We had finally crossed the snowy terrain, but the weight of the snowfall slowed us down a lot. Each step felt like trudging through quicksand, and my boots sank deep into the powder with every move. The cold bit into my skin, and the wind howled through the trees like a warning.

  I pulled my jacket tighter, trying to keep the chill from creeping into my bones. My breath puffed out in white clouds that vanished into the gray sky.

  "So, what's the plan now?" I asked, my voice barely cutting through the wind. "We never really talked about what we do once we get here."

  Nikki, always quick on her feet, answered, "Why don't we do what we did in the simulation?"

  Malachi shook his head with a snort. "What, take down everyone in sight? That would take months. We don’t have that kind of time."

  Nikki shot him a look. “No, not that. I mean, we should look for some kind of hidden holding area. Underground, maybe. It’s a guess, but it makes sense.”

  September nodded. “She’s got a point. If Dr. Jones is here, that’s probably where they’re keeping him. But the real problem is getting in without being caught.”

  I rubbed my gloved hands together, trying to warm them. “What if he’s not even here? What if we’re risking our necks for nothing?”

  Malachi sighed. “Let’s hope that’s not the case. We need to focus. First, we get inside.”

  We started circling the perimeter of the stone fortress, our boots crunching softly on the snow. The place looked even more intimidating up close. The stone walls were massive, rough, and coated with frost, like the fortress itself was frozen in time.

  Icicles hung from the edges of the battlements, glinting faintly in the gray daylight. The towering structure made me feel small, like an ant crawling at the feet of a giant.

  After checking three sides and finding nothing, we reached the last section of the wall. Suddenly, a loud creak echoed from somewhere inside, making us freeze in place.

  "What was that?" Nikki whispered, her eyes wide.

  Malachi groaned. “Why do you always say the obvious?”

  Before Nikki could snap back, she noticed something. She knelt down and brushed away a layer of snow, revealing a hidden metal handle.

  “Got something!” she whispered, excited.

  We gathered around as she yanked it open, revealing a narrow trapdoor with stairs leading down into the dark.

  “Well, what do you know...” Malachi said with a grin. “Let’s go.”

  We carefully descended, the cold stone steps slippery beneath our boots. Dim lights flickered along the corridor below, casting eerie shadows on the damp walls. The air was colder here, and it smelled musty, like a place long forgotten.

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  “Where is everyone?” I whispered, uneasy. “Shouldn’t this place be guarded?”

  Malachi tensed. “Or maybe we just walked into a trap.”

  Our breaths were shallow as we crept forward. We peeked around a corner and saw two guards standing at the end of the hallway, chatting casually. Their uniforms were black, with red patches on their arms. They carried rifles, though they seemed relaxed.

  “Back up,” Malachi whispered. We retreated to a safer spot.

  “How do we get past them?” Nikki asked.

  September flexed her fingers. “I’ve got this.”

  Before we could stop her, she strode forward, moving fast. She landed a clean punch to the first guard’s jaw, dropping him like a sack of bricks. The second guard fumbled for his weapon, but September delivered a swift kick to his chest, sending him crashing against the wall.

  Malachi shook his head. “Amateur.”

  We checked their pockets for anything useful, but all we found were radios and ID cards. No keys.

  We pushed on, the corridor stretching into what felt like a maze. The walls were lined with old photos of stern-faced men, shelves stacked with books, and even blueprints of what looked like weapons. It felt like we were walking through a piece of history.

  One book caught my eye. “The History of This Place,” it read. I flipped through the pages. “Anyone know why this is called Castle Winter Wonderland?”

  September shrugged. “Does it matter?"

  “Just curious...” I said, slipping the book back. "Maybe it was like an amusement park or something..."

  We kept moving and found a staircase leading to another floor. This section looked like classrooms. Empty, though—no desks or chairs, just bare rooms.

  “Weird,” Nikki said. “Looks like a school, but it’s a military base.”

  “Let’s split up,” Malachi suggested. “September and I will check the right side. You three take the left.”

  I checked room after room, finding nothing. I reached the last classroom at the end of the hallway. The room was eerily empty, like the others, with blank, cold concrete walls and a dusty floor.

  A single, flickering lightbulb hung from the ceiling, casting shaky shadows across the room. There were faint scuff marks on the ground, like someone had dragged something heavy across it long ago.

  I leaned against the left wall to catch my breath, and to my surprise, it shifted. But before I could react, the wall gave way, and I stumbled into a hidden room.

  Inside, the room was cloaked in almost complete darkness, the kind that made it hard to see where the walls even ended. The faint hum of machinery filled the air, adding to the tension.

  In the center of the room was a massive screen that glowed faintly, casting an eerie blue light that made the shadows around us seem even deeper. Dust particles floated in the glow, like tiny ghosts drifting through the stale air.

  The screen displayed looping footage of an interrogation. Dr. Michael Jones, the scientist we were after, was sitting in a metal chair, his face pale and drawn under the harsh light of a single overhead lamp.

  Another image flickered onto the screen—a man with slick black hair and a scar over his nose, his eyes cold and unforgiving. The scene replayed over and over, making it feel like the room was haunted by their presence.

  I grabbed my radio, glancing at the room number above. “Guys, you need to see this. TSA retrofit—Room 360.”

  They arrived quickly. I barely noticed them at first; I was so locked in, eyes glued to the screen, watching Dr. Jones flinch under the harsh light every time his interrogator barked a question.

  The grainy footage, paired with the cold hum of the monitors, made it feel like I was right there in the room with him. My pulse quickened. Each time the loop reset, it hit me again—this was real, and he was suffering somewhere close by.

  I barely registered Malachi stepping beside me until he let out a low whistle. The rest stood still, their eyes wide, their breath visible in the cold air as they took in the eerie footage.

  Nikki hugged herself like she was trying to block out the tension. September shifted uneasily. Even Malachi, usually so composed, looked shaken. He stared at the screen and muttered, “This is huge."

  But before we could celebrate, a voice froze us in place.

  “You're not going anywhere.”

  We turned to see a certain guy right behind us. He wore a long military-style trench coat, a red tie, and had that same scar we had just seen on the screen. His eyes were cold, calculating.

  “Impressive,” he said with a smirk that didn’t quite reach his cold, calculating eyes. “Didn’t expect a bunch of kids to make it this far. But this is where it ends.”

  The air seemed to thicken with dread as guards stepped in from the shadows, their faces like stone. They seized us with iron grips, fingers digging into our arms like clamps. Nikki twisted and fought, but it was useless. We were trapped.

  Rocke let out a low chuckle, the kind that made my stomach knot. He stepped closer, his eyes narrowing. “Demetrius Rocke. Remember the name. That man on the screen? That’s me. Fresh-faced. Sharp. Handsome, right?” He paused, his tone darkening. “It’s a shame you won’t live long enough to see what you look like at my age.”

  He waved a hand, and the guards yanked us forward. My heart pounded like a drum in my chest. As we were dragged down the cold hallway, the flickering lights above seemed to grow dimmer, the shadows stretching longer, swallowing us whole.