BLUE SKY

10:30 AM. Melbourne Central, Surface.

The sun was out.

Real sunlight. Not that sick red glow from the last 3 days. It hurt Ethan’s eyes. He hadn’t seen real light in so long he’d forgotten how it felt.

Around them, Melbourne was still broken. Buildings with holes. Cars flipped. Ash on the ground. But people were moving. Captain’s soldiers. Medics. Survivors crawling out of shelters.

The black moon was still there. But it was small now. Faint. Like someone had smudged it with an eraser.

Lily sat on a curb, drinking water too fast. "My stomach hurts."

"Drink slow." Selena said. She was sitting next to her, cleaning her katana. Or what was left of it. The blade was chipped in 3 places. "We’ll get food soon."

Ethan stood a few feet away. The black journal in his hands. He hadn’t opened it yet. He just stared at the sky.

"Never thought I’d miss this." He said quietly.

Selena looked up. "The sky?"

"Blue." Ethan said. "I thought it would be red forever."

Selena stood and walked to him. She didn’t say anything. Just stood next to him. Their shoulders touched.

Captain walked over. His uniform was torn and dirty. "Medical tent is set up two blocks over. You three should go."

"We’re fine." Ethan said.

"You’re not." Captain looked at their cuts, their bruises. "And I need that book."

Ethan handed it over. "It’s all there. Names. Other cities. Other ritual sites."

Captain took it like it was made of glass. "This... this is everything. We can stop them before they start."

"There are others?" Lily asked, small voice.

Captain nodded. "Three. One in Brisbane. One in Perth. One in Adelaide."

The air got heavy again.

Selena closed her eyes. "Of course there are."

"But we have time now." Captain said. "The Moon is fading. It’ll take them weeks to start another ritual. Weeks we can use."

Ethan looked at Selena. Then at Lily. "Then we go."

"Not today." Captain said. "Today you rest. Eat. Sleep. You’ve been fighting for 72 hours straight."

Ethan wanted to argue. But his body was screaming at him to stop. His ribs hurt. His hands were shaking.

"Fine." He said. "One day."

---

*THE MEDICAL TENT*

It was chaos but organized chaos. Cots in rows. Doctors running. People crying, hugging, looking for family.

A nurse cleaned Ethan’s cuts. "You’re lucky. Nothing broken."

"I’ve felt worse." Ethan said.

"You probably have." The nurse wrapped his ribs. "Rest for 24 hours. No fighting."

Selena was in the next cot. A different nurse was stitching her arm. She didn’t make a sound.

Lily was already asleep on a cot, a blanket pulled up to her chin.

Ethan sat on the edge of his cot and watched her sleep. Her face was dirty but peaceful. For the first time in days.

Selena limped over and sat next to him. "She’s okay."

"Yeah." Ethan said. "She is."

They sat in silence. The tent was loud around them but it felt quiet.

"You think it’s really over?" Selena asked. "Here, I mean."

Ethan thought about it. "The ritual is. The Moon is fading. But the Infected are still out there."

"And the Cult." Selena added. "Brisbane. Perth. Adelaide."

Ethan nodded. "We’ll deal with them."

Selena looked at him. "Together?"

Ethan took her hand. Her fingers were cold. "Together."

She squeezed back. "Good."

The nurse came back. "You need to sleep. Both of you."

They didn’t argue.

---

*NIGHT*

Ethan woke up to darkness. No red light. Just normal dark.

He was in a cot. Blanket over him. His body ached but it was a good ache. The kind that meant he was alive.

Lily was asleep next to him, curled up like a cat.

Across from him, Selena was awake. Staring at the ceiling of the tent.

"Can’t sleep?" Ethan whispered.

She turned her head. "Too quiet."

Ethan smiled a little. "You’re used to fighting now.

"Guess so." She sat up. "You okay?"

"Yeah.He sat up too. His ribs protested but not bad. "You?"

"Same." She looked at her hands. The bandages were clean. "We should talk about what’s next."

Ethan nodded. "Brisbane is closest. 2 days by train if the lines are open."

"Then we go to Brisbane." Selena said it like it was obvious.

Ethan looked at her. "You don’t have to. You could stay. Rest. The Captain said—"

"I’m going." Selena cut him off. "Bond, remember? Where you go, I go."

Ethan wanted to tell her she deserved rest. That she’d done enough. But he knew she wouldn’t listen.

"Then we go to Brisbane. He said instead.

Selena relaxed a little. "Okay."

They heard a small sound. Lily had rolled over in her sleep and grabbed Ethan’s shirt.

He smoothed her hair back. "She’s gonna be mad when she wakes up and we’re leaving."

"Then we won’t tell her until morning." Selena said. "Let her sleep."

They sat there for a while. Just sitting. No fighting. No running.

It felt weird.

"Do you remember?" Selena asked suddenly. "Before?"

"Before what?"

"Before all this. What was your life like?"

Ethan thought back. It felt like a different person’s life. "Normal. Work. Apartment. TV. Nothing special."

"What about you?"

Selena was quiet for a long time. "Same. Worked in a museum. Night security. Read a lot. No family."

"Sounds nice.

"It was." She looked at him. "Until it wasn’t."

Ethan didn’t know what to say to that. So he just took her hand again.

Outside the tent, someone was playing music. Soft. A radio.

It was the first normal thing he’d heard in days.

---

*MORNING*

The sun was up when Lily woke up.

She sat up immediately. "Where are we going?"

Ethan and Selena were already packed. Two bags. Water. Food. The map.

"Brisbane." Ethan said.

Lily sighed but didn’t argue. "Okay. But I’m driving the train this time.

Selena laughed. Actually laughed. "Deal."

They walked out of the tent into bright morning.

Melbourne was still a mess. But it was a living mess now. People were cleaning. Soldiers were patrolling. Kids were playing in the street with a ball made of rags.

It wasn’t perfect. But it was alive.

Captain met them at the train station. A single train was running. Patched up but working.

"You sure you want to go now? He asked.

"We have to." Ethan said. "Before they start the next one."

Captain nodded. He handed Ethan a radio. "Stay in contact. And Ethan..."

Yeah?

Thank you.

Ethan didn’t know what to say to that. So he just nodded.

They boarded the train. Just the three of them and 2 soldiers for security.

As the train pulled out, Ethan looked out the window.

Melbourne got smaller behind them. Smoke and broken buildings. But also people. Working. Rebuilding.

The black moon was barely visible now. Just a faint shadow.

Selena sat next to him. Lily was asleep on her shoulder.

"We’re really doing this, huh?" Selena said.

"Looks like it." Ethan said.

"Good." She leaned her head on his shoulder. "I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else."

Ethan didn’t answer. He just put his arm around her.

The train moved forward. Away from Melbourne. Toward Brisbane.

Toward the next fight.

But for now, the sky was blue. The sun was warm. And they were together.

That was enough.

[ARC 2: CLOSED]

[LOCATION: TRAIN TO BRISBANE]

[NEXT THREAT: UNKNOWN

Outside the window, clouds moved. And for the first time in a long time, it looked like a normal sky.