"Where?"
"It’s one kiloter north from where we separated. You should co fast. They need help!"
Of course they needed help. At this point, it would be more shocking if anyone in this city said they were doing just fine.
The one I was talking to was Juli. Or more accurately, a beetle sitting on my shoulder that had sohow beco my personal communication device. Its tiny legs shifted against my sleeve while her voice reached in faint, uneven pulses.
It still felt strange, but not strange enough to waste ti questioning it. Half a day. That was all it took her to figure this out, and I was still trying not to die in ways that would be embarrassing to rember.
I started moving after packing so food and essentials, my steps quick and steady as my mind began to catch up.
I had sent Juli to find Shia and the others after dealing with Hiding. Her insects could spread through the city like a living network, slipping through spaces no human could reach and watching everything without being noticed.
It made her the best option for scouting, even if that option happened to be a kid who should have been worrying about school instead of survival.
Not that this world cared about what anyone should be doing.
And yes, I knew how it sounded. Sending her out alone in a place like this was not exactly responsible. A child wandering through a city filled with things that could erase her without effort was the kind of decision people would normally question.
But she was not really alone. She had her insects - too many insects.
An unreasonable, borderline terrifying number of insects.
At this point, I was not even sure if she was controlling them or if they were all just collectively deciding she was their leader.
Either way, it worked. Juli found them. That should have been the end of it.
It should have been simple, but how could sothing be fine in this twisted world?
Because they needed help.
I frowned slightly as I turned onto another street, my thoughts narrowing around that one detail.
Shia and Charles were with Victoria the last ti I saw them. That alone should have been enough to remove any imdiate danger from the situation as long as she decided to spare them.
Victoria was not soone who needed protection. If anything, she was the problem other things had to worry about.
So how were they in danger?
The question stayed with as I kept moving, my pace steady but my mind restless.
Unless she left.
The thought ca easily, almost too easily.
Victoria did not seem like the type to stay in one place longer than necessary. If sothing bored her or stopped being worth her ti, she could have just walked away without a second thought.
And if that happened, Shia and Charles would have been left completely exposed. That made sense.
It fit.
But sothing about it still felt off.
"Danger," I repeated quietly, the word refusing to settle in a way that felt right.
Because if it was just that, Juli would not sound like this. There was sothing else.
Sothing I was not seeing yet.
"Juli," I said, my voice lowering slightly as I focused, "do you see a small girl around the two people I told you to search for?"
The question ca out almost on instinct, and for a brief mont, I hoped I was wrong. There was a pause, just long enough to stretch the tension.
"...Yes."
I did not stop, but sothing in changed, my attention sharpening as that single word settled in.
A small girl.
Of course it was sothing like that.
Because in a place like this, the things that looked the least dangerous were usually the exact opposite.
"What is she doing?" I asked, my tone more focused now.
The fly moved slightly.
"...She is standing near them. Not moving much. The bugs do not go close."
That answer sank in slowly, piece by piece.
The bugs did not go close.
Juli’s insects were not brave, but they were not careless either. They moved where they could, observed what they needed to, and avoided what felt wrong.
If even they refused to approach, then whatever stood there was sothing they recognized as a threat on a level instinct alone could understand.
I let out a quiet breath, my thoughts aligning into sothing clearer.
So it was not just danger.
It was the kind of danger that did not need to move to be felt.
"Describe her," I said.
There was a slight delay before Juli answered again, as if she was trying to get a better look through the scattered eyes she controlled.
"...She is small. Maybe my age. Long white hair. I cannot see her face clearly."
That lack of detail only made the image more unsettling.
A figure without a face was always worse than one you could understand.
"...The bugs feel scared," she added, her voice quieter this ti.
I almost laughed at that, though there was nothing truly amusing about it.
"Are Shia and Charles alive?" I asked, keeping my voice steady.
"...Yes. But they are not moving much."
Alive, but not in good condition. That was enough for .
"Stay hidden," I said, my tone firm without needing to rise. "Do not get closer. Just keep watching from a distance."
"...Okay."
The connection faded slightly after that, but it did not disappear. I could still feel it, faint and distant, like a thread pulling in the right direction.
I followed it without hesitation, my steps even and controlled as everything settled into place.
There was no point rushing blindly. There was no point hesitating either. A small girl that made insects afraid. It had to be Victoria.
The situation was not simple, but it was clear enough.
I adjusted my breathing, letting it even out as I moved forward.
Whatever was waiting ahead was not sothing I could afford to underestimate, and not sothing I could avoid either. Turning back was not an option, and rushing in without thinking would only make things worse, so I chose the only path that made sense.
I would move forward, stay alert, and deal with whatever was there when I saw it with my own eyes.
Because in the end, that was all I could really do.
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