9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyASTjWYxUwThe moment hangs — Metro is glowing faintly, Sally's still trembling, Paul and Lilly cling to each other, Blake disappears into the cottage — and the whole world feels like it’s exhaling after holding its breath for too long.
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Ana’s cottage feels alive the moment they step inside. The air is warm, thick with the scent of simmering broth and crushed forest herbs. Wooden beams glow honey‑gold in the afternoon light, and bundles of dried lavender sway gently from the rafters. A kettle hums softly on the hearth. The place almost smells like safety — stew, smoke, and the faint sweetness of pine sap carries on everyone’s clothes.
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The red‑stained couch sits near the fire, worn but welcoming, its cushions shaped by years of exhausted bodies collapsing into them. Outside, the wind brushes the shutters. Inside, everything is still.
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Blake lies on the couch, head wrapped in cloth like a mummy. His breath trembles as Ana presses a clear vial into his hand. He drinks.
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Metro and Rose move to him without speaking — practiced, instinctive.
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Metro grips Blake’s shoulders, fingertips glowing with a soft white‑blue light. Rose kneels in front of Blake, her eyes sparkle, taking his hands gently, her aura blooming like warm sunlight. Blake gasps as her energy pours into him, his chest rising sharply.
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Across the room, Lilly presses both palms to Paul’s back. A star‑lit aura bursts around him, shimmering like constellations caught in motion. Paul’s wounds knits together beneath her touch — even the deep scar softens, fading like a memory.
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Paul is suddenly renewed.
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Paul:(stunned)
That is wonderful…
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(relieved beat)
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‘Ana, I think I'll take some bitter melon stew now.”
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Ana exhales and sets a massive pot on the table, steam rolling out in fragrant waves. Bowls clatter. Paul and Blake dig in immediately, hunger overriding everything.
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Lilly unwraps the bandages around Blake’s head. Beneath them, only a black eye remains.
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Ana:
“You look good, Blake.”
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Blake stares down at his stew, shoulders sinking. A shadow crosses his face — quiet, heavy. Everyone notices. No one speaks.
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Paul devours his meal like a man starved for days. Metro sits down slowly.
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At the round table, the gang settles into their places: Metro sitting down in his seat, Ana beside him, then Blake, then Paul, Lilly, and Rose at Metro’s right. The bowls steam. The room glows.
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Metro doesn’t touch his stew yet.
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Neither do the women.
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Metro looks at Blake, his shadowed demeanor, they way he won't look up from his stew.
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Metro:
Hey Blake… are you ok?
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Blake grunts,
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Blake:
I'm fine...
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Rose interrupts.
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Rose:
Who was that girl?
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Everyone stares Metro down
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Metro:
“I... don't know exactly, she said her name was Kathryn, gave me a ride outside of the great city. I told her briefly what was going on... I don't know who she is though. Besides her name.
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Rose reads Metro like never before and he feels it...
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Ana:
“Do you trust her?”
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Metro looks down, then up.
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Metro:
“Yea…”
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Blake lifts his head and drops his spoon with carelessness.
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It rattles.
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Blake:
“She saved me, no one's ever healed me that fast…”
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Paul stops eating and his face becomes disgruntled. He waves over the red juice from the canister. Ana pours his mug. Paul takes a long few gulps, wipes his mouth with his forearm.
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Paul:
“I just want to say... That I would have done again... You don't need to detain me in a box to question me. This has crossed the line the moment you took that deal with Theron. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for the rescue.”
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Paul winces in pain.
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Paul:
“Nevertheless, They came into my house... No warrant. I defended myself.’
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‘That's that.’
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‘Case closed.”
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Everyone looks deathly ill at Paul... He notices, and pulls his eyes away slowly, uncomfortably.
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Ana:
“I feel something evil pressing close.”
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Metro snaps his head at Ana
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Metro:(gazes at everyone)
Hasan is coming... For me, because I escaped detainment. Zacharias and all his priests want me dead. I've pacified King Felix, Theron's father... But it won't be enough to swing Hasan in my favor, especially now that the conspiracists are actively working hard…
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(a beat)
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‘Paul if your willing to stick with me, and not chop me in half, let's stick together, at least untill we get our cases cleared.”
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Lilly rubs Paul's back. Paul looks around at everyone warmly.
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Paul:
“Thanks for not giving up on me guys.”
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(long comfy beat)
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Rose:(shines radiantly)
“We love you Paul! You just scare us sometimes!”
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Everyone smiles a desperate release, any type is good at this point.
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Paul sets his spoon down.
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Paul:
“We need a plan. Now. Before they come looking.”
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Blake shifts, rubbing the side of his head.
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Blake:
“They will. The priest… he wasn’t normal. He kept asking about Metro. They kept hitting us... Striking us with whips wanting us to give up names and locations... I don’t know why this is happening…”
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He exhales shakily and grips his temples with his hand, eye closed, head down.
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Blake:
“I’m staying here for now. But tonight… I’m going to my mother’s. I need to be there.”
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Silence settles.
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Lilly grips Paul’s arm.
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Lilly:
“You’re not turning yourself in.”
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Paul shakes his head.
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Paul:
“I murdered five of them. They’ll hunt me either way. When Theron returns… I’ll face him. I’ll clear my name. That’s the only way this ends clean.
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Lilly's eyes burst with proud emotion.
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Dread fused with fear.
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Rose looks at Metro.
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Rose:
What happened in that cell?
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Metro’s jaw tightens.
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Metro:
“I… had a vision. I was asleep... I was prompted to see Theron, which led to Blake and Paul…”
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(beat)
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Metro:(looks around table)
“when I woke up, the cell door was open…”
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Ana looks at Metro deeply, reading more clearly than anyone in the room.
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Ana unfolds her arms.
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Ana:(voice low)
“We don’t know what’s moving behind all this. Not the priests. Not the Guard. Not Hasan.’
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‘…But something has touched Metro.”
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She looks around the table.
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Ana:
“Until we know what to do… we can’t stay here.”
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(beat)
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Ana:
“We’re going to have to run.”
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The room goes still.
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Everyone feels the truth of it.
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Then-BOOF BOOF BOOF!
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A violent pounding shakes the cottage door.
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