The Eastern Sector stretched out before them, familiar and strange all at once. Noah walked alongside his team toward the imposing gates of Academy 12, their civilian clothes feeling odd after months of military uniforms. The afternoon sun cast long shadows across the pathway, and in the distance, the academy's main building rose against the skyline like a monument to their collective past.
"Do you think they'll even let us in?" Kelvin asked, adjusting the strap of his bag.
Noah glanced at the security checkpoint ahead. "Of course. This is an academy, not a base. Hundreds of people go up and down from the main city to the outside districts every day. We're not exactly infiltrating enemy territory."
"Says the guy who just quit the military," Diana muttered, though there was humor in her voice.
Sophie walked close enough to Noah that their shoulders brushed occasionally. "It feels strange being back here. Like we're completely different people than the kids who left."
