Cold dread flooded through Ysa's body so fast it almost hurt. Her grip tightened around the sword as her mind latched onto only one name. "Emily…" she whispered, fear bleeding through the word.
Then she moved.
Ysa sprinted through the streets with terrifying speed, so fast her movements blurred between the abandoned houses like something feral unleashed. Her sword swung beside her, still streaked red, the metal catching flashes of morning light as she ran.
She vaulted over a collapsed fence without slowing.
Ahead, Dylan and Victor were crossing the street between two cleared houses when Dylan suddenly stopped. "Woah—woah," he called out, immediately noticing her pace. "What's the rush?"
Ysa didn't answer. She stopped just long enough for him to see her face.
The fear. The trembling in her hands. The blood covering the blade.
For a second, silence settled between them.
Then—
Dylan's expression changed instantly. His jaw tightened as realization set in, not of what happened—but that something had happened. He looked once at the sword, then back at Ysa's eyes. "…I'll come with you," he said immediately.
Ysa only nodded once.
Then both of them broke into a sprint down the street together.
Victor remained standing there, staring after them with his mouth slightly open. "…What the hell just happened?"
By the time they reached the convoy outside the settlement, both of them were breathing hard.
Several survivors looked up at the sudden commotion.
Taylor immediately stepped forward the moment she spotted them. "What's going on?" she asked quickly, eyes darting between them. "Where's my husband?"
"Still inside," Dylan answered without stopping.
Taylor's face tightened instantly. "Is he okay? Why isn't he with you?"
"He's fine," Dylan said, though the answer came a little too fast.
Ysa was already moving. She reached the tidecraft and began undoing the harness securing a Pegacampus at the front. Her hands moved hurriedly, almost fumbling for the first time in a long while.
The creature shifted restlessly as the restraints came loose.
Then Ysa climbed onto its back in one smooth motion and turned toward Dylan. "Get on." She extended her hand toward him.
Taylor stepped forward again. "Woah—where are you guys going?"
Ysa looked at her. Just one look. And whatever Taylor was about to say died in her throat. Because beneath Ysa's urgency was something far worse.
Fear.
Real fear.
"…Taylor," Ysa said quietly. "Please."
Taylor slowly stepped back.
Dylan grabbed Ysa's arm, and she hauled him up behind her onto the Pegacampus.
The creature pawed against the ground impatiently.
Ysa tightened her grip on the reins. "Hyah!"
The Pegacampus burst forward instantly, sprinting across the open stretch of land before its massive wings spread wide. Wind exploded around them as it leapt upward—
—and took to the sky.
Below them, the convoy rapidly shrank into the distance.
Dylan tightened his grip instinctively as the creature climbed higher into the morning air.
"Hold on tight," Ysa warned over the rushing wind.
~~~
Meanwhile, Yve's convoy was already closing in on the manor as they were closer than the others.
Yve squinted ahead. A thin smear of dark haze hung in the distance. "…Is that smoke?" she asked quietly.
Raine leaned slightly forward beside her. "I think so…"
A brief silence followed, but neither of them looked away from the horizon.
Something in Yve's chest tightened immediately. She didn't know why, only that her body reacted before her thoughts could catch up. "…Can we go faster?" she asked.
Raine hesitated for half a beat. "Uh… okay."
She closed her eyes. Her posture shifted—subtle at first, then sharply focused, like she was tuning out everything except the command itself.
A low vibration rolled through the formation.
The Pegacampus units responded instantly. Their wings beat harder. The formation tightened. Speed increased in unison as the convoy surged forward, cutting through the sky faster than before.
As they drew closer, Yve's worry sharpened into something suffocating. The smoke wasn't just nearby anymore. It was coming from the exact point where the manor stood.
Her hands slowly tightened against the edge of the tidecraft seat.
Then the structure finally broke through the haze.
The manor.
Engulfed.
Flames tore through its walls, windows bursting outward as fire crawled across every visible surface.
The sight hit Yve like a physical hit. "No!" she screamed.
For a split second, everything in her went still—like her body refused to process what her eyes were seeing.
The tidecraft tilted slightly as she lunged toward the side, palms slamming against the glass as if she could reach it just by force of will.
Raine snapped a command through clenched focus, and the Pegacampus formation reacted instantly. The convoy dropped in altitude fast, cutting downward toward the burning estate.
One by one, the tidecrafts touched down with heavy impacts that shook the ground beneath them.
Before the landing sequence even stabilized, Yve was already moving. The moment the craft opened, she leapt out. She ran straight toward the manor. "Ysa! Dylan!" she shouted, hand covering her mouth against the smoke. "Lucas!"
Behind her, Raine called out again. "YVE! Stop—!"
But Yve had already reached the front porch.
The heat hit her with a full force, like stepping into a living wall
The manor groaned under its own collapse, wood cracking and twisting as fire devoured its structure. A chandelier at the entrance snapped loose and crashed down in a burst of sparks and shattered glass.
Jenkins jumped from one of the tidecrafts seconds later. "No—" he muttered, seeing the scene unfold. Then he broke into a run after Yve. "Yve!" he shouted. "Get out of there!"
But Yve was already inside. She pushed through the burning entrance, smoke hitting her immediately like a wall. "Ysa! Dylan! Lucas!" she called out again, voice breaking through the crackle of fire.
Her voice echoed into emptiness. No answer came back.
The heat intensified with every step.
She pushed up the stairs. Halfway up, the floor beneath her gave a sharp, protesting creak.
Then it collapsed slightly under her weight.
Her leg sank through the weakened wood. "Ah—!"
She tried to pull free, but the structure groaned louder with every movement. The more she struggled, the more unstable it became, fire already eating through the supports beneath her.
Jenkins rushed through the burning entrance, smoke immediately swallowing the shape of his silhouette. "Yve!" he called out, voice strained as he covered his mouth and nose with his arm.
He spotted her almost instantly—stuck halfway up the staircase, the floor warped and collapsing under her weight.
"Shit—" He sprinted forward and grabbed her arm. "Hold on," he muttered, bracing his footing.
With a hard pull, he yanked her free.
The broken wood tore at her leg as she came loose, leaving a deep gash across her skin. Yve hissed in pain as blood immediately ran down her leg.
Jenkins steadied her before she could fall. "We have to get out!"
Yve coughed, shaking her head. "But—"
"I don't think they're here," Jenkins cut in, voice tight. His eyes scanned the burning hallway, then the stairs, then the collapsing ceiling above them.
Another beam snapped somewhere deeper in the house.
"No time," he added.
Yve froze for a moment. Then, slowly, she nodded.
Jenkins hooked her arm over his shoulder and supported her weight. "Come on," he said.
They moved together through the smoke-filled corridor, Yve limping heavily with each step, her injured leg leaving faint streaks behind them as blood continued to run down.
Each step away felt heavier than the last, as if the house itself was refusing to let them leave.
Raine reached them at the front door at the same time they broke through.
Smoke poured out behind Yve as Jenkins supported her weight, both of them coughing hard from what they'd already inhaled.
Raine's eyes widened the moment she saw Yve's leg. She rushed forward immediately. "Yve!" Without hesitation, she grabbed Yve's other arm and looped it over her shoulders. "Got her," Raine said sharply.
Jenkins adjusted his grip, and together they carried her out of the burning manor.
They moved fast, stumbling through the threshold and into open air.
Once they were outside, all three of them coughed violently, bending forward as they tried to clear their lungs. Smoke still clung to their clothes and hair, sharp and choking.
They didn't stop moving until they reached the front yard—far enough from the collapsing structure that the heat finally eased off their backs.
Raine exhaled shakily, then looked down at Yve. "Let me take a look." She gestured toward Yve's leg.
Yve opened her mouth to answer—
"Hey!"
A voice cut across the yard.
Lysander stood at a distance, waving both arms to get their attention.
Yve turned her head slightly. "Help me up."
Raine shook her head immediately. "We need to disinfect that wound first."
Yve gave a strained breath, somewhere between exhaustion and frustration. "Raine. Really? I've survived worse. This isn't going to kill me."
Raine didn't argue further. She quickly tore a strip of cloth and wrapped it tightly around Yve's leg, applying pressure to slow the bleeding.
Yve winced but didn't stop her.
Jenkins steadied her again once Raine finished, and together they helped her stand properly.
Slowly, the three of them started moving toward Lysander across the yard.
The silence between steps was heavier than the fire behind them.
When they reached Lysander, the air itself felt wrong.
Yve slowed first. Then stopped. Her breath caught in her throat as her eyes landed on the ground ahead.
Jenkins followed her gaze—and froze completely.
Harlene.
Harrison.
Lying there, motionless. The realization didn't arrive as a thought. It arrived as impact.
The world didn't make the sound it was supposed to make after that realization. No explosion of grief. No collapse of meaning. Just a heavy, suffocating silence that swallowed everything else.
"No…" Yve's voice broke on the word, barely audible.
Jenkins moved first, almost mechanically, like his body refused to accept what his mind already understood. He stepped forward, dropped to his knees beside Harrison, and pressed two fingers to his wrist.
He stayed there for a second too long, and it only confirmed what he already knew.
No pulse.
Yve's legs gave out.
She dropped to her knees, the impact sharp—but she didn't feel it. Not the pain in her wounded leg. Not the dirt under her palms. Her eyes stayed locked on them, like if she looked long enough, they might still move.
And then—
A tremor ran through her shoulders, then the sound came—small at first, fractured, like something refusing to fully exist.
Then it collapsed into a sob.
Raine was beside her immediately, arms wrapping around her before she could even fall further. Yve didn't resist. She couldn't. Her fingers clutched at her chest like she was trying to hold herself together physically, as if that would stop everything inside from breaking apart.
It didn't work.
The weight hit all at once. Not all loss feels immediate. Some arrives in layers.
Reefville—massacred.
The manor—burning behind them, turning what was once shelter into collapsing ash.
The group—gone.
Dylan and Ysa—missing, swallowed by uncertainty she couldn't even begin to map.
No answers. No direction. Only absence stacking on absence.
And now this.
Harrison.
The man who stood steady when everything first fell apart. The man who was the face of calm when they first found out who she truly was. The man who opened his doors to shelter her and her group.
Gone.
Yve's breath hitched again, harsher this time, like her body was struggling to find air that made sense.
Raine held her tighter, silent now, just anchoring her through it.
Nearby, Jenkins stayed where he was, still kneeling. His face was unreadable at first—locked down, controlled.
But his hands told the truth. Slight tension. A stillness too rigid to be calm.
Because Harrison hadn't just been a leader to him. He had been a constant. A father-figure. A mentor who corrected him.
And the worst part—
Harrison never knew Jenkins survived.
Jenkins finally lowered his head. Not in prayer. Not in denial.
Just in silence too heavy to carry upright.
Around them, the fire continued to consume what remained of the manor, indifferent to the fact that everything they were losing meant nothing to it at all.
~~~
At the same time, somewhere far beyond known space, His Grace reviewed Silver's report.
Master Corintha stood a respectful distance in front of him, silent and still.
The chamber around them remained utterly quiet—no mechanical hum, no ambient sound. Only distance.
When he finished reading, he rose. "Is this accurate?" His voice was calm—but heavy, like gravity itself shifting.
Corintha lowered her head. "Yes, Your Grace. This is the result of Silver's investigation."
A pause. The kind of pause where decisions stop being information and become consequence.
"Very well," he said. "Activate Worldwide OMNISCAN Protocol. I want full sweep coverage. Report back when complete."
"As you command," Corintha replied, bowing before turning away.
His Grace faced the void beyond the chamber—eyes reflecting shifting currents and tides of distant planets, unstable and alive, like reality itself moving inside them.
Then he raised a hand. The control interface before him responded without touch.
Click.
Systems awakened across impossible distances.
A synthetic voice echoed through the chamber: "Energy transfer initiating…"
One system. Then another. Then another. Like something waking up across a body too large to comprehend.
A pause.
"Energy transfer complete: Triangulum Galaxy."
"Energy transfer complete: Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy."
"Energy transfer complete: Andromeda Galaxy."
A longer silence.
"Energy transfer complete: Milky Way Galaxy."
The synthetic voice continued its system-wide transfer completion report.
~~~
Back on Earth, rain intensified across the ruined landscape. The kind of rain that doesn't fall—it presses down.
At first it was sparse—isolated droplets breaking through the smoke-choked air above the manor's remains. Then it thickened, until the sky seemed to collapse under its own weight, pouring grief onto scorched earth.
Ash hissed where water touched it.
The fire resisted for a moment, stubborn and alive, but the rain did not negotiate. It simply kept falling.
When Ysa and Dylan finally saw the manor, they froze. No one spoke. Even the wind felt muted.
The smoke was still rising, thick and dark against the sky.
Ysa didn't hesitate. She forced the Pegacampus downward and dropped to the ground before it fully settled.
Her boots hit ash.
The sight hit harder.
Tidecrafts scattered. The manor—burned hollow, barely recognizable.
And then she saw her.
Yve. Inside a tidecraft.
Ysa ran. She reached the door and knocked hard.
Yve lifted her head. Red-eyed. Exhaustion carved deep into her face. Then—recognition. She opened the door and fell into Ysa's arms.
They held each other tightly. For a moment, neither spoke.
That silence said everything neither of them was ready to say out loud.
Then Yve broke first. "They're dead, Ysa."
Ysa pulled back slightly. "Who?"
Yve's grip tightened. Her voice shook. "Reefville is gone… everything. Mom wasn't there when it happened."
Ysa blinked once. "Slow down. What are you talking about? What do you mean Reefville's gone? And where's Emily? Harrison? Have you seen them?"
Yve shook her head. "Harrison… Harlene…" She struggled to breathe through it. "They're gone."
The word didn't land immediately.
Ysa just stared at her. Like she hadn't processed the language yet. "…What do you mean, gone?"
Yve didn't answer with words. Instead, she turned slightly and pointed, at a distance. Two bodies. Lying still, side by side.
Reality becomes final at the moment it can be pointed to.
Ysa broke into a run toward the bodies, leaving Yve behind in the rain.
Yve stayed where she was. For a moment, everything around her felt distant—noise, movement, even the creaking remains of the manor.
Then her eyes shifted.
Dylan.
Dylan had a hand on Jenkins shoulder, gripping it tightly like he was confirming reality through touch. His face was strained, but it carried relief—quiet, exhausted relief. Jenkins gave a faint nod back, a small smile breaking through the tension.
A different kind of survival settling in
Yve moved first, slow steps through the rain. "…Dylan," she softly called out.
He froze, just for a second. Then he turned.
Rain poured between them, blurring the world, but not enough to hide her expression.
Something in his face shifted immediately—shock, then relief, then urgency. He moved toward her without thinking. "Yve—"
He closed the distance and pulled her into a tight embrace.
Yve didn't hesitate. She held on just as hard.
A few moments passed, Yve tried to pull back, but Dylan didn't let her.
His grip tightened instead—firm, almost instinctive. Like letting go wasn't an option his body accepted. His breath came rough against her shoulder. Unsteady. Controlled, but barely.
Yve hesitated… then stopped resisting. Her hand moved slowly, patting his back once. Grounding him. "I'm back," she said softly.
A pause.
Dylan gave a small nod against her shoulder. His breathing stayed heavy, like he was trying to steady something inside him more than his lungs.
Yve shifted again, trying to pull away.
This time, his voice stopped her. Low. Flat. Strained. "Just… for a little while."
Dylan finally pulled back.
Yve exhaled softly. "Hey…" Her voice stayed calm, even with the rain cutting through everything.
Dylan didn't answer. His hand stayed on her shoulder—firm, grounding, like he needed something solid to hold onto before he lost it again. His grip tightened slightly. Not painful. Just… certain. He looked at her. Directly. Like he was checking if she was real.
Yve frowned a little. "What's going on with you? Are you alright?"
Still no answer.
His breath hitched once. Then he pulled her back in again.
Yve started to speak—"Dyl—"—
But he was already holding her again. Arms locked around her waist, tight this time.
Yve froze for a moment… then relaxed into it. Her hand moved slowly to his head, then his back, steadying him. "I'm here now," she said quietly.
Dylan didn't respond at first. Then, barely audible—
"Just stay."
Yve's hand paused for a fraction of a second. Then she softened. "I will."
A beat.
"…I missed you," Dylan added, quieter than everything before it.
Yve didn't answer right away. She just held onto him, fingers tightening slightly like she was afraid to let go as well.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the bush wall, the thing wearing David's face stood, peeking through the leaves.
It didn't blink.
Its jaw worked slowly as it chewed—blood smeared unevenly across its mouth, too thick, too warm. It swallowed. Paused. Then let out a dry, broken cough that scraped the air like it had to be remembered rather than produced.
It looked down at its own body. Then moved to the nearby tree. And struck its head against the trunk.
Once.
Twice.
Each impact measured—not desperate, but instructional.
Harder, until blood ran down its face and a tooth cracked free, pinging off a root. It shifted its weight, raised one leg, and slammed it against the tree.
Once.
The bone cracked slightly. Then he took a step back, testing its stance. It nodded faintly to itself, like confirming a successful experiment.
"Help…!" The voice came out broken. "Help! Please!" And it began its slow, limping walk toward the gates.
The sirens heard the cries first.
Yve lifted her head. "Is that David?"
Another shout cut through the rain. "Help!"
Recognition hit like a shock. Instant relief. Instinct overrides doubt.
They ran. Boots slammed through wet ground as the group pushed toward the gates.
There—David. Bloody. Limping. Barely upright. "Help… please!"
Yve stopped short. "What happened to you?"
Ysa's eyes widened. "Oh my heavens…"
Dylan moved in first, catching David by the arm as Jenkins knelt beside him, immediately checking the leg.
"Easy," Dylan muttered. "Sit."
David collapsed into the support, breathing hard, shaking. "They… they attacked us," he said. "They came through the gates."
Dylan's head snapped up. "Who?"
David swallowed. "The cannibals."
A beat.
"They killed Harrison. Took Emily. We couldn't—there were too many. Too many of them."
The weight of his words crushed the air from the group.
Ysa's voice sharpened. "Do you know where they took them?"
David shook his head quickly. "No. I jumped. Back of the truck. Only way out. Landed wrong—" he glanced down at his leg, "—broke it."
Yve stepped closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. "David…" Her gaze fixed on his face. "What happened to your face?"
David looked at her for a moment too long. Then answered. "They beat us up."
Too long. A fraction longer than needed.
Yve hesitated. "Oh…"
Something in his gaze lingered on her.
Ysa noticed it—but pushed it aside. Focus first. She knelt, placing a hand over David's injury.
Yve didn't move. Her eyes stayed on him, instinct, screaming a warning she couldn't quite name. Not fear. Just misalignment. Something not fitting correctly.
Ysa glanced up, seeing the fresh gash on Yve's leg. "How did you get hurt?"
Yve blinked, distracted. "I… fell."
Dylan moved beside her immediately, his calloused fingers gently probing the wound without a word.
Once Ysa finished stabilizing David's injuries., the energy fading from her hands, she shifted to Yve.
They helped David stand. He exhaled slowly, flexing the now-healed leg. "Better…" His eyes shifted immediately, landing on Jenkins. "You're alive."
Jenkins gave a small, relieved smile and nodded once.
No words—just a firm step forward. The two pulled each other into a brief, grounded embrace. The kind men used when words weren't enough.
"Didn't think I'd see you again," Jenkins muttered.
"Yeah," David said quietly. "Same."
They separated.
David turned slightly. "Thank you."
Ysa gave a short nod.
Dylan cut in immediately. "We gotta move. We can't stay here."
No one argued.
That agreement came too easily for what they had just heard.
David exhaled, then looked at Yve. "It's good to see you again."
Yve smiled faintly. "Yeah…" But her voice was distant. Her eyes stayed on him.
David noticed. He stepped closer. "Something wrong?" And placed a hand on her shoulder.
Yve didn't move away—but she didn't relax either. She studied his face for a moment too long. Then: "No… I'm fine."
A pause.
David held her gaze another second. Then pulled her into a brief hug. "Still the same Yve," he said lightly. "Always overthinking." Then he pulled away. "I'm glad you're back, Yve."
Yve gave a small shake of her head. "Yeah… same. It's good to see you again." Her voice was flat. She turned. "Let's move."
~~~
The convoy started preparing immediately. Engines hummed. Harnesses tightened. Orders passed in low voices.
The bodies of Harrison and Harlene were secured inside one of the tidecrafts—still, silent, unmoving. David was placed with that unit.
At the rear tidecraft, Yve and Dylan settled in.
Dylan leaned back slightly, eyes scanning the structure around them. "Hm," he said, tapping the side of the tidecraft. "Still don't get this water thing. This is still water, yeah?" His hand brushed the interior surface as if testing reality.
Yve didn't answer at first. Her gaze drifted forward.
Dylan noticed. He nudged her lightly. "Yve."
She blinked. "Huh? What?"
"I asked how this works."
She exhaled. "Yes. It's water." Her tail flicked once—tight, restrained.
Dylan tilted his head. "Something's off with ya."
"I'm fine."
"You don't look fine."
Silence.
Yve looked at him properly for the first time. Then past him. At the tidecraft ahead.
David. He turned around. Waving. Smiling too easily. Like nothing had happened.
Dylan followed her gaze. "David bothering you?"
Yve hesitated. A fraction too long. "No," she said.
Then, quieter—
"No… it's nothing."
========================================
Author's Note;
My favorite and probably most difficult scene to write in this chapter was Dylan showing vulnerability with Yve. I kept worrying if it felt out of character for him… but at the same time, I think fear changes people.
Also… none of them realized what they just let into the convoy yet. 🙂
Tick.
Tock.
Goes the clock.
🕛🕐🕒