The muffled rumble of the trailer's engine echoed as the Phillips family sped along Morocco's back roads. Inside the vehicle, the atmosphere was a peculiar mix of familial relaxation and an underlying tension that only Arthur and Hanna fully understood.
Sebastian drove with one hand on the wheel and the other gesturing as he complained about the heat and the poorly planned itinerary. Klara tried to organize some maps and snacks on a small shelf, while Sophie—sitting on the upholstered seat just behind the table—kept her eyes fixed on Hanna.
To Sophie, the blonde girl was a fascinating mystery. Hanna wore makeshift clothes, had a body as rigid as a soldier's, and displayed an almost frightening stillness, a stark contrast to her own teenage routine of parties and boarding schools in England.
"So..." Sophie began, breaking the uncomfortable silence while resting her chin on her hands. "What are you two? Siblings? Tourists lost in the middle of nowhere who suddenly appeared on the side of the road?"
Hanna didn't even blink. She glanced at Sophie again, her blue eyes cold as ice, assessing whether the question concealed some kind of secret or threat. In the original series' dynamic, Hanna was slow to grasp the social nuances of a normal girl her age, feeling both drawn to and frightened by that normality.
Before Hanna could utter anything sharp, Arthur intervened gently, maintaining a friendly and relaxed tone.
"Let's just say we had a little problem with our rental car and the cell phone signal, so we decided to take a permanent vacation," Arthur replied, adjusting his tone to sound exactly like a young British backpacker. "I'm Arthur, and she's Hanna. We really appreciate the ride. We promise not to cause any trouble until we reach the port."
Klara looked back in the rearview mirror, flashing a warm, typically tired motherly smile.
"Oh, darling, don't worry about it!" "Sebastian loves complaining, but deep down he likes to pretend he's the road-saving hero, doesn't he, darling?" she said, giving her husband a good-humored look.
"Of course, of course... as long as nobody decided to steal my English tea stash, everything's great," Sebastian grumbled back, though there was a lightness in his voice.
Hanna turned her face to the window, watching the barren landscape rush by. For a second, the rigidity in her shoulders eased slightly. She had never experienced a normal family, with parents arguing over trivial things and a teenager asking banal questions. It was a world completely designed for someone created to be an elimination machine by Project Utrax.
Sophie saw a hesitation and pushed a small box of biscuits across the table, offering her silence.
Hanna looked at the package, then at Sophie's curious and friendly face. Without saying anything, she reached out, took a biscuit, and took a small bite.
In the foreground, Arthur watched the scene in silence, knowing that this brief moment of normalcy was as fragile as glass. Outside, Marissa Wiegler's jeeps continued patrolling the roads and ports, closing the net. But, for now, in that noisy trailer, the wolf of Utrax was taking her first real step towards humanity.