CHAPTER 234, THE FIRST STEP INTO EDEN
No one spoke as the echo of approaching footsteps drifted through the tunnel leading into the hidden valley. The silence spreading beneath the great tree was unlike the fearful silence Elena had witnessed during boardroom betrayals or corporate wars. This silence carried resolve. The children who had been laughing only minutes earlier now stood beside their parents, watching the entrance with wide but steady eyes. Elderly men and women rested weathered hands on younger shoulders, not to shield them from danger but to remind them that courage had always been something passed from one generation to the next. Elena realized these people had never trained for battle. They had prepared themselves to remain human, even when confronted by something that believed humanity needed to change.
