26. Where is She?

Charlie did not hesitate.

He changed direction instantly, abandoning the game. The part of him that had been laughing five minutes ago shut down without ceremony.

This was not a game anymore. He had slipped. He should’ve never let her out of his sight. What the hell was he thinking?

“Caleb,” he said into the chaos, his voice carrying in a way it had not before. It cut through the music, through the laughter. “Where did you last see her?”

Caleb skidded into view from behind a barricade, vest blinking red, grin gone like it had never existed. “Uh…upper level? I think? She said something about flank routes and then a kid yelled her name like it was a threat.”

Charlie was already moving. He took the ramp two steps at a time, ignoring the red lights flaring across his vest when someone tagged him from below. The buzzer chimed, bright and useless.

The game had rules.

He did not.

The upper level was worse than he expected. Fog hung thick and heavy, swallowing shapes after a few feet. Neon li