The impact echoes longer than it should.
For a second, no one moves.
Then everything happens at once.
"THORIAN!" Kaida's scream cuts through the night as she drops beside him, hands shaking as she lifts his head slightly. "Stay with me, please—"
He groans faintly.
Alive.
Barely steady.
Summer is already dialing. "Hospital. Now."
Prince runs a hand through his hair, pacing once, twice. "We're splitting. We don't have time."
Kaida nods immediately. "I'm taking him."
"I'm coming with you," Summer says, already opening the back door.
Zyren hesitates—just for a second—then looks at her. "Call me."
"I will," she says, voice tight.
Ryan exhales. "We'll find Lyrelle."
Jake's jaw tightens. "We all will."
Aurora leans against the car, watching like she's memorizing outcomes.
Kyra doesn't speak.
She can't.
Engines start again.
Chaos, divided.
Lyrelle runs.
Not thinking.
Not stopping.
Her chest burns, legs aching, but she keeps going like if she slows down even a little, everything will catch up to her.
Voices echo in her head.
Kyra.
Prince.
Kaida.
Saph.
She stumbles, nearly falling, then pushes forward again.
"I trusted you," she whispers to no one, breath breaking.
Her phone buzzes in her hand.
She doesn't look.
She throws it.
It hits the ground and skids away.
She doesn't go back.
Ryan, Zyren, and Jason search street after street.
"Split corners," Ryan says, scanning. "Stay in sight."
Jason runs a hand through his hair. "She wouldn't go somewhere crowded."
Zyren shakes his head. "No. She'd run somewhere quiet."
They turn into a dim street.
And then—
Zyren spots her.
"Lyrelle."
She's at the end of the road, arms wrapped around herself, shaking.
He slows down as he approaches.
"Hey," he says gently.
She doesn't turn.
"Don't come closer," she whispers.
He stops immediately.
Ryan and Jason hang back.
Zyren keeps his voice low. "We're not here to drag you back."
Silence.
Then—
She laughs.
Broken.
"You should," she says. "That's what friends do, right?"
Zyren doesn't respond immediately.
She turns now.
Her eyes are red. Empty and full at the same time.
"I trusted them," she says, voice trembling. "Not just like normal trust. I trusted them with everything."
Her breath stutters.
"Prince…" she shakes her head. "I don't even have words for him yet."
Her voice cracks harder.
"But Kyra?" she whispers. "Kaida?"
Zyren stays quiet.
She steps back, shaking.
"Kyra was supposed to be my safe place. My person when things got messy."
Tears fall freely now.
"And Kaida…" her voice drops to a whisper. "Kaida was my first best friend."
Zyren's expression softens.
"She knew me before all of this," Lyrelle continues. "Before boys, before drama, before anything. Second grade. We used to share lunch, share secrets, everything…"
Her voice breaks completely.
"And she still chose silence."
The words hang heavy.
"I could've handled the truth," she says, shaking her head. "But they didn't even give me the chance."
Zyren takes a small step forward.
This time, she doesn't stop him.
"They didn't choose silence because they don't care," he says quietly.
She laughs bitterly. "Then why?"
"Because they're weak," he says simply. "And scared."
That lands differently.
Lyrelle looks at him.
"You think that makes it better?"
"No," Zyren says. "It just makes it real."
Silence.
Her shoulders start shaking again.
"I don't want this anymore," she whispers. "The game, the lies, the friendships… everything just feels fake now."
Zyren exhales slowly.
Then, carefully, he steps closer.
Close enough now.
Not touching yet.
"You don't have to decide everything tonight," he says.
She looks at him like she's holding on by a thread.
"I don't even know who I am in this group anymore," she admits.
Zyren finally pulls her into a hug.
She doesn't resist.
She collapses into it.
Crying fully now.
Raw. Loud. Real.
Behind them, Ryan looks away slightly.
Jason exhales quietly.
No jokes this time.
Somewhere else—
Kaida sits in the hospital hallway, hands stained slightly, staring at nothing.
Summer stands beside her, arms folded, unusually silent.
The weight of everything finally settling.
Back on the street—
Lyrelle's crying softens slowly.
But she doesn't let go of Zyren.
Not yet.
And for the first time since everything broke—
She isn't running.