Ezra didn't sleep again.
At 10:30 p.m., he was ready. Black leather jacket, a small folding knife hidden in his boot.
He went to the lobby.
"Mr. Tan!"
Ben waved.
"Ben? What are you doing here this late?"
"Watching over you, sir. Boss said important guests must be guarded 24 hours." He smiled. "Where are you going?"
Ezra paused. "Just... a walk. Night view."
"I'll come with you. It's dark. Dangerous."
"Dangerous?"
"Wolves, sir. Big ones. Sometimes they come down from the mountains."
Ezra studied him.
"Alright. Come with me. I want to go outside town. Star-gazing."
Ben frowned. "Outside? At 11 p.m.? Sir... I'm not sure..."
"I'll pay you 200 IGE."
"Where to?"
"Road to Dustfall. Third bend. Dead tree. You know it?"
Ben's face changed — just for a moment.
"I... know it, sir. But..."
"But?"
"People don't go there at night. They say... there's..." He stopped.
"There's what?"
He shook his head. "Nothing. I'll take you. But you must listen to me. If I say run, you run. Promise?"
"Promise."
The jeep sped through the dark dirt road. Its headlights barely cut through the darkness.
No city lights. No houses. Nothing but rock, dust, and stars.
"Ben, you've lived here all your life?"
"Yes, sir."
"Ever heard stories about missing people?"
The jeep swerved slightly.
"Missing people, sir?"
"Yes. Fifty people a year. Ever heard?"
Silence.
"Sir... I'm just a driver. I don't know anything about..."
"Ben." Ezra looked at him. "I'm not a journalist."
The jeep stopped abruptly.
"What?"
"I'm here to find my friend. She came six months ago... and never came back."
A lie. But necessary.
"Her name is Maya. 25. Blonde. She came for volunteer work. Then she disappeared."
Ben's hands trembled.
"Sir... don't look for her. It's better you think she's dead... than follow her to death."
Ezra felt cold.
"You know what happened."
"I don't, sir. But I've heard stories. Black market. Slavery. People taken... sold... never return."
"Where?"
"I can't say. They'll kill me. They killed my father."
Ezra froze.
"Your father?"
"He was a miner. Worked at Blackridge. In 2019, he found something. A tunnel. A chamber underground. Like... a market. The next day, he died. 'Accident,' they said. But I know... they killed him."
Ezra exhaled slowly.
"Blackridge."
"Sir, don't go there. I already lost my father. I don't want to lose you too."
"You won't lose me."
Ezra looked ahead.
In the distance — the silhouette of a dead tree.
"But tonight... we meet Caleb first."