The village didn't fall apart.
It didn't burn.
It didn't scream.
It changed.
Slowly.
Quietly.
Like something had taken root beneath it—
and was spreading where we couldn't see.
People still moved.
Still spoke.
Still breathed.
But not the same way.
It wasn't just Rorik.
I could see it now—
in the way people paused too long before answering.
In the way their eyes lingered on things that weren't there.
In the way no one stood too close to anyone else anymore.
Like something inside them
was waiting.
"This isn't stopping," Torvin said.
Not loud.
Not joking.
We stood near the center of the square—
the four of us—
with the rest of the village pretending not to watch.
"It's spreading," he added.
"No," Freya said.
We all looked at her.
"Spreading is random," she continued.
"This isn't."
She gestured subtly around us.
"This is… placement."
Placement.
Like pieces on a board.
"The thing on the shoreline," I said.
Malek nodded once.
"It wasn't wandering," he said.
"It was a distraction."
"Then it's still here," Torvin said.
No one argued.
Because if it wasn't—
none of this made sense.
"Then we find it," Malek said.
Simple.
Direct.
"And do what?" Torvin asked.
"Ask it to leave?"
"We kill it," Malek said.
No hesitation.
"And if that doesn't stop it?" Freya asked.
That landed harder than expected.
"What if it's already done enough?" she added.
"What if killing it doesn't change what's already inside them?"
That was the question none of us wanted to ask.
Because it meant this wasn't something we could fix.
"Then we stop it from doing more," Malek said.
His voice wasn't louder.
Just sharper.
"We can figure the rest out after."
"That is logical."
The voice came from behind us.
Rorik again.
Still watching.
Still… not right.
"Remove the source," he continued.
"Limit further change."
A slight smile crept onto his face.
Freya's eyes narrowed slightly.
"You're agreeing with him," she said.
"It is the most efficient course," Rorik replied.
There it was again.
Efficient.
I didn't like that he was right.
I liked it even less that it didn't feel like he was the one saying it.
"Alright," Torvin said, rubbing his face.
"We kill it."
A beat.
"Where do we start?"
Silence.
Because for all the fear—
for all the urgency—
we had nothing.
"The docks," I said slowly.
"That's where we first saw signs."
"And the shoreline," Freya added.
"Where it was moving."
"And the square," Torvin said.
"Where it watched us."
"It's not staying in one place," Freya said.
"No," I said.
"It's circling."
"So it's not hiding," Torvin muttered.
"It's working," Malek said.
The words settled heavier than they should have.
Because if that was true—
then this wasn't random.
It was deliberate.
I felt it before I said it.
The question sitting in all of us at the same time.
"Then why aren't we affected?" I asked.
Silence.
Not confusion.
Not disagreement.
Recognition.
Torvin let out a quiet breath.
"Yeah…" he said.
"That seems like an important detail."
Freya didn't answer right away.
Her eyes moved between us—
not just looking—
assessing.
"We might be," she said finally.
That landed wrong.
"I feel fine," Torvin said quickly.
"So did they," she replied.
That shut him up.
I thought about the boy.
The way he stared.
The way no one noticed—
until it was too late.
"No," Malek said.
Firm.
"We're not like them."
Freya looked at him.
Not dismissive.
Just… careful.
"Not yet," she said.
Not yet.
"Maybe it needs time," Torvin said.
"Like it builds up or something."
"Or exposure," I added.
"Closer contact."
"Or…" Freya hesitated.
"Or it chooses."
That one didn't sit well.
"Why would it choose?" Torvin asked.
"Because not everyone is worth the same," she said.
No one liked that answer.
My stomach tightened.
I thought about the creature on the shoreline.
The way it watched us.
The way it didn't attack.
"It saw us," I said quietly.
Malek's jaw tightened slightly.
"Yeah," he said.
"And it let us walk away."
"So what does that mean?" Torvin asked.
No one answered.
Because we all understood the same thing—
just not out loud.
It wasn't that we weren't affected.
It was that we hadn't been chosen yet.
Or so we thought...
No one said anything after that.
Because there wasn't anything to say.
Torvin shifted slightly beside me.
"Well," he muttered, quieter than usual,
"I'd prefer to keep it that way."
"Then we don't wait," Malek said.
Not loud.
Not forceful.
Just decided.
Freya glanced toward the edges of the square—
where the others stood.
Watching.
"Not here," she said.
"Not like this."
I followed her gaze.
The villagers hadn't moved.
Not much.
But I could feel it now—
the way their attention lingered.
Not curiosity.
Not fear.
Awareness.
Like something behind their eyes
was listening.
"We move," Malek said under his breath.
"Same path."
"No noise."
"And if it's watching?" Torvin asked.
"Then we let it think we're not," Freya replied.
That was enough.
No rallying cry.
No warning to the others.
Just a shift—
small enough that no one outside our group would notice.
But all of us felt it.
We weren't staying.
We turned—not all at once—
not obvious.
One step.
Then another.
Like we were just moving through the village.
Like we weren't leaving it behind.
I didn't look back.
I didn't want to see if they were watching.
Because if Freya was right—
if something in them could feel us—
then it already knew what we were about to do.