THIRTY-SEVEN

James reacts to the news of their flight with excitement rather than fear, treating the escape as a shared mission and wanting to help. Adam tries to keep James calm and protected, while Kenji encourages James more freely, irritating Adam. Juliette realizes James has probably already seen enough violence to make Kenji’s injuries and their danger seem almost normal.

Adam asks Kenji how far the safe location is, and Kenji says it will take hours on foot but they could arrive by nightfall. When Adam reveals he has access to a tank, Kenji is delighted, but Adam notes it is too noticeable in daylight. Before they can settle on a plan, Kenji hears something approaching and realizes they have almost no time.

Adam leads everyone into James’s room and reveals a hidden exit behind a curtain. As warning beeps sound in the living room, Adam shoots the exit lock, and an explosion tears through the house behind them. Gunfire and soldiers fill the area as Adam carries James and the group flees into the muddy streets, no longer able to hide.

Kenji, still injured, falls behind in an alley and says the others should leave him. Adam refuses because Kenji is the only one who knows where to go. Loudspeakers announce armed rebels and impose curfew, causing bystanders to notice the fugitives and panic as soldiers close in.

Juliette notices that James’s neighborhood is not a regulated compound but abandoned, illegal land populated mainly by the elderly and orphaned, a discovery that deepens her fear for James. Adam breaks into a deserted building and makes a risky decision: he leaves James with Kenji while Adam and Juliette go to steal a car. Adam promises James he will return, threatens Kenji if James is harmed, and then takes Juliette back into the streets.