They didn't stop walking.
Not immediately.
Not until the streetlights thinned out and the noise of the city faded into something distant and irrelevant.
Danny exhaled slowly.
"…Yeah, I don't like that guy."
Abby didn't respond.
She was still looking ahead.
Still thinking.
Still… tense.
"…Abby."
Nothing.
"…Abby."
"…What," she finally said, her voice quieter than usual.
Danny frowned slightly.
"…You've been silent since he left."
A pause.
"…That's not normal for you."
She stopped.
So suddenly that Danny almost walked past her.
"…That man," she said.
"…He shouldn't exist here."
Danny blinked.
"…You've said that about literally everything so far."
"This is different."
Her tone Was different.
Danny felt it immediately.
"…How?"
Abby turned slightly.
Her eyes sharp.
Focused.
"Because he's not reacting to the Rift."
A beat.
"He's using it."
Silence.
Danny's chest tightened.
"…That's worse, isn't it?"
"…Much worse."
A faint wind passed through the empty street.
Cold.
Unsettling.
"…So what now?" Danny asked.
"…We just wait for him to come back?"
"No," Abby said immediately.
"…We move before he does."
Danny sighed.
"…You say that like we actually have a plan."
"…We don't."
"…Great."
A brief silence followed.
Then Abby glanced at him again.
"…But I know where we need to go."
Danny raised an eyebrow.
"…You do?"
"…Yeah."
A pause.
"Somewhere they can't easily follow."
"…And where is that?"
Abby's gaze shifted forward again.
"The place where the Rift is weakest."
Danny frowned.
"…Wouldn't that be the safest place?"
"…No."
A pause.
"It's the most unstable."
Danny let out a small, tired laugh.
"…Of course it is."
They started moving again.
This time With direction.
But something felt off.
Danny slowed slightly.
"…Hey."
Abby didn't stop.
"…What."
"…You said earlier…"
He hesitated.
"…That everything's happening earlier than it should."
She didn't respond.
But she didn't deny it either.
"…So what was supposed to happen?"
That question Made her stop again.
A long silence followed.
Then Very quietly She answered.
"You weren't supposed to awaken yet."
Danny froze.
"…Yet?"
Abby turned slightly.
"Not this early."
A pause.
"Not because of me."
Those words Hit harder than anything before.
"…So what—you're saying this is my fault and your fault?"
"…Something like that."
Danny ran a hand through his hair.
"…This just keeps getting better."
But then He stopped.
Because something clicked.
"…Wait."
Abby glanced at him.
"…What."
Danny's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…If I wasn't supposed to awaken yet…"
A pause.
"…Then what was supposed to trigger it?"
Silence.
And for the first time Abby didn't have an answer.
"…I don't know," she admitted.
That was bad.
That was really bad.
Because up until now She had always known more.
"…So something else changed the timeline too," Danny said quietly.
Abby didn't respond.
But her silence Confirmed it.
"…That guy," Danny continued.
"…He knows more than you."
That statement Shouldn't have been possible.
But it was.
Abby's expression tightened slightly.
"…Yeah."
A pause.
"And I don't like it."
A sudden shift in the air interrupted them.
Both of them stopped instantly.
"…You feel that?" Danny asked.
"…Yeah."
But this time It wasn't heavy.
It wasn't overwhelming.
It was… precise.
Like a signal.
Danny's eyes slowly lifted.
Ahead of them at the end of the street Something flickered.
A small crack.
Not in the sky.
In the air.
Thin.
Sharp.
Unstable.
"…That's a Rift?" Danny asked.
"…No," Abby said quietly.
A pause.
"That's a tear."
"…What's the difference?"
Abby's eyes narrowed.
"A Rift connects worlds."
A step forward.
"A tear…"
The crack widened slightly.
Unstable energy leaking from it.
Distorting everything around it.
"…means something is trying to force its way through."
Danny's chest tightened.
"…That doesn't sound good."
"It's not."
The tear pulsed once.
Then Something moved inside it.
Not fully visible.
Not clear.
But there.
Watching.
Waiting.
Danny took a slow step back.
"…Please don't tell me that's another one of those things…"
Abby didn't answer.
Because she was already moving.
Crimson energy flaring around her again Stronger.
Sharper.
Ready.
"This one…"
Her voice dropped.
"Is worse."
The tear split wider Reality bending around it, The air screaming silently And then a hand reached out.
Not massive.
Not monstrous.
Human.
Danny's breath caught.
"…That's…"
The hand gripped the edge of the tea Pulling, Forcing And slowly, Very slowly, A figure began to step through.
Abby's eyes widened.
For the first time since the fight began Genuine shock.
"…No way…"
Danny's voice barely came out.
"…What is it…?"
Abby didn't look away.
Couldn't.
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"That's not a creature…"
A pause.
As the figure stepped halfway through—
Its presence warping the air—
"…that's a person."
The tear pulsed violently Struggling to hold And the figure Smiled.
To Be Continued.