"Oh, fuck," Jade muttered, almost to himself, but everyone heard it. The word seemed to echo, hanging over the group like a curse.
Dean stared down into the grave, jaw tight, his thoughts a mess.
'Did Jim just die? Or did he get pulled back… somewhere else? Maybe back to wherever he'd been when he vanished in the first place. Or worse — maybe the forest had taken him somewhere new.'
The whole situation was a goddamn nightmare. None of this made sense — even by From's standards. Nothing like this had ever happened before. No one had teleported out of a grave box made from cursed tree wood. The rules of this twisted place were already insane, but this? This broke them.
Dean dragged a hand down his face, frustration burning through him. 'What the hell are we even dealing with now?'
And then, a thought hit him — one that cut through the chaos like a spark. The mission. The damn system that had brought him here. If Jim was really dead, the mission would've updated by now, right? Failed. Ended. Something. But nothing had popped up. No message. No sign. Which meant—
He's still alive.
Dean's heartbeat quickened. If that was true, then Jim wasn't gone. Not yet.
He looked around — Boyd standing rigid by the grave, Julie trembling, Tabitha staring into the empty box like it had swallowed her soul, and Jade pacing with his hands on his head, muttering curses under his breath. Everyone looked lost. Broken. Waiting for something to happen.
Dean clenched his fists. "Sitting here's not gonna do shit," he said suddenly, his voice cutting through the silence. Everyone turned toward him. "If Jim's still alive — and I'm betting he is — he's out there somewhere. Maybe still in the forest. Maybe hurt. We should start looking now."
Jade frowned. "Dean—"
"No," Dean interrupted, stepping forward. "Listen. He disappeared near Mark's house, right? Then we start there. Maybe whatever took him pulled him back to the same spot. But sitting here staring at a fucking box isn't helping him."
The air fell quiet again. His words lingered — bold, reckless, but not wrong.
Tabitha looked up at him, her eyes red and tired but suddenly alive again. That small spark — hope — flickered through the exhaustion. "You think he's… still in the forest?"
Dean nodded. "Yeah. And if he's hurt, he doesn't have long. We can't just wait for him to 'reappear' again. He might be running out of time."
Tabitha wiped at her face, her hands shaking slightly, then nodded hard. "Then we go. Now."
Boyd sighed as he saw the determination in Tabitha's eyes — the same look he'd seen in desperate people before. People who refused to give up.
Finally, he nodded. "Alright. We'll move fast, but we stay sharp."
Donna stepped forward, her usual calm gone, replaced with frustration and worry. "You really think he's just wandering around out there after all that?"
Dean shrugged. "Wouldn't be the weirdest thing we've seen. You know that."
Jade groaned, dragging a hand through his hair. "Fine. But if the forest starts eating us next, I'm haunting you first."
Boyd turned to Kenny and the rest, barking out orders. After confirming with Donna which areas they would search and which ones they could cover up, everyone quickly set off.
As the groups split up again, Boyd quickly divided everyone into smaller search teams, assigning routes through the forest and along the nearby trails. The sun hung high overhead and it was long before it could set. It should've felt safe under the daylight — but no one relaxed. Not here. Not in this place. The air still carried that thick, uneasy tension, mixed with a desperate, stubborn hope that maybe — just maybe — they could still find Jim.
Dean's group was the last to form, and this time, they had one more person — Sara.
It wasn't even up for debate. Just a day ago, she was just an ordinary member of the town group. Now, the way people treated her had started to change. Somehow, she'd gone from a normal woman to something like a prophet overnight.
Sara stood quietly beside Dean, sunlight glinting off her messy blonde hair. Her face looked drained, but her eyes were focused.
He gave her a light pat on the shoulder. "You did good."
Sara blinked, caught off guard, then smiled — a soft, real smile that broke through the tension for a moment. "It's all thanks to you," she whispered back.
Dean shook his head. "Nah. You're the one who trusted what you felt. That's all you."
She didn't say anything more, but the smile lingered.
Before they could move out, Tabitha walked up, holding Julie steady along with Kristi as she limped slightly, while Ethan stayed close behind, clutching his little toy.
Tabitha stopped in front of Sara, her eyes wet but steady. "Sara… thank you," she said quietly, voice shaking. "For finding him — or at least trying. If you hadn't said anything, we wouldn't even know where to look."
Sara blinked, startled, then quickly shook her head. "You don't have to thank me. I just… felt it. Like he was calling out."
Julie's voice was soft but sincere. "You were right. You saved him — even if just for a little while."
Sara's throat tightened. "I wish it was enough."
Tabitha's expression softened. "It was. It means he's still out there somewhere." She reached out, squeezing Sara's hand tightly. "We're going to bring him back."
Ethan nodded beside her, voice small but certain. "We will."
Sara's smile warmed up, and she ruffled Ethan's hair.
Just then Boyd's voice cut through the air. "Alright, people — move! Stay in your groups and be quick. Also don't go too deep in the woods"
After they bid goodbye to the Matthews family, the small group — Dean, Sara and Kenny started toward the route Boyd had led out for them. The air was warm, but the deeper they went into the trees, the cooler it got. The forest swallowed sound.
For a while, no one spoke. Only the crunch of boots over dry twigs and the blowing wind. Every few minutes, someone would call out Jim's name. Each time, only the echo of their voices came back.
Then Sara stopped.
Dean noticed instantly. "Sara?"
She didn't answer right away — just stood there, one hand over her chest, the other gripping her side. Her breathing quickened, eyes going distant like she was listening to something far away.
Then, without warning, Sara's eyes widened — like something had just clicked inside her — and before anyone could say a word, she bolted.
"Wait—Sara!" Dean shouted, but she didn't stop.
Branches whipped against her arms as she tore through the trees, feet pounding the dirt, her breathing ragged and uneven. It was as if something had taken control of her — pulling her, guiding her — faster and faster through the forest.
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