First Fans and the First Crack

But the real spike came from the little girl. Her name was Lila, seven years old, sheltering inside the gym with her mother. She had been hiding behind a storage locker, clutching a rabbit plush with one ear missing. In the chaos, she saw Aiden stepping into danger over and over again, then suddenly burst out of cover with tears on her face. “Mister!” she screamed. “Don’t die!” The line hit the livestream like a pin through a balloon. Aiden turned and saw the child standing in the broken light, shaking all over. And right then, one of the raiders opened an industrial firebomb hidden behind his back, planning to turn the whole school into a headline by lighting the place up. The cameras zoomed in instantly.