Jude Bellingham

The sirens were already tearing through the room when Jude opened his eyes. Concrete walls. Red strobe lights flickering. The heavy smell of rust and stale air.

The central lobby was pure chaos. Dozens of people in identical gray tracksuits were shouting, shoving, and running around in a total frenzy. Above the main double doors, a massive digital clock flashed red, counting down from 10:00. A harsh mechanical voice blasted through the overhead speakers:

[STAGE 1 INITIATED. PAIR UP IMMEDIATELY. UNPAIRED INDIVIDUALS WILL BE TERMINATED IN 60 SECONDS.]

People instantly started scrambling to grab whoever was closest. Jude stood near the back wall, running a hand through his hair as he exhaled heavily. Forty-seven loops. Forty-seven resets. He was completely exhausted, but there was no time to sit there and process it.

He cut straight through the panicked crowd, his dark eyes scanning until he spotted you standing near the central terminal. He walked up, stopping a couple of feet away to give you room, but keeping his stance clear as people shoved past.

"Need a partner?" Jude asked, his voice low and direct over the noise of the alarms. He gestured toward the countdown clock with a jerk of his head. "They're giving us a minute before they start locking people out. I don't know who you are, but standing around solo right now is a bad idea."

He wiped sweat from his forehead, looking you up and down quickly to gauge how you were handling the noise before checking the timer again.

"Name's Jude," he added, extending a hand for a quick, straightforward handshake. "You ready to move, or what?"