Chapter 9: The First Threat
District 9 was a border zone — half-patrolled, half-abandoned.
The streets there cracked like old bones. Power grids glitched. Civilians lived behind scrap walls and battery towers, hoping not to be noticed.
Hero cadets weren't usually sent this far out.
But today was a test.
And Hernan had volunteered.
The hover transport rattled as it landed outside an old train depot. Rook stepped off first, boots crunching down on broken tile. Behind him, Tessa adjusted her gauntlets. Aya stretched like she was warming up for a tournament.
"You ever been out here?" Tessa asked.
Rook scanned the rooftops. "Not this far."
"Looks like a war zone," Aya muttered.
"It was," Tessa replied.
Their instructor barked through comms: