The cabin door shut behind them with a hollow thud, muffled by the heavy snow that blanketed the world outside. Aria pulled her hood up, the wind slicing across her cheeks like razors. Kael adjusted the strap on his bag, his eyes alert as they stepped into the forest.
They were leaving behind safety—what little of it they had. But Red Hollow wasn't going to wait. Neither was the girl.
Hours passed in silence, broken only by the crunch of boots and the occasional snap of a distant branch. Kael hadn't said a word since they left. Not because he was angry or afraid, but because something inside him was shifting. Aria felt it like a storm pressing behind glass—waiting to crack.
"You okay?" she asked finally.
He nodded, but it wasn't convincing.
"Your fever's gone," she continued. "But you're pale. And distant."
"I'm fine."
"No, you're not."
He stopped walking.
Aria turned to face him, snow falling between them. "Tell me the truth, Kael. Don't shut me out now."
He exhaled slowly, fog forming between his lips. "There's something wrong. I can feel it. The closer we get to Red Hollow, the more it burns under my skin. It's like… like something is calling me back."
Aria's heart tightened. "From the lab?"
"No. Deeper. Older. I don't think I ever left it behind. I think part of me is still buried there."
They stood like that for a long moment—between past and future, pain and purpose.
Then Kael shook his head. "Let's go."
By the time they reached Red Hollow, the sun had disappeared beneath a blanket of gray clouds. The town was a corpse. Hollow buildings, shattered glass, rusted street signs all crumbled beneath snowdrifts. It had been evacuated years ago, after the lab's fire. But the clinic still stood at the end of the main road—tall, broken, and dark like a sentinel over a graveyard.
"There," Aria said, pointing. "That's where the file said she'd be."
Kael didn't speak. He was already moving.
Inside the clinic, the air was stale. The walls were peeling, lined with mold and frost. Aria shivered. She didn't believe in ghosts—but this place felt like one. A memory too stubborn to fade.
"Basement," Kael said. "They always kept the sensitive files underground."
They moved slowly, flashlights guiding their steps. Aria stepped over old syringes, scattered files, and what looked like a child's toy. It was wrong, all of it—this place had treated people like experiments, and now it rotted with its sins.
In the basement, they found a locked door. Kael kicked it once—nothing. Twice—and it flew open.
The room beyond was small. Cramped. A single bed, chains on the wall, and a file cabinet in the corner. Aria's breath caught.
Someone had lived here.
Kael moved to the cabinet, tearing it open.
"Kael," she whispered, pointing.
A girl sat in the corner. Her eyes were wide, unblinking. Her hair was tangled, skin pale like paper. She looked seventeen—but there was something wrong in her expression. Something fractured.
Kael dropped the file.
"You found her," Aria breathed.
But the girl didn't speak.
Kael stepped closer. "Hey. We're not here to hurt you. We're here to help."
The girl tilted her head slowly. "You were the first," she whispered.
Kael froze. "What?"
"The first success. They talked about you. Said you were strong. Said you escaped."
Aria stepped in. "What's your name?"
The girl blinked. "They called me Echo."
That name made Aria shiver.
"We need to get you out of here," she said gently. "There are people after you. Dangerous people."
But Echo just laughed.
"They're already here."
Kael moved fast, yanking Aria back into the hallway just as gunfire exploded from the far end.
"Move!" he shouted.
They ran, Echo behind them, silent and unflinching as bullets tore through the old clinic walls. Outside, snow had turned red where a man had fallen—one of the guards from before.
"They tracked us," Aria gasped.
Kael scanned the rooftops, eyes narrowing. "Two snipers. At least three on foot."
"We can't outrun them!"
"We don't need to. We just need a distraction."
Kael grabbed a flare from his bag and fired it straight into the air. For a moment, the world lit up in crimson flame—and then the wolves came.
From the forest, they charged like shadows given form. Not real wolves—at least not entirely. These were hybrids. Leftovers from Project Niveus. Half-feral, half-controlled. They didn't obey men.
But they obeyed Kael.
The attackers screamed.
Aria ran with Echo, ducking behind a rusted car as Kael called to the wolves in a language only they understood. It wasn't words—it was instinct. Power. Command.
The fighting was brutal. But quick.
When it was done, three men lay bleeding in the snow. The rest had fled.
Kael stumbled to Aria, covered in scratches, panting.
"I told them," Echo said softly. "I told them the wolves would return."
Kael turned to her. "Why didn't you run?"
Echo looked up at the sky. "Because I knew you'd come. And because I wanted to see what happens next."
Aria's heart pounded.
"What do you mean?"
Echo turned to her. "He's not the only one they changed."
Kael stiffened.
"What?"
But Echo only smiled. "It's in your blood too. You were just dormant."
Aria stared at her. "That's impossible. I was never—"
"Are you sure?"
The air grew colder.
Kael pulled Aria close. "Don't listen to her. She's unstable."
"But what if—"
"No."
Aria closed her eyes, trembling.
Everything was spinning out of control.
They had found the girl.
But maybe—just maybe—they were losing themselves.
And the worst part?
This was only the beginning.