The barn couldn't keep them safe forever. Sophie knew it the moment Marcus coughed up blood into her hands, his body convulsing under fever. He needed more than her broken scraps of care. He needed medicine, stitches, someone who could see past the wounds and fight death back.
But leaving meant risk. Risk of questions. Risk of Ethan's whispers seeping into the world outside.
Still, she had no choice.
At dawn, she helped Marcus to his feet. His arm draped over her shoulders, his weight nearly unbearable, but she forced her body to move. Every step down the muddy path was agony, yet she refused to falter.
"Just hold on," she murmured against his ear. "One more mile. One more hour. We'll find someone."
Marcus managed a faint smile. "I trust you."
Her chest ached. Because she wasn't sure she trusted herself.
They reached the edge of town by midday. The houses stood quiet, painted in dull colors that had once been cheerful. Curtains fluttered in windows, but no laughter carried on the air. Sophie felt eyes on her, though the streets were empty.
When she spotted the sign for a clinic, relief broke through her fear. She pushed Marcus through the door, nearly collapsing under his weight.
The nurse at the desk looked up, startled. Her smile was polite but thin. "Oh my… what happened to him?"
"An accident," Sophie lied quickly. "He fell—he's bleeding badly, he can't breathe right. Please, help him."
The nurse hurried around the counter, calling for assistance. Within minutes, Marcus was lifted onto a stretcher and wheeled into a room. Sophie followed, her heart hammering as strangers surrounded him.
But as the doctor leaned over Marcus, checking his pulse, Sophie froze.
For the briefest second, his eyes darkened.
Not from exhaustion. Not from shadow. From recognition.
Ethan's voice rippled through her mind. They see me too.
The doctor blinked, his eyes normal again. He barked orders to the nurse, demanding sutures, saline, bandages. But Sophie couldn't shake what she had seen.
The shadows weren't gone. They were spreading.
She sat in the waiting room, her clothes stiff with Marcus's blood, her body trembling. The ticking of the clock was too loud. The whisper of the air vents sounded like voices. Every creak of the floor sent her heart leaping.
When the nurse returned, her expression was calm. Too calm. "He's stable, for now. Resting. You can see him shortly."
Relief should have washed Sophie clean. Instead, her stomach churned.
Because when the nurse smiled, Sophie caught it again—the flicker. The shadow behind the eyes.
He's in them too.
She stumbled back, her breath catching. "No," she whispered. "No, it's not possible."
But Ethan's laugh filled the silence. Did you think I was bound to the house? Foolish girl. You carried me out with you. Every time you breathe, you spread me wider. I am in your blood. In his. And now… in theirs.
Her hands shook. She pressed them to her ears, trying to block him out. But the whispers only grew. From the nurse. From the receptionist. From the man in the corner reading a magazine. They all glanced at her, their eyes flashing dark for a heartbeat too long.
Marcus wasn't safe here. No one was.
When Sophie was finally allowed into his room, she rushed to his side. Marcus lay pale but breathing, his chest bandaged, his eyes opening weakly at her touch.
"You made it," he murmured.
"We made it," she whispered, forcing a smile. "You're safe now."
But she didn't believe it. Not when she saw the way the doctor lingered in the doorway, his smile stretched too thin. Not when the shadows curled at the corners of the ceiling, waiting.
Marcus's hand found hers, his grip fragile but sure. "You feel it too, don't you?"
Tears stung her eyes. She nodded.
He closed his eyes, exhaustion pulling him under again. "Then we run. As soon as I can stand… we run."
Sophie brushed his hair back, whispering fiercely: "And we don't stop. Not until we've found a way to kill him for good."
But Ethan's voice slithered through the room, softer than breath, darker than night.
There is no "for good." You are mine, Sophie. And every mile you run will only bring you closer to me.