By the ti morning ca, he was still sitting at the edge of the bed, staring at the faint silhouette of the entity against the dim light creeping through the window. He didn’t know if it ever rested, if it had a concept of ti the way he did. But it was waiting. Watching.
The knock at the door was soft, but in the silence of the room, it sounded louder than it should have. Jude stood, rolling his shoulders, trying to shake the stiffness from his muscles before moving to open it.
She stood there, expression unreadable, as always. The woman, he still didn’t know her na. She had never offered it, and he had never asked.
"You’re up," she said.
"Didn’t sleep," Jude replied, stepping aside to let her in.
She glanced around, taking in the room before her gaze settled on him again. "Good. You’re going to need that focus."
Jude exhaled through his nose. "I’m assuming this isn’t just a social visit."
She reached into her pocket, pulling out a small device. She pressed a button, and a faint hum filled the air, so kind of jamr, maybe. He recognized the sound, had heard it before. It ant this conversation wasn’t ant to be overheard.
"They know where you are," she said.
Jude felt his heartbeat slow, a cold, sinking feeling settling in his chest. "How long?"
"Hours. Maybe less."
He clenched his jaw. "And you waited until now to tell ?"
"I needed to be sure."
Jude let out a quiet laugh, but there was no humor in it. "Sure of what?"
She t his gaze. "That you were ready to run."
He had spent his whole life running. From the streets, from the past, from the things that had tried to control him. But this, this was different. This wasn’t about slipping away unnoticed. This was about surviving.
"What do they want?" he asked.
She didn’t hesitate. "You."
The answer shouldn’t have surprised him, but it did. He had expected sothing more, so hidden agenda, so reason beyond just him. But the way she said it, the certainty in her voice, told him everything.
He was the target. Not the entity. Not whatever power it held. Him.
"Why?"
She hesitated for the first ti. "Because you’re syncing."
The mory of the fight surfaced in his mind, the way the entity had moved before him, the way it had known what he was going to do before he did it.
"It’s happened before, hasn’t it?" Jude asked.
She nodded. "Once."
"And?"
"He didn’t survive."
Jude felt his throat tighten, but he forced himself to keep his expression neutral. "What happened?"
"They tried to control him. It didn’t work. So they killed him."
He let the words sink in, the weight of them settling like lead in his stomach.
"So that’s it?" he said. "That’s my future?"
"Not if you leave."
Jude turned away, running a hand through his hair. "And go where?"
She didn’t answer right away. Instead, she reached into her jacket, pulling out a folded piece of paper. She placed it on the table.
"There’s a place outside the city," she said. "You won’t be safe forever, but it’ll buy you ti."
Jude picked up the paper, unfolding it. A location. No na, no details. Just a set of coordinates.
He looked back at her. "And if I don’t go?"
"Then you’ll be dead by morning."
Jude took a slow breath, glancing at the entity. It hadn’t moved, but he felt sothing from it. A pull. Like it was waiting for his decision.
Finally, he nodded. "Fine."
She exhaled, the closest thing to relief he had seen from her. "Get your things. We leave now."
Jude didn’t argue. He grabbed what little he had, there wasn’t much to begin with, and followed her out the door.
The city outside felt different. The air was heavier, charged with sothing unseen. Jude knew they were already being watched.
They moved fast, keeping to the alleys, the side streets, the places no one paid attention to. She led, and he followed, trusting that she knew the way.
By the ti they reached the car, Jude’s pulse was steady, but his mind was racing. He wasn’t sure if this was the right choice, but it was the only one he had.
They drove in silence, the city lights fading behind them.
An hour passed. Then two.
Jude could feel the tension in his body, but he forced himself to stay still, to focus. He had been hunted before, but this was different. This wasn’t just survival. This was sothing bigger.
Eventually, she spoke. "When we get there, you’re going to have to make a choice."
Jude glanced at her. "What kind of choice?"
She didn’t look away from the road. "How much you’re willing to give up."
Jude didn’t answer. Because deep down, he already knew the answer.
Everything.
Whatever was coming, whatever they wanted from him, he wasn’t going to let them have it.
And for the first ti in a long ti, he wasn’t running away.
He was running toward sothing.
The road stretched endlessly ahead, darkness swallowing the distant horizon. The only sound was the hum of the tires against the pavent, a steady rhythm that seed to match the tension in Jude’s chest. He kept his eyes on the passing trees, their silhouettes flashing against the faint glow of the car’s headlights. He had spent his whole life navigating danger, but this ti, it felt different. He wasn’t running from so petty cri or escaping the consequences of a bad deal. He was running from sothing much bigger, sothing he didn’t fully understand.
The woman beside him hadn’t spoken in over an hour, her focus entirely on the road. He still didn’t know her na. He had considered asking, but sothing told him it wouldn’t matter. Nas were just details, and details didn’t an much when you were on the verge of disappearing. Still, the silence was starting to wear on him.
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