The moment he moved, it followed, this wasn't a physical thing, this was internal otherworldly by comparison, then a flicker that had hovered at the edge of his vision in the shed.
Only this time it didn't fade when he stepped outside, and that alone was enough to tell him that whatever had just happened wasn't temporary, its more deliberate.
Arty slowed without meaning to, his attention splitting between the yard ahead and the thing that now sat just beyond direct focus, like a reflection that only existed when he wasn't looking straight at it.
He blinked once, the shapes shifted, not random this was organising itself, trying to become something he could understand, Arty's chest tightened, because this… this was something new and it was reacting to him.
"Arty," Leah said sharply from behind him. "Move."
He didn't, not immediately, because for the first time, he knew this wasn't just about surviving anymore. The moment they stepped back into the yard, the world felt louder.
Not in sound alone, though there was plenty of that now, metal rattling, distant impacts, the uneven chorus of movement spilling in from the road and neighbouring lots.
There was something else layered over it, something Arty couldn't quite name yet, like the space around him had gained an extra dimension he could almost perceive if he looked at it the wrong way.
The crystals in his pocket felt heavier, not in a physical way, more in a meaningful way.
"Left," Leah said, already moving toward the Ute.
Arty didn't argue, he angled with her, keeping himself between her and the closest movement while his eyes tracked the gate and the lane beyond it.
More shapes had gathered there, drawn by noise and motion, their numbers building slowly but steadily in a way that made the place feel less like a yard and more like a funnel waiting to close.
"Faster, I've got to move faster." Dale muttered, half to himself as he stumbled forward, his hand pressed tighter against his side.
Tom dropped from the tray edge to help, catching Dale under the arm without waiting for permission, dragging him the last few steps as Arty reached the driver's door and yanked it open.
"Everyone in, now."
There was no hesitation this time, Leah moved first, throwing the bag onto the seat before climbing in. Dale followed, half-falling into the back. Tom swinging back up into the tray with a speed that came from knowing exactly how little time they had.
Arty got behind the wheel, slammed the door, and turned the key, the engine roared to life. A shape hit the side of the Ute at the same moment, a dull thud that rocked the vehicle just enough to remind him how thin the barrier between them and everything outside really was.
He didn't wait, the Ute surged forward, tyres spitting gravel as he cut a tight line through the yard and out toward the open gate. One zombie stumbled into the path and disappeared under the front corner with a crunch he refused to think about.
They broke onto the service road, for three seconds, nothing blocked them, then the road filled again, figures spilled from between houses, from side streets, from behind parked vehicles left half-abandoned when whatever this was had started.
Not a flood, not yet, enough to turn a straight run into a problem, Arty didn't slow. He threaded the Ute through the gaps, adjusting constantly, the steering wheel alive under his hands as he chose paths that didn't exist until he forced them open.
The engine strained as he pushed it harder than he should have, the fuel needle dipping slightly lower with every burst of acceleration.
"Where are we going?" Leah asked
Leah gripped the dashboard and the extra handle, as the Ute bounced over a broken section of road, Arty didn't answer immediately, because for the first time since this had started, he wasn't just reacting.
This time around, Arty was thinking ahead, the house was gone it was useless, the servo was a death trap this fabrication yard had potential, but not without time which he didn't have. He needed something else, something bigger, something built to hold.
"Further in," he said finally. "Industrial or commercial. Big structures. Fewer entry points."
"Shopping center?" Tom called from the tray.
"Too many doors. Too many places for something to get inside without us noticing." Arty replied.
"Warehouse district?" Leah suggested.
"Better." Arty responded.
The crystals shifted in his pocket as the Ute hit another bump. That pressure surged again. This time it didn't fade. It stayed. A low, constant presence sitting just behind his awareness, like something waiting for permission to exist.
Stronger Arty's vision flickered again. This time the image held longer. Faint translucent lines hovered at the edge of his sight. He could almost read them before they slipped away like reflections on water.
"What's wrong?" Leah asked.
"Nothing," he said automatically.
Even though the words felt less true with every passing second, another flicker clearer in shape and detail, the text inside unreadable, then something snapped into perfect clarity a word.
…Pending…
Arty blinked hard, the road snapped back into full focus. A zombie slammed into the side mirror and spun away, barely registering as more than an inconvenience compared to what had just happened.
"You saw that," he muttered.
"Saw what?" Leah asked.
He shook his head once. "Doesn't matter."
It mattered, a lot he just didn't have time to explain something he didn't yet understand and this was clearly something only he could see.
The Ute cleared the worst of the immediate cluster and broke into a slightly more open stretch of road, the buildings ahead growing larger again as the residential edges gave way to heavier construction.
Warehouses, distribution centers, big steel boxes with limited access and thick walls. This was more promising in a safe and better way, then another buzz from his phone, unknown caller again.
His grip tightened on the wheel, Arty instinctively glanced at the phone before realising the message isn't coming from it.
Threshold reached.
"Arty?" Leah said.
He didn't answer immediately, because the next line appeared without input.
System initialisation: pending confirmation.
The world didn't stop, Arty kept the Ute moving as the road kept unfolding in front of the group, everything continued exactly as it had been. Except it didn't, because now he could see it.
A faint overlay sat across his vision, barely visible unless he focused on it, lines and symbols arranged in a structure his brain was only just beginning to interpret.
"Tell me you're seeing this," he said quietly.
Leah glanced at him, then back at the road. "Seeing what?"
"Nothing," he said again.
The pressure in his chest shifted, not discomfort, not pain, just a sense of something unlocking, like a door he hadn't known was there clicking open a fraction.
Another line appeared.
Crystals absorbed: 8
That wasn't right. He hadn't absorbed anything. He'd only collected them... hadn't he? Arty's hand moved instinctively toward his pocket.
The shapes were still there, still solid and very real within in pocket, "so what has changed?" Arty mused out loud.
Another text arrived.
System boot incomplete. Additional input required.
Arty let out a slow breath. "Of course… but what input exactly." he murmured.
Nothing about this was going to be simple, a shape moved into view on the road ahead.
He reacted instantly, swerving slightly to avoid it as another cluster that had spilled out from between two parked trucks, their movement faster than before, more direct.
"They're getting quicker," Leah said.
"Yeah," Arty replied.
That wasn't the worst part, the worst part was that he was getting faster too, not stronger no not yet, he was getting sharper and more precise. Like his timing had shifted half a second ahead of where it should have been, the overlay flickered again.
Warning: environmental escalation detected.
"Yeah, no kidding," he muttered.
Tom leaned forward, voice tight. "Warehouse up ahead, left side, big roller door, looks closed."
Arty's eyes were drawn to immediately, a large distribution building, set back behind a wide yard with a heavy sliding gate that sat partially open.
The structure itself was solid, the roller door was a heavy industrial security roller door..., minimal windows, thick walls, a single main entry point and a smaller personnel door beside it.
"We check it," he said.
Leah nodded once. "We'll need to be quick though."
"Always quick… It's quick or be dead from now on." Arty stated.
Leah, Tom, and Dale all nodded in silent agreement, Arty then swung the Ute into the yard, tyres crunching over gravel as he brought it around in a tight arc, positioning it again for a fast exit if needed.
The gate behind them creaked as one of the zombies pushed against it, widening the gap just enough for more to follow.
"We need to close that gate to buy some more time, Leah come help me close that gate, I'll take out that zombie… Dale wait here… Tom protect Dale and watch the Ute" Arty spoke rapidly.
In a quick, fluid movement, Arty dispatched the zombie with a perfect strike to the temple using his wrench. He wasted no time crouching beside the body and scooping up the crystal.
The instant his fingers closed around it, the faint overlay at the edge of his vision steadied, not by much.
Just enough that the blurred shapes seemed to hold together for a heartbeat longer before beginning to fade again.
Crystals absorbed: 9
Arty frowned. "...There's that word again absorbed… 9 this time."
The moment passed. The flicker slipped back out of focus as though it had never happened.
Leah finished forcing the gate shut, and within a minute they were back in the Ute. Time, after all, was still their most precious commodity.
Moving the Ute closer to the warehouse, Arty killed the engine and stepped out, the wrench already in his hand, the overlay still flickering faintly at the edge of his vision.
System initialisation: pending…
He looked at the building, at the door and at the space around him, with the yard secure for however long it took them to break in. Arty then looked back toward the road, where more shapes were already turning in their direction.
"This is it… for now this will do." Arty said.
Not because it was safe, certainly not because he could guarantee it would work, time was too limited and they're running out of places to test.
The crystals pressed against his pocket again, heavier now, more present, he could feel it waiting. Whatever came next would either be the beginning... or the end. He stepped toward the door, behind him, the world kept coming.