Chapter 77: The Shifting Tides

The world around Emily was chaos.

Her heartbeat hammered in her chest as the snow beneath her feet turned to slush. 

Every step felt heavier as she pushed forward, the pain in her shoulder almost unbearable.

 She could feel the blood seeping through her jacket, but there was no time to stop, no time to think.

 They were losing ground,the enemy was closing in, and they needed to get to the ridge before it was too late.

"Keep moving!" Damien's voice cut through the static of her thoughts.

 His tone was sharp, but there was something else there—concern, maybe fear, though he wouldn't admit it. Not now, not with everything on the line.

They were almost there, but the path was treacherous.

 Every turn, every breath seemed to bring them closer to the edge of disaster. 

Emily's rifle weighed heavily in her hands, and she couldn't tell if the blood on it was her own or the blood of the soldiers she'd already taken down.