Hollow Refuge – Interior Quarters – Late Morning
The girl lay wrapped in two scavenged blankets, her breathing slow, shallow. One eye swollen shut, jaw bruised. Someone had branded her upper arm with a crude "RX-9" in scar tissue. A number, not a name.
Sierra sat nearby, legs crossed, cleaning dried blood from the girl's face with a damp cloth. Her expression was unreadable. Not cold, but not warm either. Guarded.
"She has to have a name," Benji whispered from the doorway, wrapped in his oversized coat.
"She does," Zane said quietly from behind him. "But until she remembers it… she's Nine."
Ava stood in the corner, arms folded, watching everything with a tight jaw. Her fingers tapped restlessly against her shotgun's grip.
Nine stirred, eyes fluttering open. They were sharp despite the haze—gray, flickering, animal-cautious.
"Easy," Sierra murmured. "You're safe now."
Nine flinched at the word.
Safe.
As if it meant anything anymore.
Zane crouched beside the bed, eye-level now. He didn't smile. Didn't offer kindness. Just a look of quiet calculation—and something else. Recognition?
"Do you remember what happened?" he asked.
Nine's gaze shifted to him, measuring. "They wanted me to track," she rasped. Her voice was hoarse, but steady. "Said I had… good ears. Better instincts. I don't remember anything before that."
A pause. She winced.
"Just numbers. Pain. Heat."
Ava crossed her arms tighter. "She's Firefly. Has to be. That tag? RX-line. That's old lab coding—before the fall."
Sierra's face tightened. "Same kind they burned into runners back east. Most didn't make it past training."
Nine's eye focused again. "Who… are you people?"
Zane didn't answer right away.
Then: "We're the ones who found you outside, buried under brush. The hole scenario smeeled like a Redhollow trap."
She blinked. The name seemed to mean something—but she didn't say what.
Instead, she said: "You should've left me."
Benji frowned. "Why?"
"Because they'll come for me."
Outer Courtyard – An Hour Later
The scout from the ambush lay tied near the watchpost, one arm dislocated, ribs wrapped tight. He hadn't spoken in hours. Not a name. Not a threat. Just quiet grinding of teeth and the occasional dry chuckle.
Ava knelt beside him now, knife idly spinning in her hand.
"You're not Redhollow," she said. "You don't wear their masks."
The scout laughed, blood on his lip. "Doesn't matter what I wear. I'm alive. That's more than most."
Zane stood nearby, silent.
"You were tracking us or the girl," Ava continued. "What is she to you?"
"She's a test. One that failed. She abandoned her designated mission. But — They— want her back."
"Why?"
The scout smiled through broken teeth. "Because something in her head matters. She's got memories that don't belong to her. Data. Routes. Facility names. Coordinates even she doesn't understand."
"Firefly?" Zane asked quietly.
The scout shook his head. "Older. Blacksite stuff. Pre-outbreak, even. Stuff no one talks about anymore."
Sierra stiffened behind them.
Zane stepped forward. "You were supposed to bring her back alive."
The scout's smile died. "Not me. My job was to watch. Mark. Signal the recovery team."
A chill went through the courtyard.
Ava's voice dropped. "When?"
"Soon," he whispered. "You fired that flare? You called more than traders, friend. You woke up things that have ben sleeping."
Zane knelt beside him. Eyes hard.
"You're going to tell me everything you know," he said.
Barracks – Interior
Benji sat on the floor, fiddling with a cracked radio transceiver. Not broadcasting—just listening. Static popped and hissed, sometimes catching a sliver of strange signal. A name. A code. Nothing concrete.
Nine sat nearby, legs drawn in, watching him.
"You're not afraid of me?" she asked.
Benji glanced at her, shrugged. "You're not the first weird thing, with clickers and what not."
Nine smirked slightly. Then frowned. "They say I'm broken. That my head doesn't work right."
"I thing mine too," Benji muttered. "Fever fried part of my memory. I forgot my mom's voice."
Nine's eyes softened.
A long pause stretched between them.
Then she asked: "Are they good people?"
Benji thought for a long time.
"Zane… he's like a blade. Sharp, quiet, dangerous if you push wrong. But he keeps us alive."
"Sierra, Lily?"
"Sierra has sad eyes. Tries to smile more now. And Lily is kinda like a sister."
"And what abaout Ava?"
Benji hesitated.
"She watches everyone. All the time. Even Zane."
Nine nodded.
Then she asked: "What about you?"
Benji smiled faintly. "I just fix radios."
Command Room – Nightfall
Zane stood in front of the map wall, fingers tracing over the outdated patrol markers. Dotted lines. Circles.
The scout was dead now—collapsed from internal bleeding before he could give much more.
But he'd said one thing before the end: "Look to the west. Redhollow isn't the biggest thing coming."
Zane wasn't sure what that meant. But it itched under his skin.
The System flickered in the edge of his mind. Faint, like a half-heard voice behind a closed door.
[RX-9 Pattern Recognition Active]
[Origin Tags: Site 7 - Arcology Lab | Status: Lost]
[Subject Stability: 51%]
[Recovery Protocol: Initiated]
Zane blinked. "What recovery protocol?"
No answer.
The screen faded.
Footsteps behind him.
Sierra leaned in the doorway. "She's stabilizing. Eating now."
"Good."
Sierra didn't leave. "You think she's dangerous."
"I think everything out here is dangerous," Zane said quietly. "But she's something else.
Sierra tilted her head. "You mean…?"
Zane didn't answer.
Just stared at the map again.
"I don't think she remembers who she was," he said. "But that doesn't mean she can't be of help."
"You planning to use her?"
He turned to her. "I'm planning to keep her alive."
Sierra nodded slowly. "You said that about Benji and me too."
A pause.
"And you did."
Lower Storage Vault – Midnight
Nine sat alone now, wrapped in a thick coat, staring at a wall scrawled with old Firefly symbols.
Zane approached, steps slow.
She turned slightly.
"They hurt me. Made me… see things. I don't know if they're dreams or real."
Zane sat beside her.
"I see names sometimes. Ellie. Abby. A voice that says: 'Don't forget what he did.' Do you know what that means?"
Zane was quiet for a long time.
"No," he lied.
Nine looked at him, like she knew he wasn't telling the truth.
But she didn't press.
Instead, she asked, "Why did you take me in?"
Zane stared at the symbol on the wall.
"Because someone once told me the world doesn't get better unless you build something."
Nine frowned. "Who told you that?"
He hesitated.
"I think… I did."
Nine tilted her head.
"That's weird."
Zane smiled faintly. "You'll get used to it."
System Prompt – Hidden Interface
[RX-9 Integration Level: 3%]
[Redhollow Recovery Units: En Route – Estimated Time: 72 Hours]
[Unknown Entity Tracing: Active]
[Survivor Note: "We thought we buried him. We were wrong."]
[Threat Forecast: 62%]
[Fortification Recommended.]
Zane stared out across the treeline.
Night devoured the horizon.
And something beyond it had begun to move.