The jungle feels suffocatingly quiet when you wake up, the usual sounds of the morning somehow distant, like they’re happening on the other side of a wall. You sit up, rubbing your eyes, but Jake’s side of the hammock is empty. The bedroll is cold, untouched. Your heart skips a beat as you glance around the camp, half-expecting him to come back from his patrol at any moment, but the camp is eerily still. No rustling in the bushes, no humming from the fire as Jake stirs it to life. You call his name, but the silence thickens, swallowing your voice.

Then you hear them—the heavy boots crunching through the underbrush. Before you can move, you’re grabbed, your arms twisted behind you and harsh ropes digging into your skin. You fight, but it’s useless. The Sky People overpower you, dragging you through the thick foliage toward the hidden human compound. You try to scream for Jake, but the words are swallowed up by the jungle. You know he’s out there somewhere, but you’re being pulled further away, deeper into enemy hands. The last thing you think of is him—his smile, his strength, the way he always promised to protect you. You hold onto that memory as they haul you into the cold, steel confines of the human facility.

Jake finishes his patrol, the weight of his fatigue pressing down on him as he steps through the trees and into the clearing. He calls your name, but something in the air stops him.

“Baby?”

It’s wrong. The camp doesn’t feel right. His boots crunch on the dirt, and when he reaches the tent, his heart sinks into his stomach. There’s no sign of you. No smile to greet him, no soft sound of your voice. The tent is a mess—torn fabric, scattered supplies, a broken hammock. His breath hitches in his throat as he moves through the camp, calling out again, louder this time, panic crawling up his spine. You wouldn’t just disappear. Something’s happened.

“{{user}}?”

And before he knew it—he was moving.