Alina was held in a stone-walled chamber deep within the stronghold of the Dawn Circle, a rogue faction that had emerged from the shadows of the apocalypse. The fortress was cold, guarded, and unsettlingly quiet. Though no one laid a hand on her, the pressure was psychological. Each hour stretched like a test of endurance.
Zara, the leader of the Dawn Circle, visited often—her demeanor calm, composed, and unnerving.
"I know your mother," Zara said one morning, placing a bowl of fresh fruit on the table between them. "Elena. A fierce woman. A leader among the survivors. And now… the mother of a pregnant sixteen-year-old girl. That's something, isn't it?"
Alina narrowed her eyes. "Say whatever you want. My mother will come for me. She'll burn this whole place to the ground if she has to."
Zara tilted her head, her expression curious. "That's what we're counting on."
Meanwhile, at the survivor's camp, chaos had turned into strategy. Ethan stood in the center of the war room, surrounded by maps, coordinates, and a table littered with weapons. Survivors gathered in tense silence, eyes focused on him.
"They didn't take her randomly," Ethan said. "This was a planned extraction. We found tracks leading east. The group that took her is organized, and they've been watching us for weeks."
Elena's expression was carved from stone. Her heart throbbed with rage and guilt. "I knew something was coming. I should have acted sooner."
Kai slammed his fist on the table. "We need to move now. She's five months pregnant—she doesn't have time."
Lyra fidgeted beside them, voice small but clear. "What if they hurt her?"
"They won't," Kai snapped, his voice firm. "I won't let them."
Elena glanced at him—her eyes still laced with resentment, but her pain was shared. Whatever her feelings toward Kai were, they both loved Alina.
By nightfall, a strike team had formed. Ethan, Elena, Kai, and two trusted scouts headed out, slipping through the forest under a blood-red sky. Every step was calculated. Every sound was judged. Tension wrapped around them like a noose.
Signs began to emerge the deeper they went—strange symbols etched into tree trunks, marks left intentionally to warn or mislead. But Ethan was sharper. He adjusted their course.
"They're marking their territory," he muttered. "Trying to confuse us. But we're close."
Inside the fortress, Alina stared out through a slit in the stone wall, clutching her stomach. The baby moved lightly within her, a reminder of what was at stake.
"They're coming," she whispered. "They have to be."
Outside, beneath a full moon that cast silver shadows across the forest, the rescue team halted at a ridge overlooking the enemy camp.
Elena knelt beside Ethan, eyes scanning the perimeter.
"We go in at dawn," he whispered. "Quiet. Precise. We don't stop until we bring her home."
Back inside her cell, Alina leaned against the wall, whispering to her unborn child.
"Just hold on, baby. Just a little longer."
The wind howled.
The clock was ticking.