The facility didn't sleep that night.
Ren felt it the moment the doors sealed behind them again. The steady rhythm the place had before was gone. In its place was movement. Urgent footsteps. Voices carried through the halls. Doors opening and closing faster than before.
Something had changed.
Not just outside.
Inside too.
Ren stood just beyond the main entrance, looking back toward the desert where the creature had disappeared. The darkness had swallowed it completely. There was no sign it had ever been there.
But the feeling remained.
Like the air itself remembered.
Jonah stepped beside him.
"We don't follow," Jonah said.
Ren nodded.
"Yeah. I figured."
They both knew why.
That thing hadn't been running.
It had been leaving.
And chasing something like that without understanding it would get them killed.
Behind them, Mercer and Alvarez were already in motion, giving orders to a small group of staff and guards.
"Seal the lower level," Alvarez said. "Double check every chamber."
"It didn't damage anything else," one of the staff members said.
"That doesn't matter," she replied. "We confirm."
Mercer turned toward them.
"We need to track it."
Alvarez frowned.
"In the dark?"
"We don't have a choice," Mercer said. "If it reaches a population center—"
"It won't," Jin said.
Everyone paused.
Jin stood near the doorway, his posture relaxed, but his attention fixed on the horizon.
"It knows where it's going," he continued. "It won't waste time."
Ren crossed his arms.
"That supposed to make us feel better?"
Jin didn't answer.
Mercer ran a hand through his hair.
"It's moving toward the ocean," he said. "If it gets there…"
He didn't finish.
He didn't need to.
Cal stepped forward.
"You think it's going to change more?"
Mercer looked at him.
"I think it hasn't finished yet."
Silence followed that.
Ren didn't like that answer.
Not even a little.
Mara leaned on her staff slightly, watching Mercer.
"You said animals are adapting to match their legends," she said. "That thing didn't look like it was struggling."
"No," Mercer said quietly. "It didn't."
Elise spoke from the side.
"So it succeeded."
Mercer hesitated.
"Yes."
Ren exhaled slowly.
"Great."
Jonah turned toward Mercer.
"What's your plan?"
Mercer didn't hesitate this time.
"We track it. Study it. If possible… contain it again."
Ren raised an eyebrow.
"Contain it?"
"You saw what it did," Ren continued. "That thing walked through everything we threw at it."
Mercer nodded.
"I know."
"And you still think you can put it back in a tank?"
Mercer met his gaze.
"No."
That answer caught Ren off guard.
"Then what?" Ren asked.
Mercer looked back toward the desert.
"We learn from it. Understand it. And if it becomes a threat…"
He paused.
Jin finished the sentence quietly.
"We end it."
The room went still.
Ren studied Jin.
There was no hesitation in his voice.
No doubt.
Just certainty.
Jonah nodded once.
"That's realistic."
Alvarez crossed her arms.
"I'll prepare a team," she said. "Tracking equipment. Supplies."
Mercer shook his head.
"No large team."
She frowned.
"That's not safe."
"It's not supposed to be," Mercer replied. "Too many people and we lose mobility."
Jin spoke again.
"I'll go with him."
Ren smirked slightly.
"Of course you will."
Jin ignored the comment.
Alvarez looked between them.
"You're both serious."
"Yes," Mercer said.
She sighed.
"Then you move at first light."
Mercer nodded.
Ren pushed off the wall.
"Sounds like you've got a plan."
Mercer looked at him.
"You're not coming."
It wasn't a question.
Ren shook his head.
"No. We've got our own path."
He glanced west.
"Nevada."
Cal stepped forward.
"We're not equipped to chase something like that anyway."
Elise nodded slightly.
"And it didn't target us."
Mara added quietly.
"It had somewhere to be."
Jonah looked at Mercer.
"We won't interfere."
Mercer nodded.
"Understood."
For a moment, the tension eased.
Not gone.
But settled.
Two different paths.
Two different problems.
Both dangerous.
Ren stretched slightly, rolling his shoulders.
"So we rest, then move out?"
Jonah nodded.
"Early."
Ren glanced at the horizon one last time.
The creature was gone.
But the feeling it left behind hadn't faded.
That sense of something vast moving beyond their reach.
Something they couldn't stop.
Not yet.
They spent the rest of the night preparing.
The facility remained active, but Ren and the others kept to themselves. Supplies were restocked. Weapons checked. Routes discussed.
Cal packed extra materials, muttering about needing more paint if things kept getting worse.
Elise sharpened her blades in silence.
Mara cleaned and inspected her staff, the faint glow along its carvings pulsing softly as she worked.
Jonah stood watch.
As always.
Ren sat nearby, revolver in hand, staring at nothing in particular.
Billy stirred faintly.
Not speaking.
Just there.
Waiting.
Ren exhaled.
"Yeah," he muttered. "I know."
Morning came faster than expected.
The sky shifted from dark to pale gray as the sun prepared to rise.
The group gathered near the main gate.
Mercer and Jin were already there.
Both ready.
Mercer carried a lighter pack now, filled with tools and equipment instead of research samples. Jin looked exactly the same as always.
Cal looked at Mercer.
"You're really going after it."
Mercer nodded.
"Yes."
"And you think you can bring it back?"
Mercer hesitated.
"…I think we can try."
Ren smirked.
"That's honest, at least."
Jin adjusted the sword at his side.
"We will do our best to bring it back," he said.
"And if we can't…"
Ren nodded.
"Yeah. I get it."
A brief silence passed between them.
Not awkward.
Just… final.
Two paths separating.
Mara stepped forward slightly.
"Be careful," she said.
Mercer gave a small smile.
"I'll try."
Elise didn't say anything, but she gave a small nod.
Cal raised a hand.
"Don't die. I still want to compare notes."
Mercer chuckled.
"I'll keep that in mind."
Jonah stepped forward last.
"If it becomes a threat beyond your control," he said, "you leave."
Mercer nodded.
"I understand."
Ren looked at Jin.
"You gonna finally tell me what your legend is?"
Jin smirked faintly.
"Not yet."
Ren shook his head.
"Figures."
The gate began to open.
Sunlight spilled across the desert.
Warm.
Bright.
Endless.
Mercer took one last look at the group.
"Good luck in Nevada," he said.
Ren nodded.
"Good luck with your ocean problem."
Jin turned without another word.
Mercer followed.
They stepped out into the desert, heading in a different direction.
Not west.
Southwest.
Toward where the land would eventually meet the sea.
Ren watched them go for a moment.
Then Jonah spoke.
"We move."
Ren turned.
The group stepped forward.
Through the gate.
Into the open desert.
Nevada waited ahead.
And whatever came next… was getting closer.