Ren said nothing. He knew Kazik was right. He felt it just as painfully—they were pawns, cannon fodder thrown to the wolves. He looked toward Karolina, trembling, and the unconscious Dominik. Of the five who had entered the Gate, one was already dead, and one teetered on the edge of death. Only he and Kazik were still capable of fighting.

  "It was pointless..." Kazik kept whispering, despair and anger bleeding through his voice. "We were supposed to rescue those soldiers... but there’s no one to rescue! There’s only death!"

  Ren clenched his jaw. He looked at his friend, saw the tremble in his limbs—shock, fear, helplessness. He felt the same. His mind spun with a thousand frantic thoughts, all tinged with dread. But amid the chaos, another, darker feeling took root: hatred. Overcome, he shed out and kicked the nearest monster corpse.

  "These things..." he growled, gring into the dead creature’s gssy eyes. "They killed them... our people..."

  His voice caught. For a moment, he thought he could taste blood again—the memory of st year’s monster slicing his face open. The image of his father disappearing into a creature’s maw fshed before him—but this time, Ren shoved it aside. Not now. He had to stay strong.

  Karolina turned her head toward them, hearing their hushed, heated voices. Her face had gone gray, as if she'd aged ten years in the st fifteen minutes.

  "Let’s get out of here..." she begged, voice cracking. "Please... let’s just go back. While we still can..."

  Kazik nodded urgently. "Yes. Let’s go back. It’s the only way."

  Ren looked from one to the other. His heart ached at the thought of returning empty-handed—how would he face the people back at camp? Miss Irena? The mother of that boy whose mother he'd saved earlier? He’d stepped out of the crowd ready to give his life, and now what? Run away?

  "If we leave..." he said softly, "the Gate stays open."

  Kazik kicked a stone in frustration. "It’s going to stay open anyway! We’re not closing it, Ren! Open your eyes! The military couldn’t do it—what can we possibly do?!"

  "We don’t know that for sure..." Ren spoke slowly, though frustration boiled in his chest. "Maybe there’s something... something we can do."

  "Like what?!" Kazik threw his arms wide. "What can we do besides die?!"

  A tense silence followed. Karolina stood, unsteady, pulling Dominik’s limp arm over her shoulder. He groaned softly.

  "Please..." she whispered, locking eyes with Ren. "I have a family. A daughter... she’s waiting for me. I can’t die here."

  Her words stabbed straight through Ren. Family. A daughter. Karolina had someone to live for.

  Encouraged, Kazik grabbed Ren’s arm. "Come on. Let’s take Dominik and go back."

  Ren turned to where they’d come from. Through the trees, the Gate still shimmered faintly—open. He could see the blurred outline of the world outside, distorted like a mirage. So close. They could just turn back...

  But then he remembered the officer’s words before they entered. "Return immediately after completing the mission." The mission—to find the Gate’s source and the missing people. The source probably meant whatever was keeping the Gate open. An alpha creature. A boss. A nest—whatever it was.

  Ren didn’t know exactly what the source was, but in his bones, he felt it: if they just ran, the problem wouldn’t vanish. Maybe the military would bomb the pce ter. Maybe others would be sent in. But how many more would die? What if the monsters escaped?

  "We can’t..." he shook his head slowly.

  "What?" Kazik frowned. "What are you saying?"

  "We can’t just walk away." Ren met his eyes. "If we do, everything we’ve endured is wasted. The old man’s death. Dominik’s injuries."

  "Ren..." Kazik’s voice cracked with desperation. "The Gate will probably close eventually. You saw it—like the one in your memory. It shut down even though no one ‘closed’ it."

  A chill ran down Ren’s spine. That day. The Gate that had taken his family had closed on its own... after enough people died. He clenched his fists.

  "Exactly," he said, straightening. "If we don’t act, this one might close too—after ciming hundreds more. Maybe it’ll spill out and the monsters will sughter everyone outside."

  "It’s the Council’s fault!" Kazik exploded, waving his arms. "They put us here! They should’ve handled it!"

  "Maybe," Ren replied firmly. "But they’re not here. We are. What happens next—it’s up to us."

  Karolina shook her head, plugging her ears. "I don’t want to hear this... I don’t..."

  Ren approached her gently, pcing his hands on her shoulders. "Karolina..." he said softly, even as his own heart trembled. "If you want to go back, go. No one’s stopping you."

  She stared at him, dazed. She let Dominik slip from her grip, and Ren caught him quickly, easing him back against the tree. Karolina stepped away.

  "You... you’re going on? After all this?" Her voice was teetering on the edge of hysteria.

  Ren nodded slowly. "Yes. I am."

  Kazik cursed under his breath. "You’ve lost your damn mind..."

  "Maybe." Ren tried to smile—it came out more like a grimace. "Maybe I lost it long ago. The day I lost my family. But I know one thing—I’m not turning back. Not now."

  His words hung in the still air. The forest was silent, as if it too waited for the decision of the living.

  Karolina wiped her tears with her sleeve. She looked between Ren, Kazik, and Dominik. She bit her lip so hard it bled.

  Ren frowned. "And you?"

  She stepped back toward the bushes. "I don’t have your strength," she said, shaking her head. "I can’t go on. I’ll head back to the Gate. Maybe... maybe I’ll make it."

  "Karolina..." Kazik started, but she raised a hand.

  "You won’t change my mind." Her voice was trembling but resolute. Her eyes were wild. Her face quivered. "Just... help me take Dominik. If you make it out... bring him home."

  Ren exchanged a gnce with Kazik. It was a terrible situation. He wanted to press on. Kazik wanted to retreat. Karolina had already made up her mind. What now?

  "I’ll help you to the Gate," Kazik said softly. "I’ll get both of you out."

  "No!" Ren protested immediately. "We can’t split up."

  Kazik gred. "I’m not leaving her alone, Ren. She’s scared. Hurt..."

  Anger surged in Ren. Why couldn’t they understand? "If we leave, no one else is coming. The Gate will stay open until it swallows more lives!"

  "Not yours!" Kazik shouted, voice breaking. "Not yours! Ren, brother..." He lowered his voice, pleading. "I don’t want to lose another person I love."

  The words hit Ren like a hammer. Kazik stood before him, arm outstretched, shaking, eyes wet with tears he could no longer hide. Ren felt his own eyes sting.

  "Kazik..." he whispered.

  For a long moment, they just looked at each other. Karolina took another step toward the Gate, like a shadow trying to flee the nightmare.

  "Ren, please..." Kazik’s voice was soft, aching. "Let’s go back together. It’s not cowardice. We did what we could. Now we need to survive."

  Ren trembled. Inside him, two forces cshed: the desperate desire to flee this hell and live... and a silent, burning resolve to not let others suffer because of this Gate.

  He took a deep breath. He looked at Dominik, slumped against the tree. His bandages soaked red. Still breathing. Still fighting. He hasn't given up, Ren thought.

  He slowly knelt, lifted Dominik’s limp arm over his shoulders, and hoisted the boy partially onto his back. He groaned under the weight—light as Dominik was, dead weight was heavier than it seemed.

  "Alright," he said quietly. "Let’s go to the exit."

  Relief and disbelief fshed across Kazik’s face. Karolina sobbed softly, hands csped like in prayer.

  They moved cautiously toward the Gate. Karolina led the way, stumbling every few steps, constantly looking back, afraid something might follow. Ren walked just behind her, half-bent under Dominik’s weight. Kazik brought up the rear, rifle ready.

  The path between twisted trunks felt longer than before. Every rustle of leaves made Ren flinch. He could hear his own heartbeat pounding, and Dominik’s bored breaths against his ear. The boy muttered softly—either dreaming or semi-conscious. It sounded like he was calling for his mother.

  Ren’s throat tightened.

  Finally, the shimmering oval of the Gate came into view between the trees—a soft glow revealing a fragment of the ruined world outside. Karolina gasped and broke into a shaky jog.

  "We’re here... oh God, we’re here..." she repeated, reaching toward the Gate like it was salvation.