Chapter 92

Chapter 92

And somehow

Cassian almost believed him.

For a terrifying second, he let himself imagine it.

A future.

Not survival.

Not another mission.

Not another laboratory.

A future.

The thought felt foreign.

Dangerous.

Wonderful.

Then the chamber shook so violently that reality came crashing back.

Concrete exploded from the ceiling.

Steel beams groaned overhead.

The floor cracked beneath the synchronization platform.

“REACTOR COLLAPSE IN THIRTY SECONDS.”

Seraphine pointed toward the exit again.

“Run.”

Nobody moved.

Because Cassian still couldn't stand.

Luca refused to leave him.

Damon refused to leave Luca.

Mira refused to leave any of them.

And Hale

For once

Hale looked genuinely uncertain.

“Move,” Seraphine snapped.

Cassian weakly raised a hand.

“Before we continue…”

A rough breath.

“Can someone explain why we keep having emotional breakthroughs during active explosions?”

Damon stared at him.

“You are literally dying.”

“Yes.”

“Most people would focus on that.”

Cassian considered this.

“Counterpoint.”

A painful inhale.

“I've never been normal.”

The chamber lurched violently again.

A massive support beam crashed somewhere behind them.

That finally broke the paralysis.

Damon moved first.

“We’re leaving.”

Luca immediately looked toward Cassian.

Cassian tried to stand.

And immediately collapsed.

“Fantastic.”

His legs gave out beneath him completely.

The neural overload had destroyed too much.

Luca was already moving before Cassian hit the ground.

Strong arms catching him.

Holding him.

Cassian blinked in surprise.

Because Luca had lifted him effortlessly.

Princess style.

Dead silence.

Seraphine froze.

Damon froze.

Mira froze.

Even Hale looked confused.

Cassian stared up at Luca.

“…seriously?”

Luca frowned.

“What?”

“Of all the ways to carry me.”

“You can't walk.”

“That doesn't answer the question.”

Damon covered his mouth.

Trying and failing not to laugh.

Seraphine immediately lost the battle.

“Oh my God.”

“Stop it,” Luca snapped.

“You are carrying him like you're escaping a romance novel.”

“I will leave you here.”

“You won't.”

“I might.”

“You absolutely won't.”

The worst part?

Everyone knew Cassian was right.

Even Luca.

Another explosion tore through the facility.

The wall behind them collapsed inward.

Fire spreading through exposed wiring.

“NOW,” Hale barked.

And finally

They ran.

The escape tunnel shook violently around them.

Dust and debris raining from the ceiling.

Emergency lights flashing red overhead.

Mira clung tightly to Damon’s hand.

Seraphine stayed ahead.

Weapon drawn.

Instinctively protecting the group.

Hale moved behind them.

Constantly checking structural integrity readings from a damaged handheld device.

And Luca

Luca carried Cassian.

Despite the protests.

Despite the jokes.

Despite the increasingly ridiculous situation.

Cassian rested weakly against his chest.

Too exhausted now to keep talking constantly.

Which scared Luca more than the explosions.

Because Cassian always talked.

Always joked.

Always filled silence before it could become dangerous.

The quiet felt wrong.

Luca looked down sharply.

“Cassian.”

A weak hum answered him.

“Stay awake.”

Cassian opened one eye.

“There it is.”

“What?”

“That sentence.”

Luca frowned.

“What about it?”

Cassian smiled faintly.

“You keep saying it.”

Because Luca was terrified.

They both knew it.

Neither said it.

The tunnel shook violently again.

A section collapsed behind them.

Blocking the path they came through.

No going back now.

Only forward.

The symbolism felt insulting.

Damon glanced backward.

“We're cutting this way too close.”

“We know,” Seraphine snapped.

“Just checking.”

Mira suddenly stopped.

Everyone froze instantly.

“Mira?”

She looked back toward the collapsing facility behind them.

Toward the place where the neural archive died.

Toward the place where generations of suffering finally ended.

Then softly

She smiled.

“They're gone.”

No tears this time.

Just peace.

Luca felt something loosen inside his chest hearing that.

Because for the first time

The children were free.

Not trapped.

Not suffering.

Free.

The realization carried him forward.

Step after step.

The tunnel began sloping upward.

Toward daylight.

Toward escape.

Toward a world none of them fully knew how to live in yet.

Cassian looked upward weakly.

“Do you think…”

His voice trailed off.

Luca immediately looked down.

“What?”

Cassian stared toward the distant light at the end of the tunnel.

And for the first time

There was no sarcasm.

No joke.

No shield.

Just honesty.

“Do you think we're allowed to be happy after this?”

The question broke something inside everyone.

Because it wasn't really about happiness.

It was about survival.

About guilt.

About all the people who didn't make it.

The children.

The victims.

The lives destroyed.

Luca looked at him carefully.

Then answered with absolute certainty.

“Yes.”

Cassian swallowed hard.

“Why?”

Luca tightened his grip slightly.

Making sure Cassian felt it.

Making sure he stayed present.

“Because suffering wasn't the point.”

Silence.

Then Damon quietly added:

“And surviving isn't something you have to apologize for.”

Mira nodded immediately.

“They'd want us to.”

The children.

Everyone knew who she meant.

Cassian closed his eyes briefly.

Not to disappear.

Just to feel.

And for the first time in years

He let himself believe it might be true.

Ahead of them

Bright sunlight waited beyond the tunnel exit.

Freedom.

If they could reach it in time.