Watching the unconscious Mira lying on the ground, Jelo began to panic, his heart racing as his mind scrambled for solutions. He stared down at her motionless body, her face pressed against the sand, her chest rising and falling with shallow breaths.
What was he going to do about her?
Now that she knew his secret, now that she'd seen him fight with abilities far beyond what a rank F student should possess, now that she'd watched him eat a Dabba heart like some kind of monster, everything was at risk. And on top of that, he'd attacked her. He'd knocked her unconscious with a punch so hard she'd dropped instantly.
If she woke up and told someone… if she reported him to the teachers… if word got out about what he really was…
Jelo didn't even want to think about the consequences.
But he had to rejoin the class. It felt like they might already be close to noticing he was missing. The teacher could be counting heads. Atlas might be looking for him. Anyone could have noticed his absence by now.
He couldn't stay here.
So he made a decision. He would go back to the class, blend back in, act like nothing had happened. Then, before they left, he'd return and figure out what to do with Mira. Maybe she'd still be unconscious. Maybe he could… he didn't know. Move her? Hide her? Wake her up and convince her to keep quiet?
He didn't have a plan. But he had to move.
Jelo turned and started walking back toward the group, his legs shaky, his mind racing.
As he walked, a disturbing thought began to take shape in his mind.
Ever since he got the system, he had been making decisions that were not completely rational. It was almost like the system pushed him into impulsive choices, and he was left scrambling afterward to clean up the consequences.
He thought back to the fight with Xino.
He'd chased Xino without any caution, without thinking through the possibility of an ambush, without considering who might be waiting, without thinking about traps. He'd simply followed, driven by an obsessive need for revenge. And he'd walked straight into a trap that could have killed him.
And now, he'd hunted the Dabba with that same obsessive drive. He hadn't checked whether anyone was following him. He hadn't looked back even once. He'd been so focused on getting that heart, on satisfying the system's demand, that he'd ignored every basic rule of caution.
And because of that, he'd ended up knocking out one of his classmates.
Was this who he was becoming? Was the system changing him? Or had this recklessness always been inside him, just waiting for an excuse to come out?
Jelo didn't know. And that scared him more than he wanted to admit.
He pushed the thought aside and focused on getting back.
Finally, he reached the class.
He crouched low behind a cluster of rocks and peeked out, scanning the group. The teacher was still talking, gesturing at something in the distance. The students were gathered around her, some listening, some distracted, some taking notes on their wrist devices.
They were still distracted.
Jelo took a deep breath and slid back into the group, moving quietly, keeping his head down. He positioned himself near the back, blending in with the other students who were half-paying attention.
No one looked at him. No one noticed.
He was back.
Jelo felt a wave of relief wash over him. He was surprised at how lucky he'd been today. First, the field trip being announced on the exact day he needed a Dabba heart so desperately. And now, the class not noticing him slipping away and returning.
So far, they hadn't even noticed Mira's disappearance either.
That was both good and bad. Good, because it meant he hadn't been caught yet. Bad, because it meant Mira was still out there, alone and unconscious.
Jelo's thoughts were interrupted when someone stepped up beside him.
Atlas.
"Where were you?" Atlas asked, his voice low but curious.
Jelo didn't hesitate. He'd already prepared an excuse. "I got shuffled to the front," he said casually. "Couldn't see anything, so I moved back."
Atlas shrugged and seemed to accept it. "Fair enough." Then his expression shifted, his brow furrowing slightly. "How's your headache now?"
Jelo was confused for a moment before remembering. Right. The headache. He'd been stumbling around all day, barely able to stand, complaining about the pain. And now, after eating the Dabba heart, it was completely gone.
He needed to cover that too.
"It's fine," Jelo said quickly. "Going away, actually."
Atlas's eyes widened in surprise. "Seriously? It seemed really bad earlier. You looked like you were about to collapse. And you didn't take any treatment or anything."
Jelo scrambled for an excuse. "Maybe I just needed a change of environment," he mumbled, even though he knew it was weak. "You know, fresh air. Being outside. It helped."
Atlas stared at him for a long moment, his expression unreadable. His eyes narrowed slightly, like he was trying to figure out if Jelo was lying.
Then he said, "Okay."
But the way he said it made Jelo uneasy. It wasn't the kind of "okay" that meant he believed him. It was the kind of "okay" that meant he was letting it go for now, but he'd be watching.
Jelo forced himself to stay calm and turned his attention back to the teacher.
She was still talking, explaining something about the ecosystem collapse, about how the Dabba had disrupted the natural balance of the planet. Jelo tried to focus, but his mind kept drifting back to Mira.
He needed to check on her.
After a while, when he noticed that the class was not paying attention to anyone in particular, the teacher had moved on to showing them another projection, and most of the students were either staring at the hologram or whispering to each other, Jelo decided to slip away again.
This time, he was careful.
He took a slow step backward, then another, keeping his eyes on the group. No one looked at him. He moved behind a cluster of rocks, then crouched low and started walking back toward where he'd left Mira.
As he walked, he kept checking behind him. Every few steps, he'd glance over his shoulder, scanning the area to make sure no one was following. He wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.
The walk felt longer this time, maybe because he was being more cautious, or maybe because the dread in his chest was growing heavier with every step.
When he finally reached the spot where he'd knocked Mira out earlier, he stopped.
And stared.
Mira was no longer there.