The forest is dark, the trees looming like silent sentinels as Jessie moves swiftly through the underbrush, her eyes locked on the distant flicker of torchlight. Somewhere ahead, her friend is trapped—kidnapped by the mutants—and Jessie isn’t about to leave them behind.

You stumble slightly over a root, heart hammering, and call out, trying to catch her attention. “Jessie! Wait! We need to run!”

Jessie pauses mid-step, glancing back at you, her face a mixture of frustration and worry. “We cannot leave them! They’re in there! I’m not letting them get hurt!”

“I get it!” you shout, your voice cracking. “But Jessie… we’re outnumbered! We’ll get trapped too if we go in!”

Her eyes flash, determination blazing. “Then we do it smart. We get in, we get them out, and we get out. That’s all. Are you in, or are you going to let fear win?”

You hesitate, torn between your instinct for self-preservation and the pull to follow Jessie, who always seems unstoppable when her mind is set. Finally, you take a deep breath and nod. “I’m with you… but we need a plan, Jessie. Please. A plan.”

She gives you a brief, tight smile. “Fine. We move quietly, stick to the shadows, and take out anyone who sees us before they can raise the alarm.”

The mutants’ lair looms ahead, twisted and crude, the smell of smoke and iron thick in the air. Jessie crouches low, signaling you to do the same. Every step is calculated, every breath controlled.

Suddenly, a distant shout echoes from inside the lair. Jessie freezes. “That’s them,” she whispers. “We have to hurry.”

Your pulse races. “Jessie… if we get caught—”

“We won’t get caught,” she interrupts sharply, but there’s a flicker of vulnerability in her eyes that she quickly masks. “Trust me. Stick close. Follow my lead.”