The day wore on in heavy silence as Jack, Sam, and Lila trekked further from the Sanctified’s territory. The landscape shifted, the jagged remains of the city blending into barren, dust-covered fields dotted with skeletal trees and rusted debris. Every step felt like an echo of a world long dead, a place where life once thrived but had since withered to nothing.

Jack led the way, his steps confident yet cautious, his machete swinging lightly at his side. His eyes scanned the horizon, every movement calculated, his instincts honed after years of navigating places like this. Behind him, Sam and Lila walked in step, their expressions tense but focused.

“Stay close,” Jack murmured without turning, his tone clipped but not unkind. “Last thing we need is to get separated out here.”

Lila nodded, her gaze following his every move, and for once, she didn’t ask any questions. Sam, too, was silent, his usual calm replaced with an edge of exhaustion. They’d been walking for hours, driven by the lingering threat of Magnus’s followers and Jack’s relentless pace.

After what felt like miles, they came upon a small, half-collapsed building, its walls crumbling but sturdy enough to provide shelter. Jack paused, giving it a quick once-over before motioning for them to follow him inside. The walls provided some relief from the wind, and they settled down, grateful for the chance to rest.

Jack leaned against the wall, crossing his arms as he watched Sam and Lila with a mixture of curiosity and reluctance. He wasn’t much for small talk, but he knew that they could use a distraction, something to lift the weight that had settled over them like a shroud.

“Once knew a guy who claimed he could live off the land,” he said, a faint smirk crossing his lips. “Went on and on about his survival skills, how he didn’t need a thing from anyone. Last I saw him, he was two days into eating canned peaches he found in the back of an old truck. Told him I’d trade him for a fresh pack of jerky—nearly tackled me to the ground.”

Lila laughed, the sound bright against the gloom. “So… did you give him the jerky?”

Jack shrugged, the hint of a smile on his face. “Might’ve given him one piece, just to watch him scarf it down. Nothing funnier than seeing a man talk big and then break over a little food.”

Sam chuckled, glancing at Jack with a new respect. “Guess you know how to handle yourself—and others. Can’t say that surprises me.”

Jack leaned back, folding his arms behind his head. “Everyone’s got their weaknesses. Survival just boils down to knowing how to play ‘em right.”

Lila was quiet for a moment, studying him with an intensity that made Jack shift uncomfortably. She was young, but her gaze was sharp, as if she could see past the walls he kept so carefully in place.

“What about you?” she asked, her voice tentative. “You got any weaknesses?”

Jack’s expression darkened slightly, his face turning unreadable. “Kid, everyone’s got weaknesses. Best way to handle them? Don’t let anyone see them.”

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The mood shifted, a somberness settling over them. Sam glanced at Lila, his expression softening. “Sometimes… it’s okay to have weaknesses. Makes you human. And that’s not a bad thing to hold onto, even now.”

Jack scoffed, but he said nothing, his gaze fixed on the dusty floor. He wanted to argue, to remind them that weakness was a liability, that in this world, showing any vulnerability was an invitation for disaster. But as he looked at Sam and Lila, he felt a flicker of something he hadn’t felt in years—a sense of connection, of shared understanding. It was unsettling, and he didn’t like it one bit.

“We’re not safe,” Sam said quietly, his tone serious. “Not with people like Magnus out there. We can’t keep running without a plan, Jack. Eventually, they’ll find us.”

Jack tensed, his face hardening. “You think I don’t know that? I’m not exactly out here for fun. But you don’t understand what people like Magnus are capable of. You let him see you as a threat, and he’ll hunt you down until there’s nothing left. Only way to survive is to keep moving, stay one step ahead.”

“But we can’t just keep running forever,” Lila argued, her voice filled with an unexpected determination. “Isn’t there anywhere we can go? Somewhere he wouldn’t find us?”

Jack looked away, clenching his jaw. He wanted to tell her the truth—that the wasteland offered no safe havens, that even the most fortified places eventually fell to those desperate enough to take them. But her expression held a flicker of hope, a spark that he found impossible to extinguish.

Sam noticed the conflict in Jack’s eyes and gave him a knowing look. “There’s gotta be something out here. People talk about safe zones, places where folks are rebuilding, where people can live without looking over their shoulder. You’ve heard the rumors.”

Jack’s face was a mask of skepticism. “Rumors are just that—rumors. Seen enough ‘safe zones’ to know they’re usually death traps waiting to happen.”

But Lila’s gaze stayed on him, unwavering. “Maybe this one’s different.”

He sighed, his reluctance clear, but something in him softened as he looked at her. Against his better judgment, he nodded. “Fine. We’ll keep an eye out. But I’m telling you now—don’t get your hopes up. Out here, hope’s just another way to get yourself hurt.”

They rested for a while longer before moving on, their conversation lingering in the air like a ghost. As they passed through the ruins of an old industrial area, Sam stumbled across something unusual—an old map, faded but mostly intact, pinned to a rusted metal frame. Jack leaned in, studying it with a skeptical eye. Most of the locations were obliterated, the place names smudged and unreadable. But one spot caught his attention, circled in faint red marker—a place labeled Refuge.

Lila’s face lit up as she noticed it. “Refuge… that’s gotta be a safe zone, right?”

Jack narrowed his eyes, the flicker of doubt surfacing once more. “Or it’s someone’s idea of a joke. People mark places like that all the time—doesn’t mean they’re real.”

Sam, however, seemed optimistic. “What if it’s real, Jack? What if it’s a place where people are trying to rebuild? We’ve come this far, haven’t we?”

Jack stared at the map, his mind churning. Every instinct told him to ignore it, to keep moving on his own terms. But the sight of Sam and Lila, their faces lit with something close to hope, made him hesitate. He’d seen people cling to all sorts of fantasies out here, and he knew what it looked like when those dreams shattered. Yet, as he looked at them, he realized that for the first time in a long while, he didn’t want to be the one to tear their hope down.

He let out a slow, reluctant sigh. “Alright. We’ll check it out. But we’re not making any promises, you hear me? We get close, see if it’s worth the risk. If it isn’t, we move on.”

Lila grinned, her excitement infectious. “Sounds like a plan, Grizzly.”

He rolled his eyes but couldn’t help a faint smile. For better or worse, he was in this with them now. And maybe, just maybe, that wasn’t the worst place to be.

They moved on, the weight of the past still heavy but balanced by the faintest glimmer of a future. Whether it was real or a mirage, Jack couldn’t say. But for the first time, he felt something beyond survival—a reason to keep going, a purpose he hadn’t realized he needed.