Aden Aden Aden Instant

He stepped out of the truck, the air thick with the smell of salt, rotting wood, and wet earth. He pulled a flashlight from his pocket but did not turn it on. He moved by muscle memory toward the old pier.

"Marcus?" Elias called out, his voice barely louder than a whisper, swallowed by the crashing of the waves against the rocks below. Aden Aden Aden

"I found it, Elias," Marcus breathed, laughing a breathless, manic laugh. "What we were looking for back at the agency. The reason Silas disappeared. It wasn't an accident. They are clearing the board." He stepped out of the truck, the air

"You came alone?" The voice was Marcus's, but it was strained, thin. "Of course. What happened?" "Marcus

The truck bounced violently as Elias turned off the main road onto the dirt path leading to the ruins of the Aden cannery. He killed the lights a quarter-mile out, coasting the rest of the way in the dark, guided only by the faint, pale glow of the moon breaking through the mist.

Twenty minutes later, Elias was pushing his rusted truck through the dense coastal fog. The headlights barely punched through the grey soup, reflecting off the skeletal pine trees that lined the cliffside road. His mind raced back to the academy, to the four of them—Elias, Marcus, Silas, and Clara. They had promised to look out for each other, no matter where life scattered them. Marcus was the one who came up with the emergency protocol.