Chapter 12 - Voices from the Dark
By midnight, the van had crossed into the mountainous exclusion zone, an area designated as a communications dead zone decades ago to prevent external interference with the central servers. Here, the air was sharp with the scent of wet pine and freezing stone. The constant digital hum that permeated modern cities was utterly absent, replaced by the profound, heavy silence of the ancient wilderness.
Leo woke up slowly, blinking in the dim light of the cabin. ""Mama?"" he asked groggily, rubbing his eyes. ""Are the bad men gone?""
""They're gone, my love,"" Sarah said, offering him a metal canteen of fresh water. He drank greedily, two small hands gripping the bottle. ""Nobody is going to hurt you anymore.""
""I was scared,"" he whispered, looking down at his shoes. ""They said I was bad because nobody liked me.""
Sarah felt a sharp pang in her chest that felt like broken glass. She knelt in front of the bench, taking his small, cold hands into hers. ""You listen to me, Leo,"" she said, looking straight into his clear brown eyes. ""Your worth is not a number on a screen. You do not exist to be watched by strangers. You exist because you are alive, and you are loved, and that is more than enough.""
Leo nodded solemnly, though she knew the wound of that afternoon would take years to heal.
Suddenly, the dashboard terminal hissed with static. A low, distorted voice broke through the radio channel, cutting through the silence.
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""Sarah Vance... if you can hear this... you are not alone. This is the Free Network Coalition in Sector Four. We saw your son. We saw the raid. Three municipal facilities have been shut down by the citizens. Tell us what you need.""
Sarah looked at the radio receiver, a spark of hope flaring in the dark.
