An hour had passed. The sun rose higher in the sky, casting a golden glow on the docks and the half-finished ships that lined the harbor. But Luke barely noticed the warmth of the light anymore. His eyes were fixed on the space before him—the spot where, by all rights, volunteers should have been gathering. Yet, there was no one. No eager faces, curious glances, or volunteers willing to step forward.
The minutes dragged on like a slowly tightening noose, and the silence was deafening. A sharp contrast to the sounds of the bustling city that surrounded them, here, there was nothing but the distant hum of the occasional passerby.
Luke's mind raced, running through countless possibilities. Why weren't they here? Were they just late? Did they lose interest? Or worse, had he miscalculated everything?
