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Chapter 42: The Lesson
Four days passed.Julie settled into a routine. Wake before dawn. Help with breakfast. Check the fence with Sara. Work in the greenhouse. Eat. Sleep. Repeat.It wasn't happy. But it was something. A rhythm. A purpose. A reason to get up in the morning.Celeste spent most of her time in the greenhouse. She'd found her place among the tomato plants and herb beds. Sara had given her a corner to tend. She talked to the plants when she thought no one was listening. Julie caught her once. That didn’t stop her.The other women were wary at first. Melissa kept her distance. But the others slowly warmed. A woman named Stephanie asked Julie to help fix a broken window. Another named Priya showed her where the tools were kept. Small things. But they added up.The children were harder. They stared at Julie like she was a stranger. Which she actually was. But one of them, a girl of maybe seven named Lily, started following her around. She didn't say much. She just watched. Julie didn't mind.On th
Chapter 41: Preparations
Jacob lay awake until morning.He couldn't sleep. Scarlett had told him everything the night before. How her father had died from the cold. How the house had been raided by men with symbols on their foreheads. How she and Evelyn had tried to escape. But Evelyn had been captured.He stared at the ceiling. The wind howled outside.He thought about the men with the symbols. Who they were. What they wanted.He had no answers. Just questions.When dawn came, he got up.He showered. Got dressed and went downstairs.Victoria was already in the kitchen. Scarlett sat at the table. She looked better than she had the night before. Less pale. She was eating a bowl of oatmeal."Morning," she said.Jacob nodded.He sat down across from her."I need to ask you a few questions," he said.Scarlett set her spoon down. "Okay.""The men who took Evelyn. You said there were about five of them.""Yes.""Did you recognize any of them?""No.""Did they say anything ? Anything about where they were going? May
Chapter 40: The Farmhouse
Julie woke to the sound of wind.For a long moment, she didn't move. She was stiff. Cold. Her back ached from sleeping against the metal bed of the truck. Her fingers were numb.Celeste was still beside her. Awake."Did you get any sleep?" Julie asked."No."Julie sat up slowly. The snow had stopped falling. The world was still. The road stretched ahead. The thing was gone.She checked the rifle. Still there. Still loaded. She laid it across her knees and scanned the treeline.Nothing moved."We need to keep moving," she said.Celeste nodded. She climbed out of the truck and stood in the snow, waiting.Julie followed.They walked for hours.The snow was deep. Every step was a struggle. But they kept moving. Away from the thing. Away from the city.Around midday, they found the fence.It was electric. Julie could hear the low hum before she saw it. A wire fence, waist-high, strung between wooden posts. Beyond it, a farmhouse. Small. Old. The roof sagged. But smoke rose from the chimney
Chapter 39: The Thing
The road was empty. No signs. No markers. Just snow and trees and the red sky pressing down on everything. Julie didn't know where they were going. She just knew they couldn't stop. Celeste walked beside her. The bag was lighter now. Almost empty. They'd eaten the last of the canned soup the night before. Now there was nothing left but a few crackers and a bottle of water. Julie carried the rifle. It was heavy on her shoulder. The strap dug into her coat. "We need to find shelter," Celeste said. "I know." "You said that yesterday." Julie didn't answer. She just kept walking. The road curved through a stand of trees. That was when she saw it. A body. Face down in the snow. Julie stopped. Celeste stopped beside her. "What is it?" Julie didn't answer. She just stared. The body was still. Pale. A man, she thought. Old coat. No hat. His skin was the color of old milk. "Frozen," Celeste whispered. "Must have been out here for days." Julie took a step closer. Her h
Chapter 38: To Staying
The helicopters had stopped coming three days ago.A while before that, Jacob had watched them through the security feeds. They came at night, mostly. Small, dark shapes cutting through the red sky. They landed at the old airfield on the other side of the city. They picked up people. Important people, Jacob assumed. The ones with connections. The ones who knew someone who knew someone. The ones who had somewhere else to go.He didn't know where they were taken. He didn't care.And even if he had known, it wouldn't have mattered. Nowhere was entirely safe anymore. The helicopters, the airfield, whatever destination they were flying toward, none of it was a guarantee. The cold didn't care about connections. The snow didn't care about money. Whatever was happening out there, wherever those people were being taken, it was only a matter of time before it caught up with them too.He'd stopped watching after the third night.Cameron was gone. The boy was buried in the snow. Jacob had mourned
Chapter 37: Ready Or Not
"Come out, Darius."Nathan froze."I know you're in there. Did you really think you could escape that easily? Alyssa told me you might try. I've had people watching you for days."Silence."Come out. Bring the boy. And all will be forgiven."Nathan knew it was a lie. There were others outside with him. He could hear them shifting in the snow. The soft crunch of their boots.But what could he do?He had a knife. Lucian had men. Men with guns, probably.He looked at Caleb. The boy was frozen, his eyes wide. His small hands were clenched at his side. He was trying not to shake. Trying to be brave. But Nathan saw through him."Stay behind me," Nathan whispered.He opened the door.Lucian stood in the snow, flanked by three guards. One of them had a rifle. The others had knives. They were all wearing white. They all had the red symbol on their foreheads. The snow fell around them, soft and silent.Nathan stepped out slowly, his hands raised. Caleb stayed behind him."There you are." Lucian
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