The Web Tightens

The broken floorboards creaked beneath their feet as Kaela, Ava, and Joren moved cautiously through the abandoned factory's upper level. Dust motes floated in the dim moonlight streaming through shattered windows, painting ghostly patterns on the cold concrete walls.

Every shadow seemed alive, every whisper of wind a potential threat. Kaela's heart hammered, senses razor-sharp.

"Someone's here," Ava whispered, eyes narrowing.

Suddenly, voices echoed from a hidden room at the corridor's end—low, urgent, and unmistakably conspiratorial.

Kaela signaled the team to spread out silently, edging closer.

Peering through a crack in the door, they glimpsed the unmistakable figure of a rebel — one of their own — speaking in hushed tones with an Ashen officer.

Betrayal.

The web was tightening, and Kaela knew there was no turning back.