Chapter 38 Jase
Jase
Location: Lower Ridge — Adriatic Coast
Idon’t like the silence.
Out here, silence doesn’t mean safety.
It means they’re repositioning.
Watching.
Waiting.
“They’re not done,” I say, scanning the tree line again.
“No,” Ronan’s voice comes low through comms. “They pulled back too clean. This isn’t over.”
Of course it isn’t.
Nothing about this has been simple.
I crouch slightly, adjusting my stance, tracking movement patterns that aren’t there yet—but will be.
“They’ll try to flank again,” Cal mutters.
“Or funnel us downhill,” Lance adds.
I glance toward the slope—toward the water we saw earlier.
Too exposed.
Too open.
Dead zone.
“Not happening,” I say.
Mila steps up beside me like she’s been there the whole time.
Maybe she has.
“They won’t repeat the same move,” she says quietly. “They’ll change the angle.”
I look at her.
“Where?”
She doesn’t answer right away.
She listens.
Feels it.
Then—
Her head turns slightly.
“East side,” she says.
Ronan’s voice comes a second later.
“…She’s right.”
A beat.
Then—
Gunfire explodes from the trees to our right.
“CONTACT—EAST!” Jonah shouts.
Too close.
They adjusted faster than I thought.
“MOVE!” I bark.
We scatter just enough—controlled, not breaking formation.
Rounds tear through the trees, bark splintering, dirt kicking up around us.
“They’re pushing hard!” Lance calls.
“They want us moving again!” Cal adds.
“Then we don’t give them control,” Mila snaps.
She’s already moving.