The coldness of the prison bit into Max and Samantha’s backs as they sat forlorn against the wall. The air was thick with the stench of despair and echoes of the distant cries of other prisoners. It seemed Max and Sam weren’t the only ones caught and imprisoned. Samantha sat on the edge of the cot, her mind full of worry for herself and her friends. The thought of her disappointed father weighed heavily on her, yet Sabir’s mangled body with his brave face was heavier.

Beside her, Max paced in circles within the small cell. With every step, Samantha could hear his angry mutters and the rage that simmered beneath his skin. “Damn them,” his fist clenching and unclenching, his knuckles turning white but quickly returning to its regular shade each time. “Damn every one of those bastards!”

Max’s fury began when Sabir left. The futility of their situation was overwhelming and all Max could do was lash out at his invisible captors. Samantha could not even let out a single word of solace. Her own mind was a whirlwind that threatened to consume her. Since they were thrown into this forsaken place, she had barely slept a wink, and Sabir’s twisted face, filled with pain and pleading for help, haunted her every time she closed her eyes. But there was nothing she could do. Nothing any of them could do. The Voltaires had sunk their claws into Sabir and their own futures were bleak.

Amid Max’s continuous ranting, a loud creak echoed through the corridor as the heavy iron door at the end of the hall swung open. Samantha and Max both turned their heads towards the footsteps that became louder and louder with each moment. Their bodies became tense as a figure came to view. Could Noah have returned and not fulfilled Sabir’s request?

To Max and Samantha’s shock, it was not Noah nor any person affiliated with the Voltaires, but a man they had encountered before. Cassius. Even through the shadows that shrouded The Hound’s face, Max could see he had changed since they last saw him. He seemed older, wearier, as if the weight of the world had finally taken its toll. His eyes, once sharp and filled with a silent confidence, now carried a dull sadness, a resignation that made Samantha’s heart ache.

“Sabir’s not here, huh? So that stuck up prick was telling the truth. He took Sabir with him to Sector 5.” Cassius said softly, as he took a deep breath. He ran through his long black hair, but eventually began pinching at the roots. “At least in exchange you guys are free of any crime.” Cassius slowly nodded to himself in bitter resignation.

“Why are you here?” Max’s voice was low, dangerous. He took a step forward, fists still clenched. “Come to gloat? Or maybe to lie to our faces again?”

Cassius flinched at the accusation. His eyes dropped to the cold floor, but he held his ground. “I owe you guys an apology,” he said, his gaze meeting with Max’s enraged countenance. “I never wanted things to turn out this way. I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” Max’s voice rose, fury seeping into every word. “You think an apology will make this right? You think saying ‘sorry’ will bring Sabir back?” Max charged the iron bars that were keeping him locked up, as his hands gripped the bars tightly, he brought his face closer between the gaps, so he could see the face of a murderer more closely. He wanted to see the lack of guilt. He wanted to see him smirk and laugh. He wanted him to be the villain Max needed to feel sane.

Samantha finally lifted her head, her eyes locking on Cassius. “You let them take him,” she said, her voice cold. “You killed the one person he cared about.” Max nodded in agreement, although neither Sam nor Max knew Mrs Norris, it didn’t matter, she meant so much to their friend, that killing that old lady was akin to killing someone they were close to.

Cassius sighed heavily, the weight of his failure clear in his slumped shoulders. “I know I did,” he admitted. “I made too many mistakes. I was scared- scared that the truth would hurt Sabir. So I hid it. I know now that it was wrong of me. But there’s something you need to know, but understand this: I’m not saying this to seek forgiveness. I just wish to tell the truth.”

Max narrowed his eyes, suspicion etched across his features. “What are you talking about?”

“There’s more to that old lady’s death than you realize,” Cassius began, his voice heavy with the burden of the truth. “Yes, I killed her, but it wasn’t murder. It was mercy.”

Samantha’s heart skipped a beat. “Mercy? How could someone consider killing an innocent woman as mercy?”

Cassius met her gaze, his eyes filled with sorrow. “She was dying. She had contracted Lurmia.”

An icy chill ran down Samantha’s spine. She had heard of Lurmia, a horrifying disease caused by tiny, worm-like parasites that devoured their victims from the inside out, leaving nothing behind but their empty clothes. It was a slow, agonizing death, one that no one deserved.

“The old lady begged me to end her suffering,” Cassius continued, his voice firm but solemn. “She knew she had little time left, and she didn’t want Sabir to see her like that. She asked me to put her out of her misery.”

Samantha felt a lump forming in her throat, her anger wavering as she absorbed the weight of his words. “Why didn’t you tell him?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Cassius shook his head, his expression one of deep regret. “I thought I was protecting him,” he said. “I thought if I kept the truth from him, he could move on without the weight of that knowledge. But I was wrong. I underestimated the consequences of my actions.”

Max let out a bitter laugh, his hands balling into fists once more. “So, you’re saying you were trying to protect him? By lying to him? By keeping him in the dark while the Voltaires closed in?”

Cassius nodded slowly, the guilt clear in his eyes. “I thought I could shield him from the truth, that I could keep him safe by keeping him ignorant. But in the end, all I did was make things worse.”

Samantha clenched her fists, the tension in the room thickening with every passing second. “You think your regret makes a difference now? Sabir is in their hands, and you’re here, telling us to move on like it’s that simple?”

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Cassius’ face twisted with pain. “There’s nothing we can do,” he said, his voice barely a whisper. “The Voltaires have him, and their territory is impenetrable. They’ll do what they want with him, and there’s no power in this world that can stop them.”

Max took a step forward, his voice rising with fury. “So, you’re giving up? After everything you’ve done, after all the lies and secrets, you’re just going to leave him to die?”

Cassius clenched his fist. His whole body trembled as he spoke. “If I could trade places with him, I would. But I can’t. All I can do now is make sure you two survive. The Voltaires don’t care about you, they only wanted Sabir. For reasons that still elude me. You’ll be released soon. I suggest you take the opportunity and think about the future, before it’s too late. You guys are going to receive your diplomas soon, work and earn a good living. Forget about everything that happened. It’s what Sabir would have wanted.”

Seeing the broken man in front of her, Samantha’s rage waned. It felt like they were directing their anger at the wrong person. But her determination was still a blazing inferno. “I can’t just abandon him,” she said, her voice shaking with emotion. “Sabir wouldn’t give up on us.”

Cassius took a deep breath, steadying himself before speaking. “I know it’s difficult to accept, but sometimes, survival means knowing when to let go. Sabir… he’s as good as dead. The best thing you can do now is to keep yourselves alive. Honor his memory by living.”

Max’s face twisted in disgust. “You think that’s what he would want? For us to just forget about him? To move on like he never existed?” Tears welled in Max’s eyes. “You don’t know him like we do. He’ll survive. He wouldn’t let some damn nobles kill him.”

Cassius shook his head, his expression pained. “I’m sorry Max. I’m not asking you to forget him. But you have to be realistic. The Voltaires are too powerful. If you go after them, you’ll be throwing your lives away for nothing.”

Samantha’s chest tightened as she fought back tears. She wanted to scream, to curse Cassius for his cowardice. But deep down, a small part of her knew he was right. The Voltaires were untouchable, their power unmatched. What could she and Max possibly do against them?

Cassius took a step back, his voice softening as he spoke his last words. “I’m sorry,” he said, his eyes filled with regret. “I wish things could have been different.”

He turned and walked away, leaving Samantha and Max alone in the cell. The door clanged shut behind him; the sound echoing through the empty corridor like the closing of a tomb.

As the echo of the clanging door faded into the oppressive silence of the cell, Samantha felt a profound emptiness settle in the pit of her stomach. The weight of Cassius’s words bore down on her, pulling her into a dark abyss where hope struggled to survive. For a long moment, she stood motionless, her body numb, her mind racing through a thousand impossible scenarios that all ended the same way, Sabir, lost to them forever.

Max’s breathing was heavy beside her, each breath labored as if he were struggling to keep a grip on reality. The fire that had burned so brightly in his eyes mere moments ago was now flickering, threatening to go out entirely. He looked at Samantha, his gaze softening as he saw the defeat written across her face.

“Sam,” he whispered, his voice cracking under the weight of his own sorrow and the words he was about to say.

Samantha turned to face him, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. She didn’t have the strength to speak, to voice the thoughts swirling in her head. She had no words for the crushing despair that was slowly consuming her, wrapping around her heart like a snake.

Max took a tentative step closer, reaching out his hand to gently touch her arm. “We tried,” he said, his voice trembling. “We did everything we could… but maybe… maybe it’s time to let go.”

The words struck her like a blow, and she recoiled as if he had physically hit her. “Let go?” she echoed, her voice filled with disbelief. “How can we do that to him? Sabir is out there, suffering, and we’re supposed to just… move on?”

Max’s face contorted with pain, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. “What else can we do, Sam?” His voice was thick with regret. “We’re trapped in here, and even if we weren’t, the Voltaires… they’re beyond our reach. We’re powerless against them.”

Samantha’s hands clenched into fists at her sides, her nails digging into her palms as she fought the urge to scream. She wanted to fight, to rage against the injustice of it all. But as she looked into Max’s eyes, she saw the same hopelessness reflected at her, and it drained the last of her defiance. The reality of their situation was undeniable. They were just two ordinary people caught in a storm far bigger than themselves, and no amount of determination could change that.

She sank down onto the cold, hard bench, burying her face in her hands. “It’s not fair,” she whispered, her voice muffled by her palms. “It’s not fair that we’re forced to give up on him. He’s just a kid, Max. He doesn’t deserve this.”

Max knelt down in front of her, his hand resting gently on her knee. “I know, Sam. I know it’s not fair. We did everything we could to help him. We can’t blame ourselves.”

Samantha lifted her head, her eyes red and swollen from holding back tears. “So what do we do now?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. “Do we just go back home, like nothing ever happened?”

Max’s expression softened, and he swallowed hard, struggling to keep his own emotions in check. “We take it one day at a time,” he said, his voice steady. “We keep going, to live our lives as best we can. Sabir… he wouldn’t want us to waste away, trapped in grief. He’d want us to survive, to remember him… but also to keep living.”

His words, though comforting, felt hollow to Samantha. But as she gazed into his eyes, she knew he was right. Sabir wouldn’t want them to destroy themselves over his loss. He’d want them to fight for whatever scraps of happiness they could find, even if it meant letting go of the hope that had kept them going for so long.

Max took her hand in his, squeezing it gently. “We’ll get through this, Sam. Together. We’ll find a way.”

Tears welled up in Samantha’s eyes, and she didn’t fight them this time. She let them fall, each drop a silent acknowledgment of their shared pain, their shared loss. Max wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a tight embrace as the tears continued to flow. They clung to each other in the dim light of the cell, their sobs echoing off the walls, a sorrowful melody of powerlessness and resignation.

As the minutes passed, the intensity of their grief ebbed away, leaving behind a hollow ache in its place. They pulled apart slightly, their eyes meeting in a moment of silent understanding. It wasn’t over. Not yet. A single embrace could not erase the pain, it would linger, becoming a scar of what they had lost. A constant reminder. But they would live with it.

They had to.

Samantha wiped at her cheeks with the back of her hand, her movements slow and deliberate. “You’re right,” she said, her voice still trembling. “We have to keep going. We owe it to Sabir… and to ourselves.”

Max nodded, his own tears drying on his cheeks. “We’ll get through this,” he repeated, more for himself than for her. “We have to.”

They sat together closely, their bodies intertwined. The decision they had made was a dark cloud. Uncertainty and darkness were all they could envision for their future, yet amidst their shared warmth, they felt a fragile acceptance growing within. Hope was all they could cling on to now. Together, they would find happiness.

The cell door once again creaked open, and a guard stepped in, looking impatient, which caused Max and Sam to jump away from each other in a panic. “Time to go,” he said gruffly. “You’re being released.”