Tobias fired the device, a strange gun built to work inside the fog. The moment the shot hit, the Pink Fog around Thomas scattered and thinned, stripping away his Oni form. His runes faded, his horns vanished, and he dropped back to his human body.
Tobias smirked. "Oh, don't tell me you've never seen one of these before. This, my friends, is a Fog Repeller. And guess what? We've got one more shot."
Darius stepped forward, his tone cold. "Without the fog, you're just flesh and bone."
Thomas rolled his shoulders. "Yeah?! I can still fight!"
Felix grinned. "Let's test that."
The space around Thomas remained clear. Whatever device Tobias had used, it worked. The fog didn't rush back in to cover the blast zone. Instead, the opposite happened, the mist crept in painfully slow, no more than an inch at a time. At that rate, it would take ages to restore the ground Thomas stood on.
The Red Hands kept close but stopped short of entering the clear zone. They were careful, preserving their Glint forms, their advantage intact as long as they stayed inside the fog's reach.
Thomas tried to meet them head-on, but without his Oni form, his strength was gone. His reaction was slower, his strikes duller.
Felix spat acid from a distance. Thomas jerked back, the burning liquid hissing against the cracked pavement where his head had been a second earlier.
Bryan stayed in his winged tiger form, keeping his distance from Thomas so he wouldn't lose his transformation. Iris kept a firm hold on Mira inside the Hammer, her hand gripping the girl's shoulder tight, while Nevin watched tensely from the back seat.
Bryan saw the Fog Repeller swing toward him. If Tobias fired again, he would lose his form too. Snarling, Bryan roared, "I'll end you all!" His movements were wild, desperate, at least that's how it looked. He hurled chunks of broken walls, rusted car doors, anything his claws could grip, forcing the Red Hands to shield themselves. One piece struck Tobias hard, and his fury spiked.
Bryan's goal was simple, draw their attention, and it worked. The Red Hands turned toward him, chasing as he bolted through the fog. The Red Hands turned their attention to Bryan, charging after him as he bolted through the fog.
But the act was just that, an act. Among Thomas's crew, they had a code. Overacting, pretending desperation, meant one thing: pull back. Never waste lives in a battle they could not win. Everyone remembered. Even Thomas.
Inside the Hammer, Iris grit her teeth. She shoved Mira into Nevin's arms and slid into the driver's seat. Bryan wheeled around in the air, leading the Red Hands further off course. As they turned to chase him, Iris slammed the accelerator, driving the Hammer straight toward Thomas.
He did not hesitate. The moment the car skidded close, Thomas leapt inside, dropping into the front passenger seat.
Bryan flew higher, wings cutting the fog, until the Red Hands lost sight of him. Then he folded in tight and dove. The Hammer roared past the ruins in the opposite direction as Bryan crashed down onto the roof.
The Red Hands finally noticed, but it was too late. All they saw was the tail of the vehicle disappearing into the fog, Bryan landing on top before shrinking back into human form. He slid in through an open window, breathless but alive, as Iris kept the car barreling forward without slowing down.
They were gone.
Ethan shouted after them, voice raw. "COWARDS!"
Darius didn't move. He stood with arms crossed, eyes narrowed as he watched the Hammer disappear into the fog. "Don't worry. We'll get them. And when we do, they won't escape again."
"Feels like we're chasing lost chickens, hahaha!" Tobias barked out, laughing at his own lame joke. He clearly thought comparing cowards to chickens was clever, even if no one else did.
Thomas's crew slipped into the ruins, the mocking laughter of the Red Hands echoing behind them like a victory chant.
Inside the Hammer, Thomas took Mira into Nevin's arms. Her small fists trembled against his chest, her body still shaking from the encounter. Iris stayed at the wheel but gave Thomas a quick signal to switch seats when safe. Nevin kept glancing back, eyes locked on the fog, making sure they weren't being followed.
"We good?" Bryan called out, his voice rough in his Griffin form.
"Still breathing," Nevin muttered, leaning forward slightly. "That was too close."
Thomas let out a long breath, loosening his grip before helping Mira sit upright. "You alright, kid?"
Mira tilted her head up, her voice barely above a whisper. "Are we… still going to look for my brother?"
Iris didn't hesitate. She reached over, resting a steady hand on Mira's shoulder. "Yes. Nothing's changed. We'll find him."
After a few minutes the Hammer rolled to a stop on a street lined with ruined houses and empty stalls. Bryan was the first to step out, followed by Iris and then Nevin. Thomas stayed behind the wheel with Mira, easing the vehicle slowly forward.
Thomas cracked his neck. "Alright. Luckily we didn't get lost. Mira knows this place. If you find anything that looks like a clue, we follow it."
They didn't know when the Red Hands might return, so even though none of the three outside had transformed yet, they began moving through the fog right away. Thomas stayed close in the Hammer. If a Fade appeared, worst case, he would jump in.
Mira sat in the passenger seat, gripping the edge of her seat tightly as she scanned the ruins with anxious eyes. "Go that way," she said, pointing with certainty. "This place… I know it. It's near our old house."
The crew exchanged glances before nodding.
Thomas reached over and ruffled Mira's hair. "Then let's go find him."
As they pushed deeper into the old town, the surroundings began to shift. The larger houses and stalls gave way to fewer, more broken-down structures. The destruction was worse here. Some houses were half-collapsed, walls torn apart, and the roads cracked and broken. Signs of Fades were everywhere.
It was obvious that Fades had passed through. And if Mira's brother had been here, his chances weren't good.
Nevin crouched ahead, scanning the ground. "Food wraps. Someone's definitely been here."
Mira's eyes lit up. "That's my brother's lunch pack from yesterday. He's here! I'm sure he's here!"
Iris frowned. It looked like nothing more than an old Tupperware container. "Could be anyone," she said quietly. Then she noticed the scratches gouged deep into the nearby wall. Her stomach tightened. If Mira's brother had really been here, either he had been attacked by the Fade that left those marks, or worse, he had become the one who made them.
The Hammer crawled down the broken street, Bryan clearing the path ahead by shoving aside fallen beams and smashed carts.
"Oh!" Mira suddenly shouted. She leaned forward in her seat, eyes wide as she pointed at something half-buried in the dirt. "There! Stop the car!"
Thomas hit the brakes. Iris slipped out and walked carefully toward the spot. She bent down and picked up a necklace, a rusted chain with a small metal tag. Mira's breath caught as soon as she saw it. "This is his!" she cried, clutching it in her hands.
Thomas let out a low breath. "That's our sign. We keep moving."
They pressed on, following faint pieces of evidence along the way, torn fabric, scraps of a shirt and pants, a shoe, shallow trails in the dirt.
"Our house is near here," Mira said, her voice steady but her hands trembling against the necklace.
Iris frowned, uneasy thoughts settling in. Fades were supposed to be mindless, nothing but hunger and rage. But this trail… it looked like someone was walking home. Was Mira's brother leaving these signs or had something else led them here?
Up ahead, Nevin suddenly raised a hand. The group halted.
Twenty meters away stood a single Fade. It didn't move. It didn't attack. It just stood silently in front of a house, as if guarding it.
"There," Nevin whispered, pointing.
Even from a distance they could see scraps of clothing still clinging to its twisted frame. A shoe. Torn pieces of a jacket. Shreds of a shirt and pants.
Mira gasped. "Brother…?" Her voice cracked, trembling between hope and fear. When the creature didn't respond, she called louder, desperate now. "Dale!"
Thomas's grip tightened around the steering wheel.
But Dale didn't answer. He only stood there, empty-eyed and silent. He wasn't human anymore.
Not far behind, the Red Hands found them. Figures slipped out of the mist, cutting off their escape. Thomas and his crew were trapped between Dale, standing silent in front of the house, and the Red Hands closing in from the ruins. If they moved toward the Fade, Dale would attack. If they stood their ground, the Red Hands would.
The tension pressed in from both sides. There was nowhere to run.
Felix's voice slithered through the fog. "Well, well. Looks like we caught up."