Rogue Awakened Camp ]

  The rogue awakened camp was never truly silent.

  Even in the dead of night, there was movement—guards patrolling the perimeter, soft murmurs from those who couldn’t sleep, and the occasional crackling of the wind against the makeshift tents. But tonight, something felt off.

  Inside the largest tent, a muscular man with a scar running down his cheek sat cross-legged, sharpening a wickedly curved blade. Dante, the unofficial leader of the rogue awakened, had been on edge for days.

  Something wasn’t right.

  Ever since they established this camp, they had been careful—too careful. They moved every few weeks, never stayed in one place for too long. Yet, something about this particular location made him uneasy.

  He exhaled slowly, running his hand over his shaved head. Paranoia? Maybe. But years of experience told him to trust his instincts.

  And then, a shout cut through the night.

  “WHAT THE HELL?!”

  Dante’s head snapped up. The voice came from outside the supply tent.

  Instantly alert, he rose to his feet, slipping his blade into its sheath. More voices joined the first.

  “Who took the rations?”

  “They’re gone—completely gone!”

  “Someone’s been in our camp!”

  Dante stepped out, his dark eyes scanning the group of awakened warriors gathering near the storage tent. The tension in the air was thick, their body language stiff and alert.

  Near the entrance of the tent, Riley, the quartermaster, was practically seething. His fists were clenched, his face twisted in anger as he gestured wildly at the empty supply crates.

  “Gone,” Riley growled. “All of it.”

  Dante’s expression darkened.

  “Explain.”

  Riley turned, his voice laced with fury. “I did the count last night. Everything was here. This morning? Half our rations are missing.” He kicked one of the crates. “No sign of a break-in, no trails leading in or out. Someone snuck in while we were asleep.”

  The other rogue awakened shifted uneasily, their enhanced senses working overtime now.

  “Are you telling me,” a deep, gravelly voice rumbled, “that a bunch of normies managed to sneak past all of us?”

  Dante turned toward the speaker—Hale, one of the stronger awakened in the group, a giant of a man with a cybernetic arm and an intimidating presence.

  “No way in hell regular people pulled this off,” Hale continued, his jaw tightening. “This was a calculated move. We’re being hunted.”

  Silence.

  Dante processed the situation quickly. It made sense. Their camp wasn’t random. Someone had tracked them here. Scouts? Military? He needed answers.

  He exhaled sharply. “Check the perimeter. Find out how they got in.”

  Several of his men immediately moved, spreading out into the surrounding forest.

  Hale cracked his knuckles. “When we find them, we’re making an example out of them.”

  But Dante held up a hand, stopping him. “No. We don’t know who we’re dealing with yet.” His gaze swept over the gathered awakened. “If they were skilled enough to steal from us undetected, then they’re smart. But smart people make mistakes.”

  His voice grew colder.

  “And when they do, we will bury them.”

  Hale grinned darkly. “Now we’re talking.”

  Dante turned back toward Riley. “How long can we last without the stolen supplies?”

  Riley hesitated. “Two days, maybe three. Less if we keep burning energy.”

  Dante clenched his jaw. They didn’t have time to sit and wait.

  He made his decision.

  “We track them down. We find out who they are. And then…” His gaze turned to the rest of his team, a slow, dangerous smile forming.

  “…we take back what’s ours.”

  [Aftermath – A Costly Loss]

  The atmosphere in James' camp was tense. The rations were stacked in front of them, but there was an undeniable problem—three bags were missing.

  James clenched his fists, his jaw tight with frustration. Lucas. He should have expected someone would try something like this, but he hadn’t anticipated an ambush from other cadets.

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  Amanda crossed her arms, her expression sharp. “So what now? We only have three bags left. That’s half of what we originally had.”

  Sophia exhaled, shaking her head. “Even if we split these evenly, someone is going to fail.”

  That was the real issue. The mission had been clear—each cadet needed to bring back a stolen item from the rogue awakened’s camp. James and his team had taken six bags, enough to secure a passing mark for all of them. But now, three were gone.

  James looked at his teammates, his mind racing. Who would get left behind? Who would fail?

  Jonathan ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. “It’s not fair. We did everything right. We planned, we executed, and now some bastards just walk in and steal our hard work?”

  Sam sighed. “Fair or not, it happened. What matters now is figuring out what to do next.”

  Silence.

  James felt the weight of their gazes. They were looking to him for answers.

  He took a deep breath. Think.

  They still had three bags. That meant three people would pass for sure—but who? Would they divide the bags evenly? Would they draw straws? Or...

  His grip tightened. No. That wasn’t an option.

  “If we go back with only three bags, we’re saying we accept this outcome,” James said. His voice was steady, but his eyes burned with determination. “That’s not happening.”

  Amanda raised a brow. “You have a plan?”

  James nodded. “We steal them back.”

  Sophia blinked. “Wait—you want us to steal from Lucas?”

  Jonathan smirked slightly. “Poetic justice.”

  “But risky,” Sam pointed out. “We don’t know where he ran off to. And even if we find them, they’ll be expecting a counterattack.”

  James exhaled. That was true. Lucas was cocky, but he wasn’t stupid. He’d know they wouldn’t take this lying down. Which meant he’d be watching.

  That complicated things.

  Amanda sighed. “Even if we try, we might fail. Then we’d just waste more time.”

  James nodded. “That’s why we don’t attack head-on. We wait. Lucas took our rations because he thought he could get away with it. If we let him think he won, he’ll let his guard down.”

  Sophia’s eyes gleamed. “And that’s when we strike.”

  James nodded. “Exactly.”

  A heavy silence settled over them, but something had changed. The frustration and helplessness were replaced with resolve.

  They weren’t going to accept this loss.

  They were going to take back what was theirs.

  James looked at each of them in turn. “We move at zero hundred hours.”

  [Lucas' Plan – Setting the Stage]

  The stolen bag of rations sat between them, the only prize from their failed ambush. The group sat in a tight circle in a small clearing, just far enough from the main forest trail to avoid being spotted but still within reach of the rogue awakened’s territory. Their breathing was heavy from the chase, but the tension had yet to settle.

  Lucas leaned back against a tree, his fingers idly tracing the hilt of his dagger, a smirk playing at his lips. He looked unbothered—amused, even.

  Jared, however, was pissed. He kicked a loose rock into the brush and scowled. “We were so damn close to getting that last bag. If Ethan hadn’t—”

  “Shut up, Jared,” Ethan snapped, his face red with frustration. “You think I wanted to fail? That bastard James was too fast.”

  Miles, the quietest of the group, sat cross-legged, arms folded. “Doesn’t matter. We only have three bags now. That means someone’s not gonna pass this test.”

  That reminder soured the mood immediately.

  Jared clenched his fists. “We should’ve taken them all out. Screw the test—we had the numbers.”

  Lucas laughed. It was a low, relaxed chuckle, completely out of place given their situation. “You really think that would’ve worked?” He shook his head. “We were lucky to get this much.”

  Jared narrowed his eyes. “So what? We just sit here and accept that one of us is gonna fail?”

  Lucas’ smirk widened. “No, you idiot. We’re going to fix it.”

  Ethan frowned. “How?”

  Lucas leaned forward, his eyes gleaming with cold calculation. “James isn’t gonna sit still after this. He’s coming for us.”

  Miles raised an eyebrow. “You’re sure?”

  Lucas scoffed. “Of course. James thinks he’s smarter than everyone else. But he’s predictable. He’ll try to steal the rations back.”

  Jared’s scowl deepened. “So we wait for him?”

  Lucas shook his head. “No. We make it so he can’t even try.”

  He gestured toward the surrounding trees. “We build a fire.”

  Silence.

  Ethan blinked. “A fire? In the middle of the damn forest?”

  Lucas nodded. “Big enough that even the rogue awakened will see it.”

  Jared’s face twisted in disbelief. “Are you out of your damn mind?! That’s suicide!”

  Even Miles, usually the calmest, shifted uncomfortably. “You want to alert the very people we stole from?”

  Lucas spread his hands. “Think about it. What happens when James comes creeping back to take our rations? He sees the fire, realizes the rogue awakened will come running, and he hesitates.”

  Ethan slowly caught on, his brows furrowing. “If he hesitates… we control the situation.”

  Lucas nodded. “Exactly.”

  Jared shook his head. “And what if the rogue awakened get here too fast?”

  Lucas waved off the concern. “They’re fast, sure, but we’re deeper in the forest. It’ll take them at least twenty minutes to reach us. By then, we’ll be gone.”

  Miles leaned forward, his voice low. “And if they get here faster?”

  Lucas’ smirk never wavered. “Then we’re already moving. The fire is just a distraction.”

  Jared let out a breath, still skeptical. “This is risky as hell.”

  Lucas grinned. “Of course it is. That’s what makes it fun.”

  Silence stretched between them. Ethan looked at Jared. Jared looked at Miles.

  Finally, Ethan sighed. “Screw it. Let’s build the damn fire.”

  Lucas chuckled. “Now you’re talking.”

  [James’ Hunt – Zero Hundred Hours]

  The forest was eerily silent. Only the occasional rustling of leaves broke the stillness as James and his team moved like shadows through the dense underbrush. The moon hung high, casting a pale silver glow over the treetops.

  It was midnight. Zero hundred hours.

  James had no doubts.

  Lucas and his team were nearby.

  He could feel it.

  Sophia moved beside him, her sharp eyes scanning the darkness. “Are we sure they stopped moving?” she whispered.

  Jonathan, crouched beside a tree, nodded. “We’ve been tracking them for an hour. Their footprints are fresh. They set up somewhere close.”

  Amanda exhaled slowly, gripping the hilt of her daggers. “Cowards probably think they’re safe.”

  James’ expression remained unreadable, but his hands curled into fists. They’d stolen from them. Humiliated them.

  He wasn’t about to let that slide.

  "They won’t see us coming,” Sam muttered, adjusting his grip on his blade.

  James lifted a hand. “No unnecessary noise. We move now.”

  [Closing the Distance]

  Moving in perfect formation, they advanced. Every step was calculated, their movements blending into the natural sounds of the night.

  Then—

  A flicker of orange light.

  James’ eyes sharpened as he saw it. A fire.

  Not just a small one.

  A massive fire.

  It roared to life in the clearing ahead, flames stretching high into the sky, embers dancing in the night air. The light illuminated everything—exposing Lucas and his team standing right in the middle of it.

  And there, in the center of the inferno’s glow—

  Lucas grinned.

  James’ breath slowed. His heart pounded, but his mind remained clear.

  This wasn’t a mistake.

  Lucas had planned this.

  Amanda’s eyes widened. “That idiot—he’s gonna burn the whole damn forest down!”

  “No,” James whispered, realization hitting him like a brick. “He’s luring the rogue awakened.”

  A beat of silence.

  Then—

  In the far distance, beyond the trees—

  A chilling howl.

  And then another.

  And another.

  The rogue awakened had seen the fire.

  They were coming.

  James locked eyes with Lucas.

  Lucas simply smirked.

  "Checkmate."