Colony House seemed even busier than usual.
The residents who had remained there discreetly watched the newcomers arrive as they crossed the front porch carrying backpacks, suitcases, and everything they had brought from the bus.
Donna led the group. Beside her, Father Khatri wore his usual calm expression, offering a faint smile whenever one of the passengers looked ready to ask yet another question.
She stopped in the middle of the spacious living room.
"Welcome to Colony House."
Her tone was firm, without any exaggerated enthusiasm.
"From this moment on, as long as you're here, this will be your home."
The newcomers exchanged uneasy glances. The house was enormous, but the constant flow of residents coming and going made it seem as though every corner was already occupied.
Donna continued.
"Everything here belongs to everyone. Food, tools, clothes... everything is shared."
Several faces revealed poorly concealed surprise. The idea of sharing clearly didn't sit well with most of them.
She paused briefly before adding,
"In return, everyone works."
Father Khatri nodded.
"Everyone helps however they can. Some work in the kitchen. Others clean or tend the crops."
"And if you don't know how to do any of that..." Donna shrugged. "...you'll learn. Fast."
The mood in the room shifted subtly. Some of them seemed to relax after realizing that, despite everything, this place had rules and some semblance of order. Others remained visibly uncomfortable.
Randall let out a scornful laugh.
"So this is basically a forced labor camp with Boy Scout rules. Wonderful."
Donna slowly turned her head toward him. Her eyes narrowed.
"Call it whatever you want. As long as you're still alive to complain tomorrow."
A few people lowered their heads to hide small smiles.
"I've seen roadside motels that were better organized." Randall snorted.
Donna didn't even blink. "And I've seen better company."
He rolled his eyes but decided to keep the rest of his comments to himself.
Meanwhile, Bakta looked around the house with open curiosity. Her attention settled on a cluster of car batteries, where several locals were connecting cables to old table lamps, carefully testing each connection.
"What's that for?" she asked, pointing at them.
Several passengers followed her gesture, frowning at the makeshift rig.
"It's part of a plan." Donna vaguely pointed toward the ceiling. "That wooden tower you saw on the roof. Jim and Jade are building an antenna. We're going to use the electricity from those batteries to power a radio and try to contact the outside world."
Almost everyone's eyes lit up. More than one person had already tried calling emergency services, family members, or any number they could think of. None of those attempts had worked.
"So there's a chance..."
"...they might find us..."
"...maybe the military will pick up the signal..."
"...or the police..."
Donna watched the wave of hope spread across the exhausted faces for a few seconds.
She hated being the one responsible for crushing that kind of expectation, but the reality of this place never allowed illusions to survive for long.
"Don't get your hopes up."
The murmurs died almost instantly.
"We still don't know if it'll work."
Even with the warning, the news had already sparked a hope that couldn't be taken back.
It was in that atmosphere of fragile optimism that an irritated voice echoed from the top of the stairs.
"Wonderful..."
Every head turned upward at once.
Dale slowly descended the staircase, one hand resting on the railing.
"More mouths to feed. Exactly what we needed."
Donna didn't even wait for him to reach the bottom.
"You done?"
He stopped on the last step and looked at her with feigned innocence.
"I'm just telling the truth."
"Great." Donna took a step toward him. "Then put all that energy into helping with the next planting."
Dale opened his mouth to answer, but she didn't give him the chance.
"Because standing around complaining has never grown a single damn carrot, Dale."
An awkward silence settled over the room.
Father Khatri quietly cleared his throat, trying to ease the tension.
With an exaggerated huff, Dale cast one last contemptuous look at the newcomers before heading toward the kitchen, muttering something about dictatorships and a lack of consideration.
"Ignore him." Donna turned back to the group. "He complains when it rains... and complains even more when the sun's out."
A few timid laughs finally rose from the newcomers, easing some of the tension that had filled the room.
…
In the forest, Daniel and Julie returned to the spot where they had found Dilan.
The campfire was still smoldering, reduced to glowing embers. An empty spit rested between two wooden forked stakes.
Judging by the ashes, which were still warm, someone had left the place only a short while ago.
But the man was gone.
Julie scanned the clearing, then glanced sidelong at her boyfriend.
His posture remained relaxed, as if Dilan's disappearance didn't matter in the slightest.
"Are we going after him?" she asked quietly.
"No."
"No? I saw the look on your face when we found the traps. I thought you were going to break his legs."
"That would be too easy, and the punishment wouldn't last nearly long enough." Daniel absentmindedly nudged a charred piece of wood with his boot. "That's exactly what he's expecting, because then he gets to paint me as the villain. I'd rather leave him with a nagging doubt. I want his paranoia to do the initial work for me."
"That is straight out of a villain playbook." Julie arched an eyebrow.
"Let's head back." Daniel turned away from the clearing. "I want to explore other parts of the forest. So far, we've only covered the area behind Colony House."
When they stepped back out of the tree line, they spotted Dilan standing near a fence. He watched them from a distance, unable to hide the hostility that had already replaced the friendly smile he'd worn before.
Daniel didn't so much as glance in his direction. He kept walking as if Dilan were nothing more than another fallen log by the roadside.
As soon as Tabitha saw them, she walked over, with Ethan right behind her.
"Fatima was looking for you," she told her daughter, wiping her hands on her jeans.
"Did she say what it was about?" Julie frowned slightly.
"No." Tabitha shook her head. "She just asked me to let her know when I found you."
Before the conversation could continue, Ethan slipped past his mother. His eyes sparkled with curiosity.
"Are you going to tell me what happened last night? Did you fight the monsters again?"
"Of course. Your sister would love to tell you all about it." Daniel folded his arms.
Julie pouted indignantly.
Ignoring the murderous look she shot him, Daniel gave her shoulder a light pat.
"Go see what Fatima wants. I'm just going to set a couple traps, then I'll be back."
She let out a barely audible huff before nodding reluctantly.
Julie headed toward Colony House with her mother and Ethan, who wouldn't stop asking questions, while Daniel crossed the road and entered the forest on the opposite side.
Behind him, Dilan carefully watched the path Daniel had taken.
The woods on that side were denser. The trees grew close together, making the forest darker and quieter.
After about fifteen minutes of walking, something caught his attention.
One tree stood among the others. What truly set it apart, however, was the enormous dark opening in its trunk, wide enough for an adult to walk through.
Image
Daniel recognized its shape immediately.
It was one of those trees that could teleport anyone who stepped inside.
Without lowering his guard, he crouched, picked up a rock about the size of a tennis ball, and, keeping a safe distance, threw it straight into the opening.
It vanished into the darkness.
The expected sound of it striking wood never came.
Daniel waited a few seconds.
Nothing happened.
He picked up another rock and repeated the test, this time throwing it harder.
Once again, there was no sound.
He was just about to move closer when a chill ran down the back of his neck.
Predator's Senses flared a second before the danger materialized.
He reacted instantly, throwing himself to the right in an instinctive dodge.
The rock he had thrown plummeted from the sky at tremendous speed, striking the exact spot where he had been standing moments earlier.
The impact carved a small crater into the ground, sending dirt and dust flying in every direction with a dull, heavy thud.
He slowly got to his feet, brushing the dust from his pants as he studied the mark left in the earth.
"Interesting..."
The word came out almost casually, though his heart was still beating faster than normal.
He didn't know whether it had been a coincidence or whether someone, somewhere, was manipulating things from the outside. But one thing was certain.
Stepping into that hollow would be a death wish.
Determined to put some distance between himself and the bizarre tree, Daniel ventured deeper into the forest in search of a suitable place to set his new traps.
The silence was broken by a shuffling sound.
A weak groan, heavy with agony.
Daniel pushed through the undergrowth until he reached a strangely circular clearing.
At its center stood a partially ruined structure, covered in moss and scarred by cracks far too deep to be recent. One glance was all it took for the pieces to fall into place.
This was it.
The place from the show where Julie would awaken her Story Walking ability.
Beside the structure, atop a stone slab, were the two passengers who had fled the previous night.
Bound.
Iron rods had been driven through precise points in their bodies: two through the arms, two through the legs, and one through the abdomen. Blood slowly trickled across the stone, forming dark streams that dripped onto the ground in an almost ceremonial rhythm.
Just behind them, between the rocks, a dark opening led into what appeared to be a cave.
A crow watched the scene from the top of a tree. The moment it noticed Daniel's presence, it spread its wings and flew to a more distant perch, keeping him within its line of sight.
The two men noticed him almost at the same time.
"Help..."
The word came out hoarse, scraping at his throat.
"Please..."
[Extreme acupuncture. A creative approach, I'll admit. It's a shame the person responsible completely neglected to sterilize the equipment.]
The System's comment echoed through his mind with morbid humor.
"Your compassion never ceases to inspire," Daniel replied mentally.
He approached cautiously, assessing their injuries. Neither of them was bleeding nearly as much as they should have been, considering the number of rods impaled through their bodies.
Whoever had done this hadn't wanted them to die quickly.
"Names."
His voice was firm, leaving no room for hesitation.
The man on the left answered first, struggling to breathe.
"Brian..."
The other swallowed hard before he managed to speak.
"Brick..."
Image
Daniel nodded, committing their names to memory.
"You're staying right here. I'm bringing the doctor."
Brick's eyes flew open.
Panic overtook what little strength remained in his voice.
"No... get us out of here. Untie us, please."
"If I pull these rods out now without knowing what they've hit inside your bodies, you'll bleed out much faster than you are now." Daniel kept his tone calm. "Stay still. Literally, that's the only thing that can help you over the next few minutes."
Brian gasped, caught somewhere between pain and despair.
"Kelly..."
The words barely made it past his lips.
"Where's... Kelly..."
A flicker of contempt crossed Daniel's face as he held Brian's gaze for a moment longer than necessary.
Less than twenty-four hours earlier, the man had abandoned his girlfriend to die while running for his own life.
Even so, Daniel set his judgment aside.
"She's alive."
Brian let out such a deep sigh that it almost sounded like a sob.
"Thank God..."
He closed his eyes for a moment before continuing.
"Bring her... please... I need to see her..."
Daniel still considered Brian a coward, but in the end, Kelly had the right to decide for herself.
"I'll let her know."
Without wasting any more time, he turned on his heel and sprinted toward town.
Once he was far enough from the clearing, he noticed the crow wasn't following him. Sensing no presence watching him anymore, he accelerated to his maximum speed, only slowing when the first buildings appeared between the trees.
...
Daniel burst through the clinic door without knocking, interrupting Kristi and Marielle in the middle of a conversation.
Both women turned immediately.
"What happened?" Kristi asked.
"I found the two passengers who ran off last night." He kept talking even as she was already getting to her feet. "They're in critical condition. I need you to come now."
Kristi didn't hesitate. She rushed to the cabinet and pulled the medical kit from the shelves with quick, practiced movements.
By the time she returned, the bag's strap was slung tight over her shoulder, buckle still swinging from the rush.
"Let's go. Tell me what condition they're in on the way."
Daniel took the heavy medical bag from her hands and broke into a run again.
Kristi and Marielle followed as he described Brian and Brick's injuries in short, objective sentences.
As they neared the edge of the forest, they crossed paths with Boyd and Kenny coming from the opposite direction.
Before the sheriff could ask anything, Daniel spoke first.
"I found the two who ran away."
Boyd stopped in his tracks.
"Brian's in critical condition." Daniel didn't slow down. "He asked me to get Kelly."
Daniel was several strides ahead now, arm raised, pointing toward the forest.
"Keep going straight that way! About a twenty-minute walk!"
Without waiting for a response, he resumed running, with Kristi and Marielle close behind.
Boyd watched the three of them for a moment before turning to Kenny.
His face had already settled into the commanding expression that always appeared whenever time became a luxury.
"Go to Colony House and tell Kelly."
"I'm on it."
Kenny took off down the road before he'd even finished speaking.
Boyd quickly followed after Daniel.
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