Round 5

Halie moved toward Abby instinctively, her exhaustion warring with the ingrained need to protect someone in distress—not because she was innocent exactly, but because her terror was raw and immediate. "We're not going to hurt you," she said, keeping her voice low and steady despite the fear coiling in her own gut. But then Silra reported what she heard—that they were looking specifically for the basement door—and something shifted in Halie.

She knew this wasn't just a nosy neighbor anymore. Someone knew exactly where to find them.

Silra's teal eyes narrowed as she assessed the situation: Abby trembling against the wall, Halie trying to comfort her, Jeane already plotting expansion despite the obvious fucking mess they were in, and now footsteps upstairs that knew exactly where to go. I sighed, pulling my hair back into a tighter ponytail. "Okay, here's how this goes down," I said, voice low but crisp. "Halie's right—we secure the basement first because those assholes up there are looking for us specifically."