The gunfire had stopped. The room was still, the air heavy with the aftermath of a battle that seemed to stretch on forever. For a moment, August wasn’t sure if he was breathing. His heart raced, the sound of his pulse thundering in his ears as he processed what had just happened.

Jude had surrendered. He’d lowered his weapon, handed over everything, and just when August thought he had lost him, something shifted.

“Take the system,” Jude had said, his voice steady, his face unreadable. “Let her go.”

At the time, it had felt like a knife to the chest. Betrayal. But now, standing in the center of the chaos, August could barely process what was unfolding. The mercenaries had hesitated. They’d watched Jude carefully, their guns still trained on him, unsure of what he was playing at.

But now August understood.

He had been wrong. Completely wrong.

It hadn’t been a surrender. It had been a ruse.

A sickening wave of realization hit August, and in that instant, everything made sense. Jude wasn’t giving up—he was giving them a chance.

“Go,” Jude had whispered as the last mercenary charged toward him. “I’ll hold them off. You get her out of here.”

And August had hesitated. How could he not? How could he leave Jude to die? But there was no time for doubts, no time for second-guessing. They had come this far. They had to save Sabrina, even if it meant leaving Jude behind.

He watched Jude now as the mercenaries closed in, his back pressed against the wall, his fingers clutching a grenade. The explosive device glinted in the dim light. There was a grim resolve on his face. He wasn’t backing down. He was giving them a chance.

August was moving before he even realized it, sprinting toward the containment unit where Sabrina lay unconscious. He saw her through the glass, her fragile form still hooked up to machines, still breathing. But every second they waited, every second they hesitated, brought her closer to death. It wasn’t just about getting out alive anymore. It was about saving her—about ending the nightmare they’d all been caught in.

But as he reached the control panel, everything changed.

A loud, deafening explosion shook the ground beneath them, sending a shockwave through the lab. The walls rattled, dust and debris falling from the ceiling. August ducked instinctively, heart racing as the ground trembled beneath his feet. The lights flickered, casting long, erratic shadows across the lab.

Jude had done it.

He’d taken out the guards, buying them precious moments.

“Go! Now!” Jude’s voice rang out, strained but clear, his breath coming in ragged gasps. “I’ll hold them off. You get her out of here!”

August wasted no time. He hit the override on the containment unit, watching as the glass door slid open with a soft hiss. He rushed to Sabrina’s side, his hands shaking as he disconnected the wires from her body. She was cold to the touch, her pulse faint, but she was still alive.

“Come on, Sabrina,” August whispered, lifting her into his arms. “Come on, we’re getting you out of here.”

He could hear the sounds of battle behind him—the sharp crack of gunfire, the thud of bodies hitting the ground. He didn’t know how much longer they had. The explosion had done more than just disrupt the mercenaries—it had set off a chain reaction that was starting to collapse the facility. Time was running out.

“Where’s Jude?” Cara shouted, panic in her voice as she appeared beside August, her eyes wide with fear. She was still carrying her weapon, her hands tight around the grip, but there was no hiding the worry in her face.

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“He’s holding them off,” August said through gritted teeth. He could feel his pulse pounding in his ears as he cradled Sabrina’s limp body in his arms. He couldn’t lose her now. Not after everything they had been through.

“We need to move,” Lara urged, her eyes darting toward the exit. “There’s no time to waste.”

And she was right. There wasn’t.

With one last glance at the door where Jude had been cornered, August turned and bolted toward the exit. The sound of gunfire grew louder, but he kept moving, pushing his body harder, faster. He had to make it. They all had to make it out.

But just as they neared the hallway, the unexpected happened.

A new wave of mercenaries poured into the room from a side corridor, their weapons drawn, eyes locked onto the group. They had been flanking them the entire time, waiting for an opportunity to strike. And now they had it.

August’s heart sank as he realized the full scale of the trap they had walked into. They were surrounded. There was no escape.

“We’re done for,” Jude’s voice came over the comms, and August’s heart skipped a beat.

“No,” August shouted into the mic, his grip tightening around Sabrina. “You can’t give up now. We’re getting out of here.”

But Jude’s voice was steady, almost too steady. “It’s over. Just get her out. That’s all that matters now.”

Before August could respond, the mercenaries closed in. They were no longer a group of men to be fought—they were an unstoppable force, and they were about to make sure no one escaped the facility alive.

But then, something else happened. Something unexpected.

Jude’s voice crackled over the comms again, but this time, it wasn’t a surrender. It wasn’t even a plea. It was something else. Something darker.

“Get down!” Jude screamed, his voice hoarse, urgent.

Then, without warning, the sound of another explosion erupted, even more deafening than the first. The walls shook, dust and debris raining down around them. The force of the blast threw August and the others to the ground, knocking the wind out of them. August barely managed to keep his hold on Sabrina as the world around him seemed to collapse.

For a moment, everything was still. The mercenaries had been thrown off-balance, disoriented by the blast. August seized the opportunity, rolling to his feet and pulling Sabrina along with him.

“Move, move!” he shouted, adrenaline coursing through his veins.

They scrambled to their feet, stumbling toward the exit. The sound of heavy boots echoed behind them, but August didn’t dare look back. He couldn’t. They were too close. Every second counted.

And then, as they reached the final corridor, something even more dangerous emerged from the smoke of the blast: Marcos.

The man was standing there, unscathed, his cold eyes watching them with that same arrogant smirk. He didn’t even flinch as the smoke cleared, his hand casually resting on the trigger of a gun slung at his side.

“You think you can escape?” Marcos’ voice was a low growl. “You’ve already lost.”

August’s stomach twisted. The weight of everything—the betrayal, the near-death experience—was catching up to him. But there was no time for weakness. They had to keep moving.

Behind them, there was the sudden sound of a countdown.

Ten.

The system. The damn system.

August’s wrist buzzed with an incoming alert, and his heart sank as he read the message: Self-destruct sequence initiated.

“Shit,” August muttered, his mind racing. They had triggered something. Somehow, the lab had been rigged to collapse, and now they were caught in the countdown.

Five.

Marcos stood firm, his eyes never leaving August. The man was too calm, too collected. He knew he had won. They were about to die in this godforsaken place, and he was going to walk away from it with the formula for the vaccine.

Two.

“We’re not done yet,” August said, gritting his teeth. He turned to Cara and Lara. “Go. Now.”

He didn’t wait for them to respond. He couldn’t. They were out of time.

One.

The explosion rang out, shaking the very foundation of the lab, and for a split second, everything went black.

Then, as the smoke cleared and the chaos erupted around him, August realized just how costly their escape had been.

Marcos had escaped with the vaccine formula. And worse yet, they had just set in motion something that might have been their last chance at survival.

They weren’t done yet. But they were getting dangerously close.