Evelyn POV

As we stood in the clearing, waiting for the last rescue to be accounted for, I felt my body shaking from exhaustion.

It wasn’t just the physical toll of the mission but the emotional burden of knowing what we had all endured. The memories of the days spent in captivity, the constant fear, and the gnawing hopelessness would not fade easily.

But for now, those memories were overshadowed by the knowledge that we had survived. I had survived.

One of ...