Episode 7
The icy water slapped the breath out of Julian’s lungs, dragging him into a chaotic, churning vortex. The current tore at his clothes, spinning him in the pitch-black depths, but his mind held onto one singular, primal instinct: Leo.
He kicked violently against the rushing water, breaking the surface just long enough to gasp for air before being pulled under again. In the strobe-like flashes of the distant chemical fire from the cliffside, he saw a small hand break the surface a few yards downstream.
Julian swam with everything he had, his muscles screaming against the freezing current. He lunged forward, his fingers clawing through the water until they wrapped around the collar of Leo’s jacket. Pulling his little brother close, Julian hoisted Leo’s head above the water. Leo was coughing violently, terrified, clutching Julian’s shirt like a lifeline.
"I’ve got you! I’ve got you, Leo!" Julian roared over the deafening rush of the river.
Using the momentum of the current, Julian fought his way toward the dark, rocky shoreline. They slammed hard against a cluster of half-submerged boulders. Wincing in pain, Julian used his last shred of strength to drag Leo out of the water and onto the muddy, weed-choked bank.
They collapsed into the mud, shivering violently, the distant echo of sirens and helicopter blades fading into the background. The detonator was gone, washed away by the river. The terrifying, cold look in Leo’s eyes had vanished, replaced by the vulnerable shock of a traumatized nine-year-old boy. He was just a kid again, sobbing into Julian’s chest.
"Juju... I'm sorry," Leo wept, his voice cracking from the cold. "They made me look at those files... they made me memorize those things. I just wanted them to stop hurting us."
Julian wrapped his bruised arms tightly around his brother, rocking him in the dark. "It’s okay. It’s over. You don't ever have to think about that again. I’m here."
But it wasn't over.
A sharp beam of a flashlight cut through the trees just fifty yards up the bank. Footsteps heavy, deliberate, and closing in.
Julian scrambled to his feet, pulling Leo behind him. He looked around wildly. They were at the base of a dense, unfamiliar valley, soaked, freezing, and completely unarmed. Sarah was gone, likely captured or killed on the cliff. They had no phone, no money, and the most powerful people in the state were hunting them down like animals.
The flashlight beam swept over the mud, locking directly onto Julian’s wet shoes.
"Over here!" a rough voice shouted from the trees. "I found the tracks! They survived the drop!"
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Julian didn't hesitate. He grabbed Leo’s hand, his grip unyielding. "Run, Leo. Don't look back."
They broke into a sprint, plunging blindly into the deep, unforgiving darkness of the forest, two brothers alone against a world that wanted them dead, with the hounds closing in and no safe haven left to turn to.
