Lucas’s legs felt like lead as they moved through the ruined streets. Every breath burned his lungs. Every step felt heavier than the last.

The town was in shambles—bodies littered the ground, blood smeared across pavement and walls like a grotesque mural. The air stank of death and smoke.

They didn’t speak.

There was nothing left to say.

Ryan still clutched Caleb’s arm tightly, his grip white-knuckled, as if afraid he would vanish the moment he let go. Caleb kept stumbling, his breaths shallow and uneven.

The nameless girl trailed behind them, arms wrapped around herself. She hadn’t spoken a word since they left the library.

Then, suddenly—

A low, deep hum vibrated through the air.

Lucas froze.

His head snapped up.

The sky—dark and endless—rippled.

Like something was pressing against it from the other side.

Ryan stiffened beside him. “What the hell—”

And then they appeared.

Figures. Shadowy and unnatural. Crawling out of doorways, from under cars, from behind broken windows.

The cursed.

Lucas’s blood ran cold.

“We need to run,” Ryan said. His voice was low, firm.

Lucas swallowed hard.

No time to think. No time to hesitate.

He adjusted his grip on Caleb. “Go.”

They ran.

Their footsteps echoed against the empty streets. The cursed figures lurched after them, moving in that jerky, unnatural way—like puppets with severed strings.

The nameless girl whimpered, trying to keep up.

Lucas’s mind raced. Where? Where could they go?

Then he saw it.

A gas station up ahead.

“Inside!” Lucas shouted.

They crashed through the doors, nearly toppling over one another. Ryan kicked the door shut behind them, bolting it with shaking hands.

Outside, the cursed figures gathered.

Pressing against the glass. Watching.

Waiting.

Caleb collapsed against the wall, panting heavily. His face was drenched in sweat, his body still weak from the possession.

Lucas turned to the nameless girl.

She was curled in on herself, trembling, hands gripping her arms so tightly her nails dug into her skin.

Lucas crouched beside her. “Hey.”

She flinched.

Lucas hesitated, then softened his voice. “I know this is terrifying. I know you don’t know us, and we don’t know you. But we’re in this together now. We have to keep moving.”

She looked up, wide-eyed. “T-They—” Her voice cracked. “They’re not human anymore, are they?”

Lucas shook his head.

She swallowed hard. Then, after a long pause—

“My name is Maya.”

Lucas blinked.

Not nameless anymore.

He gave a small nod. “Maya.”

Ryan paced by the window. “They’re just standing there. Why?”

Lucas’s stomach twisted. He had a terrible feeling.

Then—

A voice.

Familiar. Smooth. Amused.

Eli.

“I see you, Lucas.”

The cursed figures parted.

And through them—

Eli walked forward.

His body was reformed. Whole. Stronger.

And he was smiling.

Lucas felt the blood drain from his face.

Eli hadn’t been exorcised at all.

He had just been waiting.

Waiting for them to run.

Waiting to corner them.

Waiting to end it.

Lucas’s breath came fast and shallow.

Then—

Eli raised his hand.

And the gas station door unlocked.

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