NEXT DAY
INT – EVAH'S ROOM – 9 AM
Evah hadn't slept. Every time she closed her eyes, the gunfire came back—sharp, relentless, echoing like a cursed soundtrack she couldn't turn off. She never saw what happened after Erion ordered her to keep her eyes shut, but that made it worse. Her imagination filled in the blanks, and the uncertainty gnawed at her.
The adrenaline from that night hadn't left her body. It lingered like poison, creeping back into her veins the moment she thought she was calm.
She used to think her life couldn't get any worse. She was wrong.
Now she had no job, no purpose. Just fear. Even the idea of stepping outside made her chest tighten.
But she couldn't keep living like this. She literally couldn't afford to. Her family—blissfully clueless about the chaos that had swallowed her whole—still depended on her. And she wasn't about to let them find out what had really happened.
Her phone rang. Yuka's face lit up the screen.
"Can I come visit? Why does it have to be on the other side of the world?" Evah forced a whine, trying to sound light.
"Not yet," Yuka replied, smiling softly from her hospital bed. "The doctor says visitors later. For now, focus on you." Yuka smiled softly, as always.
"Yuka..." Evah's voice cracked.
"Don't cry! I'm fine." Yuka laughed.
Evah looked away, biting her lip. "If I'd realized it earlier..."
"For the hundredth time—it's not your fault. If not for you, I'd be dead. Stop stressing me out!" Yuka scolded gently.
Evah's eyes burned. She wanted to believe her, but guilt twisted like a knife.
"If not for you and the Major General, I'd be gone." Yuka's soft voice bled straight into Evah's heart.
"He's part of the Grand Covenant Order. I don't trust them. He's a bad person, and he almost left you there," Evah snapped, her frustration bubbling over.
"Well, he had to be strategic. It's not always a simple decision." Yuka's tone was gentle, her weak body betraying her strength, but her words remained firm.
Evah rolled her eyes, muttering under her breath. Right. Journalists and law enforcement—both supposed to be heroes. Great. They all promise to save lives, don't they?
"Promise me you'll always answer my calls, okay?" Evah's voice trembled with urgency—protective, desperate.
"Of course. Stop blaming yourself!" Yuka's words came sharper this time, heavy with emotion. "I may never return to my career, not like this… but I'm thankful I'm alive. Someone literally risked their life for me. Evah—" a faint laugh slipped through, warm despite her pain, "—you're the sweetest thing I have."
Normally, Yuka's giggle would've lit Evah up. But now it only pressed heavier on her chest. Yuka was broken, yet still trying to cheer her up.
A knock interrupted them.
Evah frowned. No one knew her address but Yuka. The security camera feed showed nothing—just black. Broken?
"Who is it?" she called, but silence answered. Then, another knock.
Her heartbeat spiked. Enough. She stormed to the door and yanked it open—
And the world shifted.