Lost Trust

The team moved swiftly through the back alleys of the Dome, their breaths misting in the cold air. The city was quiet, too quiet. No alarms blaring, no pursuit. It felt wrong. The ORPHANAGE didn't let mistakes slip through the cracks. They didn't fail to notice intrusions. So why wasn't anyone chasing them?

It was a nagging thought in the back of Jarad's mind, but he pushed it aside. Right now, getting back to their temporary hideout was the priority.

Evie walked ahead of him, her posture stiff. She hadn't spoken much since they got out of the facility. Not that she was ever the talkative type, but this silence was different.

Jarad noticed it.

He noticed everything.

---

Evie didn't go back inside.

She lingered outside the entrance, the wind biting at her exposed skin. The cold should have been grounding, pulling her back into the moment, but her mind was elsewhere. A single thought circled her brain, over and over.

Cam wouldn't betray me.

He wouldn't.

But the evidence said otherwise. Whether intentional or not, the damage was done. And Maya was right. The ORPHANAGE had known where to find them. Their lives had been on the line because of him.

Her wristpad vibrated.

A message.

Her breath caught.

For a second, she let herself believe it was from Cam. That he had an explanation, a reason, something to make this make sense.

But it wasn't him.

Jarad: Inside. Now.

Blunt, as always.

Evie exhaled slowly, pushing herself away from the railing. She hesitated before stepping through the rusted doorway, the warmth inside doing little to chase away the cold in her bones.

The safe house was dimly lit, a forgotten relic of the past. It smelled of dust, old metal, and rusted wires. Crates were stacked against the walls, repurposed as makeshift tables and chairs. The lights flickered every few seconds, barely holding onto their last breath of power.

The rest of the team was already inside.

Leon leaned against the wall, arms crossed, his usually relaxed posture more rigid than normal. Frieda paced, her footsteps the only sound breaking the silence. Toni sat on a crate, disassembling her weapon with methodical precision.

And Jarad—Jarad stood in the center, watching her.

Evie stopped short.

His stare was unreadable, but the weight of it settled heavily on her.

"You've been quiet," he said.

Evie's fingers curled at her sides. "I had nothing to say."

Jarad tilted his head slightly, his gaze sharp. "That so?"

Frieda stopped pacing. "Because from where I'm standing, it looks like you're holding something back."

Evie's pulse quickened. "We got what we needed," she said carefully. "We should be focusing on our next move, not—"

"Not why we got caught?" Leon interrupted, his deep voice cutting through the room.

The silence that followed was suffocating.

Evie felt every eye on her.

She knew where this was going.

She wasn't ready for it.

Jarad took a slow step forward. "I'll ask once," he said, voice low, controlled. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

Evie's breath hitched.

She could lie.

She wanted to lie.

Because if she said it—if she admitted it out loud—it would make it real.

Her fingers twitched at her side, just once. A barely noticeable movement, the kind born from hesitation, from uncertainty. But Jarad noticed. His gaze flicked to her hand before returning to her face, sharp as a blade.

She forced herself to meet his eyes, willed her expression into something steady. "No."

A beat of silence.

Then, finally, Jarad exhaled, his expression unreadable.

"Get some rest," he said, turning away. "We leave in the morning."

Just like that, the conversation was over.

But Evie could feel it.

That seed of doubt had been planted.

And sooner or later, someone—Jarad—was going to dig it out.

---

The team settled into the cramped hideout, the silence hanging over them like a heavy fog. Evie found a corner to herself, leaning against the wall. The faint hum of the city outside seeped through the thin walls, but inside, it was eerily quiet.

She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to push the thoughts of Cam from her mind, but it was impossible. His name echoed in her head like a broken record, each repeat driving a wedge deeper into her chest.

Had he done it intentionally?

The idea felt like a betrayal in itself. Cam had always been different, someone she trusted. But the logs, the transfer, the way he acted when she confronted him—it all lined up too perfectly. He wasn't supposed to be part of this, not in this way.

But then, she remembered their past. Cam wouldn't betray me. He had been part of the plan, part of the fight, just like her. But what if he was caught between two choices? What if he didn't have a choice? Maybe he hadn't meant for this to happen.

Maybe.

But doubt lingered in her mind, heavy and gnawing.

Evie opened her eyes, staring out into the dim room, her vision unfocused.

She couldn't let herself dwell on it now. She couldn't afford to. They had bigger problems. The data they had stolen, the fact that the ORPHANAGE seemed to know their every move, and now... this. This growing fracture between the team, between her and everyone else.

She glanced over at Jarad. He was sitting at the table, eyes fixed on the screen of his wristpad, but his posture was stiff, tense. Even when he wasn't looking at her, he saw her. She couldn't escape that. She couldn't hide from him.

Her wristpad buzzed again, and she quickly glanced down. This time, it was a message from Maya.

Maya: Evie, we need to talk. Someone messed with the system.

The words hit harder than she expected.

Of course, she thought bitterly. Now you want to talk.

Evie felt the familiar knot in her stomach tighten. She couldn't escape it. Maya was right. They had to talk. But every part of her resisted. She didn't know how to face this. She didn't know how to process it.

She didn't know if she was ready to believe that Cam had truly betrayed them—or that she had been blind to it all along.

Her eyes met Jarad's briefly, and there was no escaping his gaze now. He wasn't saying anything, but the tension in his posture, the way he watched her with that sharp, calculating look, made it clear: he knew.

He knew something wasn't right.

And he wasn't going to let it slide.

Evie's breath caught, and for the first time in a long while, she felt utterly alone.