The footsteps outside multiplied.
Not frantic.
Not chaotic.
Measured.
Coordinated.
Aden moved toward the window slowly and peeled the curtain back just enough
to see.
Five Hollows gathered below.
Not attacking randomly.
Positioning.
One stood slightly apart.
Head tilted upward.
Listening.
The web was reacting.
Not to noise.
To him.
Ibrahim's breathing grew uneven.
"Aden…"
"We're leaving," Aden said calmly.
"What? Now?"
"Yes."
His tone allowed no debate.
He scanned the apartment quickly.
Kitchen knives.
Backpack.
Water bottles.
Flashlight.
Ibrahim moved automatically when he heard that tone.
He'd heard it before.
When their parents died.
When things needed to be handled.
"Back stairs?" Ibrahim whispered.
"No."
Aden's eyes shifted toward the hallway.
"They expect that."
The presence stirred.
Shadow density elevated. Western side optimal.
He didn't question how he understood that.
Western side.
The fire escape.
He moved quickly but without panic.
Bag packed in under thirty seconds.
Water. Knife. Flashlight. Phone — even without signal.
Ibrahim stayed close.
Outside, the Hollows shifted again.
Two moved toward the front entrance.
Testing.
Aden guided Ibrahim to the bedroom window.
The fire escape ladder hung crooked but intact.
He pushed the window open slowly.
The night air rushed in.
Smoky.
Heavy.
And beneath it—
Something electrical.
The resonance hum.
"Go first," Aden said.
Ibrahim didn't argue.
He climbed out carefully.
The metal creaked.
Below, one Hollow's head snapped upward.
Not because of sound.
Because of disturbance.
The thin threads between them flickered faintly.
Aden felt it in his skull.
Signal fluctuation detected.
The Hollow below adjusted position.
Tracking.
Aden stepped onto the fire escape.
Closed the window gently behind him.
The Observer was not visible.
But the web still pulsed.
They descended quietly.
Halfway down—
A door in the alley burst open.
Two Hollows stepped out.
Their eyes locked onto Aden instantly.
Not Ibrahim.
Aden.
The presence inside him pulsed sharply.
Deviation confirmed.
They lunged.
Aden dropped the remaining distance, landing cleanly.
He grabbed Ibrahim's arm.
"Run."
They sprinted down the alley.
Aden didn't look back.
He didn't need to.
He could feel them.
Not hearing.
Feeling.
Threads tightening behind him.
More were joining.
The web was redirecting.
Ibrahim stumbled slightly.
Aden adjusted instantly, keeping him upright.
They burst out onto the next street.
Chaos again.
Cars abandoned.
A bus crushed into a storefront.
Bodies.
And movement everywhere.
Too many.
The Hollows on this block paused as Aden emerged.
Not confused.
Alert.
The presence whispered:
Convergence pattern forming.
They were triangulating.
Aden understood suddenly.
The Core activation.
The Path initiation.
It marked him.
He wasn't just surviving.
He was broadcasting.
A low, distant sound echoed through the street.
Not a scream.
Not a growl.
A pulse.
Deep.
Resonant.
Ibrahim grabbed his sleeve.
"What was that?"
Aden's eyes scanned the rooftops.
Something moved along the skyline.
Faster than before.
The Observer.
Tracking from above.
Learning.
Aden shifted direction abruptly.
Cutting through a narrow service corridor between buildings.
The shadows there were thicker.
He focused.
The fractured crown flickered faintly in his mind.
The shadow at his feet darkened slightly.
His presence… thinned.
The Hollows at the street entrance hesitated.
Threads wavered.
Not lost.
But distorted.
The parasite whispered, clearer now:
Compression possible. Limited duration.
Aden pushed.
His breathing slowed further.
Heartbeat softened.
The corridor grew unnaturally dim around him.
Ibrahim looked confused but stayed close.
The Hollows reached the corridor entrance—
Then slowed.
Heads tilting.
Signal disrupted.
For the first time—
They hesitated.
Aden kept moving.
Not running now.
Controlled.
Precise.
The compression faded after several seconds.
The shadows normalized.
The threads behind them tightened again.
But the delay was enough.
They exited onto the next block.
Far fewer Hollows here.
The convergence had shifted too late.
Ibrahim bent over, breathing hard.
"What are they doing?" he asked.
Aden looked back toward their old building.
Toward the invisible network stretching across the city.
"They're not chasing randomly," he said quietly.
"They're responding."
"To what?"
Aden didn't answer immediately.
Because the truth was colder than he expected.
To him.
The presence whispered one final word before falling silent:
Marked.
In the distance—
The deep pulse sounded again.
Closer.
Something stronger was becoming aware.