Alva POV
I didn't move.
that was the stupid part.
everyone else reacted — hands to weapons, shifting weight, glancing at the blind angles —
but I froze.
not from fear
from certainty.
the resonance wasn't a guess this time —
it was a trace line in the air.
my hands tingled like lightning was braided under my skin.
Kai's voice was near my left shoulder — low — trying not to spook the moment:
> "…you see something?"
I didn't bother turning.
my gaze was still on the horizon — the empty road — the broken signage — the rusted spine of an overpass in the distance.
but there was a pulse.
soft…
like someone flicked my ribs from inside.
"they're not far," I said.
Nox swallowed behind me.
> "same group as before?"
"no."
my voice surprised even me — calm — flat — surgical.
Kai shifted again — crowbar angled.
> "hostile?"
"…possibly."
I stepped forward.
one slow step.
because something in that resonance wasn't chaos —
it was organized.
aligned.
almost like the echo of another mind like mine.
my fingers flexed once.
electric threads shimmered faintly between knuckles — hair–thin — silver pale.
Kai exhaled a quiet curse.
> "oh that's new."
I didn't look at him.
"it's not new," I said. "it's stabilized."
the air felt thinner.
the moment — heavier.
they were close — not physically —
but close in the frequency.
Arden's voice cut through the quiet —
steady. no panic.
> "load up. we move now."
people moved.
Nox climbed back into the convoy.
Kai lingered next to me.
he didn't touch me.
he didn't ask again.
he just leaned slightly sideways — shoulder almost brushing mine — and murmured:
> "hey… when you finally snap that second lock open — don't forget I was here before everyone else."
my lips twitched — tiny — involuntary.
"…you're assuming I'd choose you."
> "I'd bet the truck on it."
I exhaled.
not a laugh
but very close.
the engine of the SUV roared awake behind us.
the horizon pulsed once more — like someone out there was calling out in the same wavelength — and my pulse answered.
Kai tilted his head.
> "you feel them again?"
"yes."
"closer?"
"…yes."
he grinned.
> "good. I was getting bored."
I finally turned — finally stepped back toward the SUV — finally blinked the tension away.
because whatever — whoever — was on that road ahead…
we weren't avoiding them anymore.
we were heading straight toward them.
now on purpose.
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