Side Story 4.92 - One Last Stand?

Johanis’ POV

The night didn’t stay still for long.

A breeze stirred the ash at our feet. I could feel it—soft at first, then sharper, as if the air itself was cutting through the quiet. The trees whispered in a language I couldn’t understand, their branches clawing at the stars like they were begging for help.

But no help came. All adults are still stuck in time.

Lily’s small hand clutched mine, and I could feel her heartbeat racing—too fast, too fragile. Mr. Bumble dangled from her other arm, one button eye missing, stuffing peeking through his seams.

“Joha,” she whispered, voice shaking, “..they’re not gone. They’re just hiding.”

I knew it. I felt it in my bones, in the fire that refused to die down inside me. The cracks beneath our feet hadn’t seale