The smell of smoke was stronger now.
Elias moved quickly through the forest, slipping like a shadow between dead trunks. Grimm led the way, focused. Ash guarded the flanks, alert to every movement.
The trail of footprints grew messy — signs of struggle, scratches on trees, dark drops of blood on the ground.
The convoy had been attacked.
But by who?
Elias slowed his pace as he heard a sound: voices.
Low, harsh, trading quick words.
He crouched behind a fallen tree and peeked out.
A small, makeshift camp. Three rusted trucks forming a circle. Armed men pacing nervously. In the center, a few figures kneeling, hands tied. Prisoners.
Elias quickly counted: eight armed men.
The prisoners were four — three adults and... a child.
Ash growled low. Grimm dug his paws into the dirt.
Elias took a deep breath.
He knew a direct assault would be suicide.
But leaving those people there would be a death sentence.
He scanned the area, looking for weaknesses.
Then he saw it: an old fuel tank, tossed behind one of the trucks. Rusted, but still full enough.
A plan formed in his mind.
Fast. Dirty. Deadly.
He pulled a homemade grenade from his pack — crafted from old parts, gunpowder, and blind faith in his own skill.
He whispered to the dogs:
"When you hear the blast... go."
Grimm and Ash crouched, ready.
Elias circled the clearing silently, positioning himself.
He counted mentally. One, two, three...
And threw the grenade.
The impact against the tank made a dull thud — followed by a muffled explosion. Fire swallowed half the camp within seconds.
Screams. Chaos.
Elias moved like a specter.
One shot. Two. Targets fell before they even understood.
Grimm and Ash attacked the flanks, swift as blades.
Within minutes, the camp was in ruins.
When silence returned, Elias had already freed the prisoners.
The child — a girl with tangled hair and eyes as wide as the sky — stared at him as if seeing something impossible.
Elias simply said:
"Head west. Follow the road. There's an old station. You'll find shelter there."
The adults hesitated, but the girl pulled them by the hand.
She knew that, in this world, sometimes the only hope was to trust ghosts.
Elias watched them vanish into the trees.
Then he turned to Grimm and Ash.
"Let's go. Our work isn't done yet."
And they disappeared into the forest, like smoke carried by the wind.
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