9 Days Before [2nd Draft]

P.3

Lin and Opel dashed through the forest, the distant echoes of screams fueling their desperate escape. They assumed those faint voices belonged to the pursuing Guards, hot on their heels.
Suddenly, Opel tripped on an unseen branch, his face hitting the ground with a grunt.

Lin immediately backtracked and helped him up, their momentum halted for a moment, then continued their race.
They leaped over sprawling tree roots and navigated through the tangle of low-hanging branches.

Emerging onto the streets, their feet embracing the asphalt.
Lowering his hood, his wet hair clung to his forehead as he turned to Opel, checking on his friend's condition.

Engaging in a quick exchange, they shared their satisfaction at successfully evading the Tower's clutches this time.

Amid their relief, Lin's mind drifted to the enigmatic lady who had crossed their path.

Unlike the Guards, she hadn't been chasing them at all.
"I mean, what was that... she even said hello in such a strange way," Lin mused.

Opel's response was playful, tugging at Lin and teasing, "You met a girl!?"

Lin chuckled, responding, "Well, she just said 'hi... there'."
Their conversation continued, but it was abruptly interrupted by faint voices that seemed to emanate from the forest.

Suspicion filled the air as they instinctively sought cover.

Opel's voice took on a heavier tone, his heart burdened with the memory of Kel.

"I miss Kel," he admitted with a sigh.

Lin empathized, offering reassurance, "I do too. We'll figure out what happened back there."

Opel's frustration flared, though, as he vented about the prospect of being caught and enduring the eerie abandoned building, his emotions surged as he picked up a rock and hurled it across the street.

"I think... It's time for you to do this on your own, Lenny," Opel finally said, his voice tinged with a mix of resignation and determination.

Surprised by the use of his childhood nickname, Lin's emotions churned.

He sought to understand Opel's perspective, and they engaged in a tense exchange, grappling with the pain of the past.

Opel's words hit hard, an accusation that couldn't be unsaid.

A heavy silence hung between them before Lin retreated, his hood shielding him from further conversation, as he ran down the street trying to compress on what Opel had said "you're the one who killed Kel!"

amidst the phrases of him being the one who took the group to the house that night, and that it was his fault that they got caught when they fled the scene, he had escaped but Opel did not, amalgamating his feelings into an ambivalence.

Opel stood there, wrestling with the weight of his words and the potential consequences of his outburst in silence, watching the fleeting figure of Lin, he looks down, his face grimacing as his thoughts drifted to the unforgiving acts that the Tower workers did to him in there, shifting more blame onto Lin.

—

Eve awoke in a padded room, surrounded by her science equipment.

She surveyed her unfamiliar surroundings, a reflection captures her glance, seeing her reflection staring back from the one-way mirror.

Eve adventures closer to the mirror.

She takes in her deprived state, perceiving her untreated bob-cut hair, Eve inches closer to the reflection - her eyes casting a soft dark underline.