The night was no longer the same in Greenwood.
Normalcy was gone.
Only pauses between chaos remained.
"I found him."
Max walked into the apartment, eyes cold, breathing steady.
Behind him…
A man.
Bound.
Bleeding.
But smiling.
"Well, well…" the prisoner murmured. "The chosen one."
The air grew heavy.
Daniel shut the door.
"Who is this?"
"One of the followers," Max replied. "He was there. At the ritual."
Rick, still weak, lifted his gaze.
"Then make him talk."
The man laughed.
Low.
Sick.
"You think that matters?"
Max stepped closer.
Slowly.
"Talk."
The prisoner tilted his head.
"You want to know about that night…"
Silence.
Heavy.
"Your family…"
His voice slowed.
Savoring it.
"They didn't die for nothing."
Max froze.
For a second.
"Say it properly."
"It was necessary."
The air seemed to vanish.
"Necessary for what?"
The smile widened.
"To open the path."
Daniel stepped in.
"A path to what?"
The man looked straight at Max.
"To you."
Silence.
Cold.
"You were always the center."
Max felt it.
Something about it… fit.
"Meaning what?"
"That you…"
A pause.
"…are more important than you think."
Max grabbed him by the collar.
"IMPORTANT HOW?!"
And then—
The man started laughing.
Louder.
More intense.
"You still don't understand…"
And then—
He stopped.
Abruptly.
His eyes widened.
His body locked.
And blood…
spilled from his mouth.
"What the—?!"
The body dropped.
Dead.
Silence.
Total.
"No…" Daniel muttered.
Max released him.
Eyes scanning instantly.
"No one came in."
"No one left," Celine added.
Rick tensed.
"Then how—"
Silence.
Heavy.
Unreal.
And then—
The truth settled.
Slowly.
Inevitably.
"There's someone here…" Max said.
His gaze moving across them.
One by one.
"Who shouldn't be."
On the other side of the city…
Elena didn't stop.
She couldn't.
The hunger was constant now.
Unbearable.
She tried to pull away.
To hide.
But it didn't work.
Because the problem…
wasn't the world.
It was her.
"Stop…" she whispered.
But her voice didn't obey.
Her body didn't obey.
Nothing obeyed.
And then—
She felt him.
Rick.
She turned.
Instantly.
And there he was.
Standing.
Injured.
Weak.
"I said I'd find you…" he said.
Elena stepped back.
"You should've stayed."
"I don't leave people behind."
"I'm not 'people' anymore!"
The scream tore out of her.
"I know."
He stepped forward.
"Then stop acting like you're not."
She lunged.
Fast.
Violent.
But Rick didn't react.
Didn't attack.
He just stood there.
Waiting.
And that…
shook her.
"HIT ME!" she screamed.
"No."
"WHY?!"
Silence.
And then—
"Because I know you're still in there."
That…
broke something.
For a second.
Just one.
Her eyes returned.
Human.
"I… can't…"
Rick stepped closer.
Slowly.
"Then let me help you."
"Don't come—"
But he did.
And he held her.
Despite the risk.
Despite everything.
She tried to resist.
Fought.
But not against him.
Against herself.
And then—
She collapsed.
Into his arms.
Her body shaking.
Breath failing.
"I killed…" she whispered.
Rick didn't answer.
Just held her tighter.
"I know."
Silence.
Heavy.
Real.
But now…
she was back.
"This isn't right."
Daniel paced the room.
"He just died."
"It wasn't random," Max said.
"Then what was it?"
Silence.
And then—
"Control."
The air froze.
"Malachor…" Celine said.
"Or someone here," Rick added, entering with Elena beside him.
Everyone looked.
And then—
They saw her.
Different.
Weaker.
But… conscious.
"I don't trust this," Daniel said.
"Neither do I," Elena replied.
Silence.
Heavy.
"So this makes it official…" Rick said.
His gaze moving across them.
"We've got a traitor."
Max looked at each of them.
Daniel.
Rick.
Elena.
Celine.
And for a second…
doubt existed.
"No one leaves," he said.
His voice firm.
Decisive.
"Until we figure out who's working against us."
The group…
finally together…
fractured.
In that moment.
Later.
Alone.
Max kept thinking.
About the prisoner.
The words.
What he said.
And what he didn't.
And then—
The voice returned.
Lower.
Colder.
"You are surrounded…"
Max closed his eyes.
"I know."
And then—
"And you still don't see by whom."
He opened his eyes.
And for the first time…
the doubt wasn't about the enemy.
It was about…
who stood beside him.