Lucas' POV
The energy in the room was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. Students were everywhere, pushing through their tasks, trying to outdo each other, trying to survive the chaos of The Midnight Scavenger. I leaned against the wall, my clipboard in hand, but my focus was all on Abigail.
She was in the middle of it all, battling it out with two other students who were trying to overpower her. They were bigger, faster, but I could see she had something they didn’t. Determination. Her moves were sharp, but her body... it wasn’t holding up.
I watched as she took another swing, her hand shaking as she fought to keep up. Her breath was coming in ragged gasps, her body slick with sweat. Every second that passed made it clearer, she was struggling. Badly.
I bit down on the inside of my cheek, debating with myself. Should I step in? I couldn’t just stand here and watch her fall apart. But the rules… damn the rules. I wasn’t supposed to interfere. I knew that. Everyone knew that.
My eyes stayed glued to her, watching as she tried to push forward, her face pale, her body trembling with exhaustion. She stumbled once, then twice, and then... she hit the ground.
Abigail crumbled to her knees, her hands gripping the floor as she gasped for air. Her whole body was shaking, her chest rising and falling way too fast. She wasn’t going to make it through this. I could see it.
I tightened my grip on the clipboard, the internal battle raging inside me. Do I help her? Do I risk everything for her? I glanced around, trying to see if anyone else noticed. No one did. Not yet.
Then I made my decision.
With a subtle nod, I signaled the operator Elite to pause the fight. The room stilled for a moment, and I took a breath before heading toward Abigail. My heart pounded in my chest, knowing what I was about to do could blow everything up, but I couldn’t just let her suffer like that.
I reached down, grabbing her arm, and pulled her up. Her body was limp, her breath coming out in shallow bursts. “Abigail,” I whispered harshly, trying to snap her back into focus. “You need to pull it together. Pay attention. Focus.”
Her eyes met mine, wide and tired, but I could see the fire still burning there. She wasn’t done yet, not by a long shot. “You can’t mess this up,” I continued, my voice low. “You know what’s on the line. If you fail, Emery will lose interest in you. And you don’t want that.”
She nodded weakly, trying to stand straighter, but her legs were barely holding her up. I could see how much she was hurting, but I had to push her. I had to make her understand. “This is it, Abigail. You have to give it everything. This game? It’s not just a test, it’s your life on the line.”
For a second, I thought I got through to her. She nodded again, her breath slowing a little, and I thought maybe, just maybe, she could push through.
But then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something that made my stomach drop.
Up on the stage, Emery was watching us. Her eyes locked on me, cold and sharp, with Finn standing right next to her, his expression just as serious. Both of them were staring at me like they knew exactly what I was doing, and they weren’t happy.
I froze, my blood running cold as Emery’s gaze bore into me. I could almost hear her thoughts, see the warning in her eyes. What the hell was I doing? Helping Abigail in front of everyone? It was against the rules, and Emery didn’t tolerate rule-breaking. Not from anyone.
My chest tightened, a wave of regret washing over me. Shit.
I stood up straight, letting go of Abigail, trying to act like nothing had happened. Like I hadn’t just slipped up in front of the one person I couldn’t afford to piss off.
Emery’s eyes didn’t leave me, though. I could feel the weight of her judgment from across the room. She knew what I’d done. Finn did too.
I cleared my throat, stepping back from Abigail, pretending to just observe like I was supposed to. My heart was still racing, my mind still replaying the moment I’d helped her. I screwed up. Big time.
Abigail looked at me, still shaky but managing to stand on her own now. I gave her a brief nod, hoping she understood that she had to do the rest on her own. I couldn’t help her again, not with Emery watching me like a hawk.
I forced myself to stay calm, to focus on my job. Observe. That’s all I could do now. I couldn’t save her if she fell again.
I turned back to the clipboard, my stomach twisted with the weight of what I’d done. Emery wasn’t going to forget this. And neither was I.
I stood there, trying to get back to my job, my eyes kept drifting back to Abigail. Every part of me wanted to step in again, but I couldn’t. She had to push through it, even if it meant breaking herself to do it. That’s what it meant to be in this world, to be a part of The Midnight Scavenger. You don’t survive by being soft. You survive by pushing through every damn thing until there’s nothing left to fight.
I let out a slow breath, trying to calm myself. ‘Focus’, I told myself. ‘You can’t mess up again’.
But then I saw it, Abigail staggering again, her hands trembling as she reached out for balance. My heart lurched in my chest. She was losing it. She wasn’t going to make it to the end at this rate.
A part of me wanted to scream at her to stop, to give up before she hurt herself more. But another part of me, the part that knew how this game worked, knew that she couldn’t. Not if she wanted to survive.
I clenched my fists, trying to keep my emotions in check. Watching her struggle like this was tearing me apart. She wasn’t just another student to me. She wasn’t just a name on a clipboard. She was Abigail. And damn it, I wanted her to win.
But there was nothing I could do. Not with Emery and Finn watching my every move. I was trapped, just like her.
I glanced back up at the stage, catching Emery’s gaze again. Her eyes were still cold, calculating. She didn’t care about Abigail, not the way I did. To her, this was just another part of the test. Another way to see who could rise and who would fall.
I could almost hear her thoughts, ‘Don’t interfere again, Lucas. Or you’ll regret it.’
I swallowed hard, forcing myself to look away. I couldn’t risk it. Not again. Not for Abigail, even if it killed me to watch her struggle. I had to let her fight this battle on her own.
But as the minutes ticked by, and I kept watching her falter, I felt the guilt clawing at me, deeper and deeper. What kind of person just stands by while someone they care about falls apart? What kind of person just watches?
I clenched my jaw, shaking off the thoughts. I had to be stronger than this. For her. For myself.
But it wasn’t easy. Not when every second felt like I was betraying her, like I was failing her in the worst way possible.
I watched her, my eyes glued to every step she took, every move she made. Abigail was on the edge, her breath was shallow, sweat pouring down her face. But she kept going, kept pushing, even when it looked like she had nothing left. The other two students were relentless, coming at her from both sides, trying to corner her. It was brutal.
I gripped the edge of the clipboard tighter, my heart racing along with hers. She was barely holding it together, I could see that. Every muscle in her body looked like it was screaming for her to stop. But she wouldn’t. She ‘couldn’t’. 
It was like time slowed down for a moment. Abigail’s hand darted out, blocking the last hit, and with a quick spin, she took down the final opponent. The crowd was silent for a split second, then a wave of murmurs broke through. She did it. 
I let out a breath I didn’t even know I was holding. “Damn,” I muttered under my breath, feeling the tension in my shoulders drop. “This girl surprises me. I thought she’d—” I cut myself off, shaking my head in disbelief. I thought she couldn’t win. But she did.
Abigail collapsed onto the floor, gasping for air, her chest rising and falling so fast it made my own breath hitch. I wanted to rush over, to help her, to say something, but all I could do was watch as the operator stepped in. They handed her a bottle of water, and she grabbed it with shaky hands, gulping it down like it was the only thing keeping her alive.
Then they handed her a small piece of paper, the proof. She’d won. The paper was crumpled in her hands as she lay there, still catching her breath. Her body was trembling, but there was this flicker of something in her eyes—relief? Maybe pride? I wasn’t sure. But damn, she’d earned it.
I glanced back up at the stage. Emery and Finn were still watching, but now there was something different in their faces. Finn looked almost… impressed? Emery, though—her expression was unreadable. Cold, like always. I couldn’t tell if she cared, or if Abigail was just another pawn in her game.
But for me? It felt like something shifted. Abigail had proved she could handle it. She wasn’t just surviving. She was ‘fighting’.
As she struggled to her feet, still breathing heavily, I felt a strange mix of pride and guilt twist in my chest. Pride because she’d done it, and guilt because I’d doubted her. I didn’t think she could make it, and she proved me wrong.
This girl. She was something else.