Chapter 550: The Things That Watch
A Few Hours Before
They did not look back.
Not one of them.
Not when the air itself had trembled with the force of it. Not when the cliff—the only path some of them had known—had collapsed into nothing.
They did not look back.
Tobias led them forward.
His steps were steady. Each one pressed into the earth with purpose, as though hesitation itself would cost them everything. His breathing was controlled.
There was pain at his side.
He felt it with every step, a slow, persistent burn beneath the fabric, a wetness that had long since stopped being surprising. But he did not acknowledge it. Did not allow himself to.
He couldn't focus on it. He was almost home after all. Just the thought kept him going.
Behind him, the Silver Creek pack moved quietly. Their steps were uneven in places, their breathing ragged, their formation loose at the edges where exhaustion had begun to creep in.
There were sounds.
Sniffling.
