The river swallowed him.
One second Lucas was there
The next
Gone.
Vivian's grip tightened around Jamo's hand like it was the only thing keeping her from disappearing too.
"No!"
Water rushed into her mouth as she tried to scream. The current dragged them sideways, spinning, pulling, tearing them apart from everything solid.
Jamo yanked her upward.
Air.
They broke the surface hard.
Vivian gasped, choking, coughing, eyes wide and searching the dark water.
"Lucas!"
Nothing.
Just waves.
Debris.
Firelight flickering across the surface from the burning dock behind them.
Jamo kept one arm locked around her waist, fighting the current.
"Stay with me!"
Vivian twisted in his hold, scanning the water wildly.
"He was right there he was"
"He let go," Jamo said sharply.
The words hit like a slap.
Vivian froze.
No.
"No, he didn't. he slipped"
Jamo's grip tightened.
"He let go."
Her chest tightened painfully.
Because she knew it too.
That look.
That moment.
Lucas hadn't lost his grip.
He'd made a choice.
Vivian shook her head, water dripping from her hair, her face.
"I'm going back."
Jamo's voice dropped.
"No."
She fought him.
"Let me go!"
The current pulled harder, slamming them into floating debris. Jamo dragged her toward a half-submerged platform near the edge of the dock.
"You go back there, you don't come out."
"I don't care!"
"That's the problem."
Vivian shoved against him, fury breaking through the grief.
"You don't get to decide that!"
Jamo grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to face him.
"Yes, I do."
His voice was raw.
"You made me promise to stop him."
Vivian's breath hitched.
"And I did."
Silence crashed between them.
Water lapped around them.
Fire crackled in the distance.
Jamo's eyes burned into hers.
"You don't get to throw yourself away after that."
Vivian's voice broke.
"He's my brother."
Jamo didn't look away.
"I know."
That only made it worse.
Vivian's chest rose sharply as she looked back at the dark water again.
Nothing.
No sign.
No movement.
Gone.
The reality settled in.
Heavy.
Unforgiving.
Then
Something moved beneath the surface.
Vivian froze.
"Jamo…"
He felt it too.
The water shifted.
Not like a current.
Something else.
Something alive.
Jamo's body tensed instantly.
"Get up."
They climbed onto the broken platform, dripping, exhausted, barely steady.
The water below them rippled again.
Then stilled.
Too still.
Vivian whispered,
"Is it one of them?"
Jamo didn't answer.
Because he didn't know.
And that scared him more.
A shape moved under the surface.
Large.
Circling.
Vivian stepped back slowly.
"We should go."
Jamo nodded.
"Now."
They moved carefully across the broken dock, staying light, quiet.
But the silence didn't last.
The water exploded upward.
Something burst out
Fast.
Violent.
Jamo shoved Vivian aside just in time.
A massive form crashed onto the platform where she had been standing.
Not the creatures from before.
Different.
Familiar.
Vivian's breath caught.
"Lucas…?"
He stood slowly.
Water dripping from his body.
Eyes glowing faintly.
But not empty.
Not completely.
Jamo stepped forward, protective again.
"Stay back."
Lucas didn't attack.
He didn't move.
He just stood there.
Looking at them.
Vivian's voice trembled.
"Lucas… can you hear me?"
A pause.
Then
His head tilted slightly.
Just like before.
But softer.
Less controlled.
Less… gone.
"Viv…"
The word came out rough.
Broken.
But his.
Vivian's heart slammed into her chest.
"You're alive."
Lucas looked down at his hands.
Like he didn't recognize them.
"I… don't know what I am."
Jamo didn't lower his guard.
"You're not stable."
Lucas looked up.
A flicker of something dark crossed his face.
"I know."
Vivian stepped closer.
Carefully.
"Lucas, it's okay"
"Don't."
His voice sharpened suddenly.
Vivian froze.
Lucas took a step back.
Like he was afraid.
Not of them.
Of himself.
"I can feel it," he said quietly.
"Feel what?" Vivian asked.
Lucas's jaw tightened.
"Everything."
Jamo's eyes narrowed.
"Define everything."
Lucas looked at him.
"Every movement. Every sound. Every heartbeat…"
His voice dropped.
"Every weakness."
Silence.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
Vivian's chest tightened.
"That's not you."
Lucas shook his head slowly.
"No."
Another step back.
"I'm not me anymore."
Jamo's voice stayed firm.
"You still chose to come back."
Lucas's gaze flickered.
"Did I?"
That question hung in the air.
Unanswered.
Then
Lucas's body tensed suddenly.
His head snapped toward the dark edge of the dock.
Vivian felt it too.
That same presence.
The creatures.
Still out there.
Still hunting.
Lucas's voice dropped.
"They're coming."
Jamo cursed under his breath.
"We're not done."
Vivian looked between them.
"We can't fight them again."
Lucas's expression shifted.
Cold.
Sharp.
Decisive.
"No."
He looked at Vivian.
Then at Jamo.
And made a controversial decision.
"I'll stay."
Vivian's heart dropped.
"No."
Jamo's voice hardened.
"That's not happening."
Lucas didn't argue.
"They're tracking me now."
Vivian shook her head.
"They were tracking me."
Lucas's eyes darkened.
"Not anymore."
That hit.
Hard.
Jamo stepped forward.
"We don't split up."
Lucas met his gaze.
"You won't win this fight."
Jamo didn't blink.
"I don't plan to."
Lucas looked at Vivian.
"You need to go."
Her voice broke.
"I'm not leaving you again."
Lucas gave a faint, almost sad smile.
"You already did."
Silence.
Sharp.
Painful.
Vivian stepped forward
But Jamo caught her arm.
"Wait."
Lucas stepped back toward the edge of the broken dock.
The darkness behind him.
The water.
The unknown.
"You don't get to follow me this time," he said quietly.
Vivian's chest tightened.
"Lucas"
He looked at her one last time.
Really looked.
And for a brief second
He was fully there.
Her brother.
"I'm still here," he said.
"Just… not for long."
Then
He stepped back.
And disappeared into the darkness again.
Vivian lunged forward
But Jamo held her back.
"No."
She struggled.
"Let me go!"
Jamo didn't.
"Not this time."
The water went still again.
Silent.
Empty.
Gone.
Vivian stopped fighting.
Slowly.
Her chest rose and fell unevenly.
Tears mixed with river water on her face.
"He's not coming back."
Jamo didn't answer.
Because he wasn't sure.
And that uncertainty was worse.
Behind them
Sirens began to echo faintly in the distance.
Approaching.
Fast.
Vivian wiped her face roughly.
"It's not over."
Jamo looked back toward the burning dock.
"No."
His voice turned low.
"It's just getting worse."
Vivian stared at the dark water one last time.
Because deep down
She knew something.
Lucas hadn't just left to protect them.
He had gone somewhere else.
Somewhere deeper.
Somewhere they couldn't reach.
And whatever he was becoming
It wasn't finished yet.