Ludwig was reaching for his radio when her hand moved.
Not much.
Just a small twitch in the mud beside her.
He froze instantly.
Training.
Observation before action.
Her breathing changed.
Deeper.
Uneven.
Then her eyes opened.
For a second they stared straight into the dark canopy above them, unfocused, as if she had forgotten where the sky ended and the earth began.
Ludwig leaned slightly closer.
"Mia?"
No response.
Slowly, her gaze shifted.
It found him.
Locked onto him.
And something in Ludwig's chest tightened.
He had seen fear before.
Pain.
Shock.
He had seen the empty look of people pulled out of accidents, the hollow stare of soldiers after explosions.
This wasn't that.
These eyes were… awake.
Too awake.
Sharp.
Cold.
Watching him the way a predator studies another animal before deciding whether it's dangerous.
They held each other's gaze for a long moment.
Rainwater dripped from the branches around them.
Neither moved.
Then she spoke.
Her voice was low. Hoarse from exhaustion.
But steady.
"Where…"
She paused, as if tasting the word before finishing it.
"…are we?"
The phrasing caught Ludwig off guard.
Not where am I.
Where are we.
He studied her face carefully now.
Something about the way she held herself — even lying half-conscious in the mud — felt wrong.
Too controlled.
Too present.
Like someone waking up inside a body that wasn't entirely theirs.
The woman's eyes narrowed slightly, studying him in return.
A faint smile touched the corner of her mouth.
Not friendly.
Not hostile.
Curious.
Then she whispered, almost to herself,
"Interesting."
Ludwig felt the small hairs on the back of his neck rise.
Yeah.
This wasn't just a problem.
Something much stranger had just walked into the Sanctuary.