Ryan's eyes hardened slightly.
Something inside Havenbrook… was watching.
The faint thread of corrupted mana pulsed once more at the edge of his senses.
Thin.
Wrong.
A faint tension settled in his chest.
Then it faded again.
Ryan frowned slightly.
Behind him, Marcus cleared his throat loudly.
"Okay," he said.
"Can we all acknowledge that the world ended yesterday and somehow the most dangerous situation in this room is still Ryan's mom?"
Ryan closed his eyes for a second.
Elena sighed.
"Marcus."
"What?" Marcus said defensively. "I'm just stating facts."
Alice covered her face with both hands.
"I'm so sorry," she muttered.
Laura waved a hand dismissively.
"Oh don't worry about it dear."
That somehow made Alice blush even harder.
Ryan rubbed his temple.
"This conversation is over."
Marcus grinned.
"Not for me it isn't."
Michael snorted quietly beside Laura.
Ryan glanced up.
His father had been watching him again.
Not smiling.
Not joking.
Just observing him carefully.
"You really cleared that whole parking lot?" Michael asked.
Ryan shrugged.
"Yeah."
Michael gestured toward the entrance behind them.
"There had to be two dozen of those things out there."
Ryan leaned back slightly.
"They're not that hard to kill."
Marcus choked.
Elena pinched the bridge of her nose.
Michael raised an eyebrow.
"Not that hard?"
Ryan shrugged again.
"If you don't panic."
Marcus leaned forward.
"Oh come on—"
Elena elbowed him again.
"Stop."
Marcus rubbed his ribs.
"You're no fun."
Ryan ignored them and glanced around the gym again.
The survivors had slowly returned to their conversations, but many of them were still watching his group.
Word had already spread.
He could hear fragments drifting through the room.
"...killed them all…"
"...that spear…"
"...maybe military…"
Ryan looked away.
Attention like this could become a problem.
Laura noticed the shift in his expression.
"You don't like being stared at," she said quietly.
Ryan shrugged.
"Not really."
Michael leaned his head back against the wall.
"Well get used to it."
Ryan looked at him.
"You walked in here after wiping out every monster outside this building," Michael continued.
"People notice that."
Marcus raised a finger.
"Again—team effort."
Elena didn't even look at him this time.
She simply grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him down onto the mat again.
Marcus sighed dramatically.
"Oppressed."
Ryan let out a quiet breath and shifted the spear across his knees.
The gym lights hummed faintly overhead.
Children whispered across the room.
Someone coughed.
For a moment the scene almost felt normal.
Then the sensation brushed against his senses again.
Ryan's head turned slightly.
That same faint pulse of corrupted mana.
Coming from somewhere deeper in the building.
Ryan's eyes narrowed.
Alice noticed immediately.
"…Ryan?"
He stood up.
The feeling sharpened.
Marcus looked up at him.
"Oh good," Marcus said.
"That look again."
Ryan adjusted his grip on the spear.
"Stay here."
Marcus blinked.
"Yeah, no."
Elena stood up as well.
"Something wrong?"
Ryan glanced toward the hallway leading out of the gym.
"I'm not sure yet."
Michael frowned slightly.
"What is it?"
Ryan hesitated.
If he said the word monster, panic would spread through the gym instantly.
So he didn't.
"Probably nothing," he said.
Marcus stood up anyway.
"Which in Ryan language means definitely something."
Elena rolled her eyes but grabbed her blade.
Alice slowly rose to her feet as well.
Faint strands of green mana flickered nervously between her fingers again.
Ryan looked at the three of them.
Then sighed.
"Fine."
Marcus grinned.
"Adventure."
Behind them, Laura crossed her arms.
"Ryan."
He turned.
She gave him the same look she used to give when he tried sneaking out of the house as a teenager.
"You be careful."
Ryan softened slightly.
"I will."
Michael watched him for another moment.
Then nodded once.
"Go check it out."
Ryan turned back toward the gym doors.
The hallway beyond stretched into shadow.
That faint trace of corrupted mana flickered again.
Closer this time.
Ryan's grip tightened on the spear.
Marcus cracked his knuckles.
Elena stepped silently to Ryan's side.
Alice took a steady breath.
Together they stepped out of the gym.
And into the hallway.
Something inside Havenbrook—
Was moving.