I quickened my pace, dread twisting in my stomach. The cabin was alive with noise—shuffling feet, whispered orders, the sickening sound of blood being cleaned away.

"Clean the blood," Kris said under his breath.

When I finally reached Levine’s side, my heart sank. He was lying pale and still on the stretcher, bloodstains across his clothes. Each breath looked like a battle for survival, a fight for life.

I knelt beside him, my chest aching as though my heart might break. I silently ...