ARIEL’S POVThe gunshot didn’t feel real. It came muffled and distant, like my mind rejected it before it could fully register.Then the window exploded. Glass burst inward with a violent crack, shards slicing through the air like a storm. I screamed as something sharp grazed my arm, heat blooming where it cut.Before I could react, Evana slammed into me, dragging me down.“Get down!”The floor knocked the breath out of me as cold air rushed through the shattered window, biting and invasive. Another shot followed—closer this time. Too close.“Move!” Evana’s grip tightened painfully around my arm as she pulled me up and toward the hallway.“Mom!” I shouted, panic rising as I looked around.“I’m here!” my mother called, her voice trembling and unsteady as she stumbled out just as another crack split the air.I didn’t think, I ran to her, grabbing her hand. “Come on, now!”There was no time, no plan, just survival.Evana shoved the neighbor’s door open without hesitation.“Inside. Now.”
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