Hutch had seen Barry leave the immediate area around the dungeon entrance.

  At first he hadn’t thought much of it. Barry had been acting strange ever since the first floor of the dungeon had been cleared—quieter than usual, slower to follow Scott’s lead.

  But when Barry drifted away from the crowd and joined up with a group of teenagers—kids Hutch recognised from the day before—his instincts kicked in.

  Especially when he noticed the animal.

  One of the kids had what looked like a small kangaroo hopping along beside him.

  That alone was strange enough to make Hutch pause.

  He glanced back toward the dungeon entrance.

  Scott was still talking to the crowd. Calm. Controlled. Handling the situation the way only someone with years of command experience could.

  Maya and Deev stood nearby, both of them watching Scott’s back while he spoke.

  Good.

  That was enough. Hutch turned back toward Barry and the kids. Keeping his distance, he started following them. Not close enough to be noticed. Just close enough to keep them in sight. Something about Barry’s behaviour didn’t sit right with him. And Hutch trusted his instincts.

  Zane was still walking at the rear of the long column of people when they finally crossed into the safe zone.

  A familiar blue message appeared in the corner of his vision.

  You have entered a Safe Zone.

  He let out a quiet breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding.

  Ahead of him, the rescuers relaxed slightly as well. The tension of the long march eased from their shoulders now that they were inside the protective boundary.

  But as they made their way into the cleared part of his property, Zane looked ahead toward the camp, a frown slowly formed.

  Something wasn’t right.

  The people who had stayed behind were all still gathered together near the dungeon entrance.

  They were bunched up tightly, standing in clusters instead of spreading out to search for friends and family.

  That alone was strange.

  He thought that when groups returned from dangerous trips like this, the first thing that happened would be a chaotic wave of reunions.

  People running forward.

  Names being shouted.

  Families embracing

  Instead—

  Most of the camp barely seemed to notice them arriving. The rescued civilians, however, were a different story.

  As they moved forward through the safe zone, the people Zane and his team had helped save began smiling, thanking them, reaching out to shake hands or squeeze shoulders.

  “Thank you.”

  “You saved us.”

  “We thought we were dead.”

  The words followed them through the crowd. Zane nodded politely, offering quick reassurances as he moved forward.

  But his attention was already shifting ahead.

  Near the front of the column, he spotted a familiar group.

  Max.

  Kaitlyn.

  Skippy.

  And the rest of the kids.

  They were clustered together with their parents, talking quickly and urgently.

  Before Zane could reach them—

  Someone stepped into his path.

  Barry.

  Barry moved directly in front of him, blocking the way.

  Zane opened his mouth to speak as he went to step around him—

  But Barry raised a hand in a firm stopping gesture.

  “Mr Rider, we have a problem.”

  Something in Barry’s voice made Zane pause. It wasn’t the words. It was the tone.

  Serious.

  Controlled.

  Concerned.

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  Zane tilted his head slightly.

  “It’s just Zane, Barry. Not Mr Rider.”

  Then he gestured for him to continue.

  “And what problem?”

  Barry didn’t waste time.

  He quickly explained what had been happening inside the dungeon with Staff Sergeant Scott.

  Scott’s behaviour.

  His attitude. The way he spoke to the team. The way the others followed him without question.

  Zane listened carefully.

  At first, he wasn’t overly concerned.

  People reacted differently under pressure. Some became cautious. Some became reckless. Others leaned harder into leadership.

  Scott sounded like he might fall into that last category.

  Not ideal.

  But not unexpected either.

  Then Liam, Emma, and the kids walked over.

  Max looked excited and worried at the same time.

  With a little encouragement from his mum, he started explaining what had been happening outside the dungeon entrance while Zane and the others had been gone.

  The questions.

  The accusations.

  The crowd learning about the lost opportunity to start at higher levels.

  And how angry that discovery had made people.

  Zane rubbed his chin slowly.

  Thinking.

  “So…” he said carefully. “Does that mean everyone’s upset with Scott and his group?”

  The reaction from the kids was… mixed.

  Some nodded. Some shook their heads. Others looked uncertain. Barry spoke up again.

  “They were very upset with Scott when we first came out of the dungeon,” he said. “Tarni and Lily had to work hard to keep everyone under control.”

  He paused.

  “But by the time I left…”

  Barry glanced toward the dungeon entrance.

  “…I could hear some of the crowd changing their opinion.”

  Zane’s eyes narrowed slightly.

  “Changing how?”

  Barry met his gaze.

  “Some of them started blaming you.”

  A beat of silence passed.

  “…and your family.”

  From his hidden position farther away, Hutch couldn’t hear what was being said.

  But he could see the moment something changed.

  Zane’s posture stiffened. The people around him shifted. Then movement spread through the group like a ripple. Orders were being given.

  Rescuers who had spent the entire day fighting monsters suddenly began moving with practiced efficiency. People who had left that morning slowly began forming into a defensive formation.

  Weapons were checked. Positions taken. The large group started moving together.

  Directly toward the dungeon entrance.

  Hutch’s eyes widened.

  That was not the reaction he’d expected.

  Not even close.

  He didn’t wait around to see what happened next.

  Turning sharply, Hutch broke into a sprint. He ran straight back toward the dungeon entrance.

  Scott needed to hear about this.

  Immediately.

  ___________________________________________________________________

  Karen had fled.

  She had run without looking back, leaving the healer behind to die at the hands of the hobgoblins.

  She only felt a little guilty about it.

  It wasn’t like the ambush had been her fault. Monsters had come out of nowhere, and the whole fight had turned chaotic in seconds. People were shouting, weapons were swinging, and the healer—young, nervous, clearly inexperienced—had been too slow getting out of the way.

  There had been no saving her.

  At least, that was what Karen told herself.

  Even if she had tried to help, she would have died too. Anyone with half a brain could see that.

  Still… Karen wasn’t stupid.

  She knew exactly what people would say if they found her anywhere near the scene.

  They would blame her.

  They always blamed someone.

  So she had done the sensible thing.

  She ran.

  Not back toward the other rescuers.

  Not toward the fighting.

  Instead, she slipped away through back streets and alleyways, moving as quickly and quietly as she could until she was clear of the town centre.

  Her plan was simple.

  Find another way back to the safe zone.

  Sneak in.

  Blend into the crowd.

  No one would ever know.

  And luck—blessed, wonderful luck—seemed to be on her side.

  She made it all the way to the truck stop on the edge of town without running into a single monster.

  The big fuel station looked abandoned at first. Empty cars sat crookedly near the pumps, and the small convenience store had its doors hanging open.

  Karen was about to move past it when someone shouted.

  “Stop!”

  She froze.

  A second later something whistled through the air.

  Thunk.

  A crude arrow buried itself in the dirt a few metres away from her.

  Karen yelped and jumped backward.

  “Don’t move!” another voice shouted.

  For a moment she just stood there, heart racing.

  Then she slowly raised her hands.

  “I’m not a monster!” she yelled. “I’m human!”

  There was a tense silence.

  After a few seconds, heads began to appear from behind cars, fuel pumps, and the low brick wall beside the shop.

  People.

  Fourteen of them, by Karen’s quick count.

  Men, women, a couple of older teenagers.

  All dirty, frightened, and holding whatever makeshift weapons they had managed to find.

  The person with the bow—a middle-aged man holding a roughly carved wooden shaft—kept the arrow pointed in her direction.

  Karen lowered her hands slightly and gestured toward the town behind her.

  “I came from there,” she said. “There’s monsters everywhere.”

  The man hesitated.

  The group exchanged uneasy glances.

  After a moment the man with the bow slowly lowered his weapon.

  The tension eased.

  Karen felt a wave of relief wash through her.

  At first, she wasn’t happy about finding them.

  Fourteen witnesses were fourteen potential problems.

  But as the group cautiously approached and began asking questions, another thought formed in the back of her mind.

  Traveling alone was dangerous.

  Very dangerous.

  But fourteen extra people…

  Fourteen extra sets of eyes. Fourteen extra bodies between her and any monsters. That was useful. Very useful.

  Karen’s expression shifted subtly as the idea took shape.

  By the time the first real questions started coming, she already knew exactly what she was going to say.

  “You’re lucky I found you,” she began.

  That got their attention immediately.

  “I came out here to check if anyone had survived,” she continued. “There’s a safe zone outside of town.”

  “Safe zone?” someone asked.

  Karen nodded confidently.

  “Yes. A group of us managed to reach it yesterday. It’s protected—monsters can’t get inside.”

  That part was even true. Which made the lie easier to sell. She told them about the birthday party. About the panic when everything started. About how people had fought their way to safety. Karen carefully adjusted the story as she spoke.

  She made sure she sounded brave.

  Important.

  Central.

  By the time she finished, it sounded less like she had simply been there…

  And more like she had been one of the people who had stepped up and taken charge.

  She wasn’t technically lying. Not in her own mind.

  Karen had always believed she was the most important person in the room.

  The hero of the story. The one everything revolved around.

  And because she believed it so completely, the frightened people around her began to believe it too. Fear made people desperate for leaders.

  For someone who sounded like they knew what they were doing. Within minutes the small group was looking at her for direction. Karen tried very hard not to smile too widely.

  “Well,” she said, glancing toward the road leading away from town, “the safe zone isn’t too far.”

  That part was also true.

  “If we move carefully, we should be able to reach it before dark.”

  The man with the bow nodded slowly.

  “Alright,” he said. “You lead.”

  Karen turned toward the road.

  Inside, she felt a surge of satisfaction. Things were working out perfectly. Fourteen people gathered their weapons and supplies, forming a loose group behind her. Together they started walking toward the safe zone.

  Karen walked at the front.

  Confident.

  Calm.

  The hero of the story.

  Behind them, the ruined town slowly disappeared from view.

  Ahead of them, the safe zone waited.

  And Karen had absolutely no intention of telling anyone what had really happened back there.