Henry listened, then nodded slightly.
Well… it was better than staying here. And if it was really a transport truck, something heavy, it could carry most of them at once. That alone made it worth the risk.
"So it's at the back of the store?" Henry asked, his eyes fixed on Ollie.
"Yeah," Ollie replied, a little uncertain but holding his ground.
Henry exhaled once. "Okay. I'll go and check."
Madison's head snapped toward him. Her eyes widened as she grabbed his arm immediately.
"Didn't you just say it's dangerous out there?" she asked, her voice tight with worry. "Why are you going outside then?"
Henry glanced at her hand on his arm, then back at her face. "Relax. I'm not going deep into the mist. Just enough to reach the truck and bring it around."
"That's still outside," she pressed, not letting go. "You saw what's out there—"
"I know," he cut in, calmer but firmer. "And I also know we can't stay here. You saw what just happened. Next time, it might be worse."
She didn't answer immediately.
Her grip tightened for a second, then loosened.
They couldn't stay here anymore. That much was clear. The attacks were becoming more frequent, more focused, as if something was drawing the monsters toward this place.
Henry slowed for a moment, the thought forming more clearly than before.
Wait… is it because of me? Is my Revenant blood attracting all of them?
The idea settled in quickly, uncomfortable but logical.
Yeah… that seemed possible.
Another reason to get out before something worse showed up.
He pushed the thought aside and moved toward the back door. As he opened it, Madison's voice came from behind him, tense but steady.
"Take care."
Henry gave a slight nod, not turning back, and stepped into the mist with the katana in his hand.
The outside swallowed him immediately.
The fog was thick, suffocating, cutting visibility down to almost nothing.
He slowly let his Astral sense expand, feeling rather than seeing, mapping the space around him through faint impressions. With that guiding him, he moved across the parking lot, sometimes stepping backward, scanning, listening for anything that might be waiting.
The ground wasn't clean.
Blood streaked across the pavement, and scattered along his path were bodies—half-eaten, torn apart in ways that made it hard to even recognize them as human.
The sight hit him harder than he expected, his stomach twisting as he instinctively brought a hand to his mouth.
"Fuck me… I feel like throwing up," he muttered, forcing himself to keep moving.
He didn't stop.
The back of the store came into range of his awareness, and through the mist, the shape of the truck finally appeared. It was still there, large and intact, the driver's door slightly open as if it had been abandoned in a hurry.
Relief flickered briefly.
Henry climbed up into the driver's seat and checked quickly.
No key.
Of course.
He exhaled through his nose, already stepping back down. If the driver had fled, maybe the key was somewhere nearby—
A sound cut through his thoughts.
Slow.
Wet.
Chewing.
Henry's grip on the katana tightened as he moved around the back of the truck, each step controlled, silent.
He rounded the corner—
And saw it.
A large spider crouched over a body, its mandibles working as it tore into flesh. For a moment it didn't notice him, completely focused on feeding.
Then its head lifted.
It saw him.
The reaction was instant.
It lunged.
Henry stepped in and swung.
The katana cut clean through it, splitting the body mid-air before it could reach him. The halves dropped—but the momentum carried them forward, spraying dark fluid straight across his face.
Some of it hit his mouth.
He froze.
Then immediately spat it out, wiping his face with a look of pure disgust.
"Ah—hell no! That is not okay!" he snapped, gagging slightly. "Man—my tongue—what the hell is that taste?!"
He swore that was the most disgusting taste he had ever felt.
Henry wiped his mouth hard, trying to get rid of it, then forced himself to look back at the body the thing had been feeding on. The man lay twisted on the ground, and beside his hand—half-covered in blood—were the keys.
"There you are," Henry muttered, picking them up.
He turned toward the truck, then paused, his eyes shifting to the rear container. If they packed everyone inside, air would run out fast. He moved to the back and, using the katana, cut a small opening into the metal—just enough for airflow.
That would keep them alive.
No more delays.
He climbed into the driver's seat and shoved the key into the ignition. The engine struggled for a moment, then turned over with a heavy rumble.
"It's been a while since I drove a truck," Henry said under his breath, gripping the wheel.
He shifted gears and pressed down.
The truck lurched forward, cutting through the mist. Visibility was almost nothing, but he kept the direction steady, relying on what he remembered from the way in.
Inside the store, people stood near the entrance, tense and silent, eyes fixed on the covered doors.
Then—
A loud crash exploded through the front.
The back of the truck slammed into the glass doors, shattering them instantly. The barricade gave way under the force, racks collapsing inward as the vehicle forced its way through.
Glass burst inward.
Metal scraped across the floor.
People flinched, some stumbling back as the truck pushed in and came to a stop just inside, engine still running.
Then the driver's door swung open.
Henry jumped down.
"Hey—what the hell are you doing?" he called out, his voice cutting through the stunned silence. "Get moving. Climb in—we're leaving."
*****
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