They reached the final station at 4:00 PM. Since it was the highlands, the temperature outside was about ten degrees colder than inside the carriage. No one was in a hurry to get off; instead, they all fumbled through their bags for thick clothes to wrap themselves up.

  However, before the train had even come to a full stop, Elena was already pulling Lucy toward the door. Lucy was bewildered—the connecting military trucks hadn't arrived yet; why was she in such a rush?

  "Shh, don't ask. Just run with me."

  The moment the doors opened, Elena dashed out, lugging her bags. She knew this wasn't the actual end of the railway line; the country's main transportation artery had simply been severed by the war.

  Beneath the station, the army had dug an air-raid shelter. Usually, it was closed to the public, but Elena knew a bombardment was imminent. The shelter would open soon. Those who arrived first wouldn't just get a spot inside—they could snag one of the few available beds to survive the dangerous, freezing night in peace.

  The two reached the shelter entrance and descended dozens of stone steps. Two armed soldiers stood guard, waving them away.

  "Elena, let's go. We can't break military regulations," Lucy whispered, trying to pull her back.

  But Elena had already stepped forward with a warm smile.

  "We're new recruits. We'll be comrades soon," she said. Her voice was shy but steady, her face glowing with a youthful radiance. "We're support troops—you know, to help carry ammunition, guard warehouses... or grow vegetables for you to eat. Uh, I thought this was a warehouse, so I came to take a look. You don't mind, do you?"

  The soldier, looking to be about twenty-three or twenty-four, seemed to melt under her smile. "Haha, alright then. Have a look around. Actually, it's not a warehouse; there's nothing much in here."

  Elena set down her luggage. Just as her hand touched the rusted iron door, a low roar of aircraft engines thundered from the distant sky. Her expression sharpened.

  History really is repeating itself!

  "Elena, what are you saying? That plane looks so beautiful!" Lucy started to wave at the aircraft, but Elena grabbed her arm.

  Elena shouted to the soldier, "Brother! Those are enemy planes! I see six... no, wait, there look to be six more! They're heading straight for the station!"

  In truth, Elena could only see six silver specks the size of fingernails, but she remembered the agonizing events of five years ago with terrifying clarity: exactly twelve bombers had struck the station.

  "Really?" The soldier couldn't see them clearly yet, but he grabbed his radio. "Station control, Command, this is ground defense! Two girls have spotted twelve suspected enemy aircraft. Verify radar alerts immediately! Verify immediately!"

  "Copy that!"

  The response was instantly drowned out by a deafening BOOM. A radar station on the mountain seemed to have been obliterated.

  Lucy screamed, clutching her head and diving for a corner.

  The soldier moved with lightning speed, unlocking the iron door. "Quick! Get inside! There's a soldiers' lounge at the far end. They're out on a mission, so you can rest in there!"

  I know, Elena thought. She thanked him nonetheless and pulled Lucy deeper into the shelter.

  Behind them, the air was filled with a chaotic mix of screams, barked orders, and frantic footsteps. But Elena and Lucy had already found two beds near a ventilation duct and lay down in safety.

  Elena remembered. Five years ago, many people hadn't even reached the shelter before the bombs started falling. Less than two hundred feet from where she had been, a military truck had been blown to pieces by a bomb falling from the sky. After the thick smoke cleared, she had seen the mangled remains of flesh and blood splattered all over the cabin.

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  Back then, Elena's legs had turned to jelly, leaving her unable to walk. It was Lucy who had dragged her into the shelter like a lifeless corpse.

  This time, Lucy, I finally helped you, Elena thought.

  The makeshift shelter wasn't large. Over a thousand passengers eventually squeezed in, filling every inch of floor space.

  The dozen or so soldiers who had rushed in first assumed the two girls in the lounge were military family members. They even struck up a conversation, complaining about how terrible the army's lunch tasted. Elena simply nodded and smiled.

  When she saw the soldiers lock the lounge door, separating them from the noisy crowd outside, her anxiety finally evaporated.

  A warm room for the night. This is good.

  The only drawback was that the bombing outside was clearly audible through the vents. Fearing the soldiers might kick them out, Elena pretended to sleep. She drifted in and out of consciousness all night, jolted awake by the occasional blast.

  The next morning, when a soldier opened the lounge door, a radio broadcast delivered the night's report:

  "...Twelve enemy aircraft bombed the railway and other civilian facilities, resulting in 47 civilian deaths, 62 injuries, and 15 fallen soldiers... We strongly condemn this... This is not the behavior expected before peace negotiations..."

  Then came a speech by the interim president and a moment of silence.

  Elena knew this was the final bombardment. The death of forty-seven support members—still classified as civilians since they hadn't put on uniforms—had garnered international attention. The hope for peace had finally arrived.

  But the others didn't know the future like Elena did. Even though the explosions had stopped, everyone only dared to peek out from the shelter entrance.

  Finally, a whistle blew. A middle-aged commander in camouflage yelled, "Move, move, move! Everyone out! On the trucks! Let's go!"

  Elena and Lucy were the first to leave. Outside, the ground was a mess of bloodstains, craters, and shattered bricks and wood.

  Behind the train they had arrived on, another train had been hit by three bombs. It was almost entirely decimated. Elena knew that was the second transport for support troops. Even if she had wanted to help them, she had been powerless.

  On the military truck, the group was no longer laughing and chatting as they had been the day before.To Elena's annoyance, Sienna scrambled onto the same truck right behind her.

  Sienna didn't have a speck of dust on her, but her face was pale and haggard. Elena guessed she had stood in the station hall all night.

  Serves you right... Elena thought.

  "Miss Voss, did you sleep with the soldiers last night?" Sienna suddenly questioned Elena in front of the thirty or so people on the truck. Every eye turned toward Elena.

  Before Elena could retaliate, Lucy spoke up. "Are you insulting our soldiers? Under the Military Protection Act, that's a crime punishable by at least three years in prison. We were the first to spot the bombers and report them to the guards; that's why we were allowed into the lounge as a reward. But what about you, Miss Sienna? Everyone else who slept on the ground is covered in dust, yet you're perfectly clean. Did you spend the night in some man's arms?"

  The people on the truck burst into a roar of laughter.

  Then, realizing these two girls were the ones who had spotted the planes, they all straightened up and gave Elena and Lucy a formal military salute.