.
“What is the name of this city?” Kael asked, voice firm but low near her ear.
There was a pause.
“Eldon,” she said finally. “This is Eldon. Used to be peaceful before the drafts and lockdowns. Now… it’s just checkpoints and silence.” Her voice turned wistful. “It started with the strikes from…”
She trailed off.
“From where?” Kael asked.
She hesitated. “The reports say they’re from the… Eclipse Rebellion.”
Kael and I stilled.
“What else did the reports say, um…” he prompted.
“Daliah,” she replied. “And according to investigations by Lunar Heights, the Alpha claims the Eclipse Rebellion is trying to make him submit by orchestrating public unrest,” she said. “Civilian abductions. Bombings near key checkpoints. Disinformation campaigns. They’re even stealing people before they can be transported to the camps.”
That’s what they’re saying.
Kael met my eyes over her shoulder, jaw clenched.
They were already framing the rebellion for things we hadn’t done.
The so-called abductions were rescues.
The so-called bombings—distractions to help save lives.
But now, it was being spun as a war against the people instead of the Alpha and his tyranny.
He was turning the only ones who could save them into villains.
And if the civilians believed it… the rebellion would fail before the Blood Moon even came. They would die ignorant and deceived.
“People are joining a new battalion to fight against them,” she added quickly, like she thought it might spare her. “As if conscriptions wasn’t already bleeding us dry.”
I raised a brow.
Kael asked the question.
“Would you have joined if your leg was fine?”
This time her voice lost its tremor.
“I cut my foot so I wouldn’t have to.”
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