The air was colder than usual, sharp enough to sting the boys' lungs as they headed down an empty corridor of rusted scaffolding. Gavin led the way, eyes narrowed, mapping every shadow and rusted beam above them. Varik walked a step behind, tapping the handle of his shiv against his thigh, a nervous habit he'd deny if asked. Lux trailed closest to Gavin, unusually quiet.
They were on their way back from collecting scraps of metal and cloth for patching their shelter. Nothing valuable. Nothing worth stealing.
And yet trouble never cared about worth.
Gavin spotted movement ahead before the others did: three shapes leaning against a bent railing, talking too low to be casual. As they stepped into view, Varik muttered a curse under his breath.
"Frostwalkers."
Not the same group as before, but the same type. Wrapped jackets, mismatched armor, cracked knuckles. Scavenger predators.
Lux immediately looked down at the ground.
"Don't react," Gavin murmured. "Keep walking."
"Sure hope they're in a good mood," Varik whispered.
They weren't.
The tallest Frostwalker peeled off from the group and strutted straight toward them, a crooked grin stretching over broken teeth.
"Well, look who we've got," he said. "Our little neighborhood rats."
Gavin stepped subtly forward. "We're passing through. Move."
"Or what?" the tall one laughed. "You gonna scowl me to death?"
The others joined him, forming a loose semicircle.
Lux swallowed, pressing closer to Gavin's back.
"We don't want trouble," Gavin repeated.
The tall one leaned down, face inches from Gavin's. "Then hand over your bags."
Gavin didn't blink. "No."
A tense silence stretched.
Then the tall Frostwalker swung his arm.
But Gavin was already moving.
He ducked under the wild punch, caught the man's wrist, and drove his knee into the attacker's thigh. Hard. The tall one stumbled with a grunt.
Varik rushed the next attacker like a dart, shiv flashing. He didn't stab, Gavin taught him never to start a killing blow unless survival demanded it, but he slashed across the man's knuckles, drawing blood.
Lux stood frozen, until one of the Frostwalkers grabbed him by the coat and yanked him forward.
"Got this one—!"
Lux screamed.
It wasn't loud. It wasn't desperate.
It was… hot.
The sound vibrated in the air, shaking something small and unseen.
The Frostwalker holding him flinched, eyes widening as steam curled from Lux's collar. Gavin saw it. Varik saw it. The attacker felt it.
"The hell—?"
Lux's breath came out in a white, heated burst—not cold frost, but warm air. The boy looked terrified, not understanding what was happening, shoulders trembling as heat radiated off him in pulses.
The attacker recoiled.
Gavin seized the moment.
He lunged toward Lux's captor, slammed his shoulder into the man's ribs, knocked him flat, and hauled Lux back by the collar.
Varik, meanwhile, had cornered his opponent against a scaffolding beam, striking sharply at soft points: throat, jaw, ribs, coordinated and efficient. For someone half-starved, Varik moved like a fighter twice his size.
The Frostwalkers regrouped, backing away, startled by both the boys' resistance and whatever strange warmth Lux had just emitted.
"Freaks," muttered the tall one, clutching his leg. "Ain't worth it today. Let's go."
They left quickly. Not defeated, just confused enough to want distance.
Gavin didn't chase. He waited until their footsteps faded before turning on Lux.
"What was that?" he asked, voice steady but sharp.
Lux's lip quivered. "I-I don't know. I just got scared and everything felt… hot. Inside."
Varik frowned. "You didn't see it? The air around him, it shimmered. Like heat over metal."
Gavin stared at Lux, searching his face for answers Lux didn't have.
A faint warmth still radiated from the boy's chest, like a dying ember in a frostbitten world.
"We'll talk about it later," Gavin said. "Right now, we move."
They left the scene quickly, the strange warmth fading as Lux regained control of his breathing.
But something else didn't fade.
Something in the shadows across the walkway.
A pair of eyes, watching.
Measuring.
Not completely human.
Not quite beast.
Lux didn't see it.
Gavin didn't either.
It whispered to itself.
"Another one, eh"