The next morning broke with a blood-orange sky stretching over the stash house in the hills. Mist clung to the ground like a ghost refusing to leave. It was quiet — too quiet.
Muzi sat at the edge of the compound, sharpening a rusted machete. His muscles ached from the previous night's trial, but his focus was razor-sharp.
> [Stamina: 84%]
[Reflex Foundation: Passive Activation]
[Bangani Link – Sphilile: Stable, Synchronized]
Behind him, footsteps approached.
"Meeting. Now," Banele said. "Something's wrong."
---
Inside the stash house, the survivors gathered. Sbonelo stood near a broken chalkboard, arms crossed. Shlelelwe had pinned a crumpled map to the wall.
"This area," she said, circling a marked zone near the Green Ridge slums, "should've been dead. We pulled back. But last night we intercepted a radio burst — encrypted, but close."
Muzi leaned forward. "Close how?"
Sbonelo answered, "Close like someone inside the circle is still talking."
A thick silence followed.
Banele clenched his fists. "You sure it wasn't a ghost signal?"
"No," Shlelelwe said. "This one had coordinates… ours."
Murmurs rose. Muzi's eyes swept the room. Some avoided his gaze. Others looked confused. One or two looked too calm.
> [System Ping: Emotional Inconsistency Detected – Target Unknown]
[Suspicion Level: Rising]
Shlelelwe stepped forward. "This doesn't leave the room. We flush the snake before it coils tighter."
Sbonelo turned to Muzi. "You're newer. Less likely to be compromised. You and Banele start with recon. Sphilile — tail the quiet ones. If they flinch, report it. Don't act."
"Understood," Sphilile said firmly.
> [New Mission: Unmask the Traitor]
[Optional Objective: Interrogate Suspect Without Blowing Cover]
[Reward: ???]
---
That night, Muzi stood on the ridge above the compound, eyes on the valley below. He wasn't alone.
"Training first," a voice growled from the mist.
Jobe.
From the shadows behind him, Manana appeared too, swaying his calabash. "You want to sniff out liars, boy? First learn to trust your instincts."
Muzi dropped into stance.
"Again?"
Jobe didn't answer — he attacked.
A flurry of blows rained in. Muzi deflected, stumbled, rolled, countered. Every impact burned his shoulders and sharpened his reactions.
> [Reflex +1%]
[Training XP Accumulating – Progress 12% to Next Threshold]
Manana stepped in. "You think strength is in muscles? Strength is when you feel the blade before it's drawn."
Another palm strike. Muzi blocked it — barely. His breathing quickened. His world narrowed.
He wasn't training for power anymore.
He was training to survive the people sitting beside him at night.
---
Later, bruised and silent, Muzi returned to the camp. Sphilile waited by the doorway.
"We might have a lead," she whispered. "But it's… strange."
"How?"
"Whoever it is — they're not scared. They're confident. Like they want us to find them."
Muzi's heart thudded.
> [System Note: Mazwi's Name Echo Detected – Unconfirmed Presence Nearby]
The traitor wasn't hiding.
They were hunting from within.
---
Who do you think the traitor is? Comment below with your suspicions.
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