Zubair adjusted the strap on his rifle as he stepped off the porch. "I'll do a perimeter sweep," he said without looking back. "Alexei, with me."
"Couldn't wait to get rid of me, could you?" Alexei muttered, but he was already pulling on gloves. His eyes swept the tree line like a predator checking for competition. "You know this place is too damn quiet."
"Quiet means hidden," Zubair replied. "That's the point."
They moved together, slipping into the trees with silent coordination, unaware of just how deep the forest went or that the territory had already been marked by something older, darker, and very much awake.
Inside the cabin, Sera exhaled for the first time in what felt like hours. Her hoodie was heavy with dried blood, and her toque clung to her scalp like a second skin. She wanted to rip both off and burn them.
Instead, she turned to Lachlan.
"I need a shower," she said quietly.
