For a brief second after the truck tore through the entrance, no one moved.
They just stared at it—the open back, the way out—like their minds couldn't catch up with what they were seeing.
Then it hit them all at once.
People rushed forward.
Fear took over, turning it messy fast as they pushed and shoved, trying to climb in first, desperate to get out of the store that had turned into a trap.
"Hey—easy!" Henry's voice cut through the chaos as he stepped forward, grabbing one man by the shoulder and pulling him back before he could shove past a woman. "Nobody's getting left behind, so stop acting like it."
That slowed them just enough.
Not calm—but controlled.
One by one, they started climbing into the truck, helping each other up instead of dragging each other down.
Henry kept watch, eyes constantly flicking between the crowd and the mist outside, making sure nothing slipped in while they loaded up.
When he was sure most of them were in, he turned toward David.
"David," he said, more focused now, "you take the front with Billy. We're heading to your place first."
David looked at him, caught off guard for a second. He knew what that meant—what Henry was doing.
"...Thanks," he said quietly.
Henry didn't respond to that directly. He just gave a small nod.
Madison stepped closer, her expression softer but still shaken. "Thank you," she said. There was more behind it than just the truck—she knew this situation, this entire mess, started with her suggesting the trip.
Henry glanced at her briefly. "Don't mention it," he said, keeping it simple, not letting it linger.
Inside, though, his thoughts were already moving.
Points: 140.
Four more common spins waiting.
Not bad for a "vacation."
He pushed that aside and grabbed the metal latch on the truck, giving the inside one last look. Everyone was packed in, tense but ready.
"Hold on," he muttered under his breath, more to himself than anyone else, before slamming the back doors shut.
He moved around to the front and climbed into the passenger side, shutting the door behind him as Madison and Billy sat inside with David.
Henry reached forward, glancing at the dashboard, then out into the fog-covered road ahead.
"David," he said, steady but firm, "you drive. I'll watch the outside."
David nodded, tightening his grip on the wheel as the truck rolled forward, tires crunching over debris before easing onto the road.
The mist swallowed everything beyond a few feet, thick and shifting, pressing in on all sides as if it were alive.
Henry didn't look away from it. He pulled the AT4 case onto his lap and flipped it open. He reached in and lifted the launcher, settling it against his shoulder as naturally as if he'd been using it for years.
Madison turned, eyes widening the moment she saw it. "Where did you even get that?" she asked, her voice tight with disbelief. "You didn't bring that on a flight."
"Small detail," Henry replied without looking at her, already adjusting his aim as he pushed the window down.
Something moved in it.
A thick, whipping shape burst out of the fog—tentacles lashing toward the truck, fast and sudden, slamming against the side with a heavy thud that made the entire vehicle shake.
Billy flinched. Madison grabbed onto the seat.
"Keep driving," Henry said, calm but sharper now.
The launcher steadied.
Another strike came—closer this time.
Henry leaned out slightly, locking onto the movement in the mist, reading the pattern instead of the shape.
"Got you," he muttered.
He pulled the trigger.
A sharp blast.
The rocket tore through the fog and disappeared into it for half a second before—
BOOM.
The explosion hit hard, a deep, concussive shockwave that pushed the mist outward and rocked the truck as if something massive had just been ripped apart.
Fragments—dark, thick—splattered across the road behind them.
Henry pulled back inside, lowering the launcher just slightly as the mist rolled in again, swallowing the blast like it had never happened.
[Monster Eliminated 30 SP]
[Rare gacha spin triggered]
The truck pushed forward through the fog, slow but steady, until a familiar shape began to emerge ahead—David's house.
David hit the brakes.
The engine idled, loud in the silence.
Henry opened the door and stepped down, katana already in hand. The mist curled around his legs as he turned back toward them.
"You stay here," he said, voice calm but firm. "I'll be back in ten minutes."
Madison nodded without arguing. David didn't say anything, but his grip on the wheel tightened.
Henry turned and moved toward the house.
The front door was slightly open.
That alone was enough.
He pushed it wider with the tip of the blade and stepped inside, eyes scanning every corner, every shadow. The house was quiet—too quiet. No movement, no sound… just the faint smell.
Blood.
He moved slowly, clearing each room one by one. Furniture overturned. Signs of struggle. Drag marks across the floor.
Then he reached the kitchen.
He stopped.
What was left on the floor barely resembled a body anymore—torn, half-eaten, blood dried in dark streaks across the tiles.
"…May you rest in peace," he said quietly.
There was nothing else to do here.
He turned and walked out the same way he came.
The truck waited.
Henry climbed back in without a word.
David looked at him once—just once—and that was enough. He didn't ask. He didn't need to.
Silence filled the cab.
Then—
"Dad… where's Mom?" Billy's voice came, small and hopeful, cutting straight through it.
*****
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