The hum of the escalators filled the air as I stepped off, my sneakers pressing against the polished tiles of the mall. A rush of freedom filled me—two months cooped up because of an injury, and now I was finally back where I belonged. The mall was packed, as expected on a weekend, with teenagers laughing in groups, music spilling from store entrances.

But something was off.

As soon as I descended, two men in military SWAT gear—one with a mohawk, the other with dark, close-cropped hair—passed me going up. Their presence wasn’t exactly normal for a place like this. My gaze instinctively followed them, but then I caught sight of the others.

A small cluster of officers stood near the entrance of a store—one of them older, with a thick beard and a commanding posture. Beside him stood another man, noticeably taller than the rest, dressed in tactical gear. A skull-patterned balaclava concealed his face, but his sharp eyes flickered across the crowd with an assessing intensity. He barely moved.

I must have lingered on them too long because, before I could process anything else, a whirlwind of motion engulfed me.

“Oh my God,she's back!!"

Someone grabbed my arm, another nearly knocked me off balance as my friends swarmed in. The next thing I knew, I was being pulled into an overwhelming mix of hugs, excited voices overlapping.

"We missed you,You look so much better now!"

I laughed, though my mind was still half-stuck on the scene I’d just witnessed. “I know, I know—I’ve been dying to get out.”

"We barely recognized you without the crutches," one of them teased.

I tried to focus on my friends, but the weight of an intense gaze made my skin prickle.

I glanced up—and froze.

The tall man in the mask, the one with the piercing eyes, was watching me. He hadn't moved from his spot, but I knew—he’d noticed.

I quickly turned back to my friends, pretending to be engaged in their conversation, but my mind was racing.