Chapter 69: The World Waits for No One
"What was that?"
"What?"
The trio were in the small warehouse, panting from their mad dash through the chaos, exhaustion and adrenaline written across their faces. Leo clung to Zara’s neck, his small arms trembling as he buried his face against her shoulder.
Zara pressed her back against a rusted support beam, her chest heaving as she tried to steady her breaths. Her wide eyes scanned their makeshift refuge, cataloguing every shadow and broken machinery. The faint flicker of firelight from outside danced across Winter’s face as he knelt by the entrance, his rifle resting in his lap while his eyes scanned the darkened perimeter, avoiding her gaze.
"Why did you freeze back there?" Zara asked with a small frown. Her gaze bore into Winter, who remained crouched, his silhouette tense.
"I didn’t freeze," Winter muttered without looking at her. He busied himself checking the chamber of his rifle, but the subtle clench of his jaw betrayed the lie.
"Don’t give me that," Zara huffed, shifting Leo on her hip. Her tone softened when she caught the boy’s trembling. "You just stood there while the fire closed in. If I hadn’t grabbed you—"
"I said it was nothing." His voice was low, rough. He turned his head slightly, his profile caught in the flickering light. The shadows carved deeper hollows under his eyes, and for a moment, his haunted expression slipped through the mask he wore.
Zara narrowed her eyes, refusing to back down. "It wasn’t nothing, Winter. I saw your face. That fire did something to you."
Winter stiffened. He exhaled sharply, running a hand through his sweat-dampened hair. "Drop it, Zara," he said, his voice tinged with a warning edge. "Just... a moment of shock."
"Bullshit," Zara hissed. "That wasn’t shock. That was something else. You looked—" She stopped herself, inhaling deeply. "You looked like you’d seen a ghost."