The apartment felt colder after Derek died.
His body still lay near the wall, blood spreading slowly beneath him while silence settled over the room like smoke after a fire.
Vivian couldn't stop staring at him.
One moment human.
The next
Something else.
Jamo wiped the blood from his hands with brutal calm.
Too calm.
Vivian looked at him sharply.
"You already knew."
Jamo didn't answer.
"That silence again," she snapped. "I'm getting tired of it."
He finally looked at her.
"I suspected."
"That people could turn?"
"Yes."
Vivian's chest tightened.
"And you didn't tell me?"
Jamo's jaw hardened slightly.
"We didn't have proof."
"You watched Derek die for proof?"
The accusation hit hard.
Jamo stepped closer.
"I watched him become a threat."
Vivian shook her head.
"He asked for help."
"And I ended his suffering."
His voice stayed steady.
Controlled.
But Vivian could see the exhaustion beneath it now.
The pressure.
The guilt.
Still
It made her angry.
"You kill people too easily."
Something dark flickered across Jamo's expression.
"You think I wanted to?"
Vivian crossed her arms tightly.
"You didn't hesitate."
"No," he admitted.
"That's the difference between us."
Silence.
Sharp.
Painful.
Because he was right.
Vivian still hesitated.
Still hoped.
And hope was becoming dangerous.
A vibration suddenly buzzed from the table.
Both of them turned instantly.
Jamo grabbed the burner phone lying beside the map.
Unknown number.
He answered carefully.
"Talk."
Static crackled briefly.
Then a voice came through.
Distorted.
Calm.
"You're running out of time, Alpha."
Vivian froze.
The man.
Jamo's expression darkened.
"Where are you?"
A soft chuckle echoed through the speaker.
"Closer than you think."
Jamo's claws extended slightly.
"What do you want?"
"Correction," the voice replied.
"I want containment."
Vivian stepped closer.
"You caused this."
"And now I'm offering a solution."
Jamo's eyes narrowed.
"You expect us to trust you?"
"No."
The voice remained smooth.
"I expect desperation."
The line crackled again.
Then—
A sound echoed faintly in the background.
Screaming.
Vivian's stomach dropped.
"What was that?"
The man ignored her.
"There's an access point beneath the old subway terminal."
Jamo glanced at the map instantly.
Downtown.
Crowded.
Too crowded.
"If the infection reaches the central lines," the man continued, "the city collapses by morning."
Silence.
Heavy.
Deadly.
Vivian spoke first.
"What's at the terminal?"
The answer came immediately.
"A nest."
The word chilled the room.
Jamo's voice lowered.
"How big?"
The man paused.
Then said quietly,
"Big enough that you won't survive it alone."
The line went dead.
Jamo lowered the phone slowly.
Vivian looked at the map again.
"If he's telling the truth…"
"He usually mixes truth with manipulation," Jamo replied.
Vivian rubbed her temple.
"But if he's right…"
"Then thousands die."
Neither of them spoke for a moment.
Then Vivian noticed something else.
Jamo was already loading weapons into the duffel bag.
Her chest tightened.
"You're going."
"Yes."
"Alone?"
Jamo zipped the bag shut.
"Yes."
Vivian stepped forward immediately.
"No."
His gaze lifted to hers.
"This isn't a debate."
"You don't get to decide that yourself."
Jamo's voice turned firm.
"I know how bad this could get."
"So do I."
"No," he said quietly.
"You don't."
That angered her instantly.
"Stop treating me like I can't handle this."
Jamo stepped closer now.
"This isn't about handling it."
"Then what is it about?"
His eyes locked onto hers.
"You're the one thing they want."
The words hit harder than expected.
Vivian's voice lowered.
"So your solution is to hide me?"
"My solution is to keep you alive."
Vivian laughed bitterly.
"That's not the same thing."
Jamo's expression darkened.
"It is to me."
Silence crashed between them.
Too personal.
Too honest.
Vivian looked away first.
That alone irritated her.
Jamo grabbed his jacket.
"I leave in ten minutes."
Vivian watched him move toward the door.
Then made another controversial decision.
"You're not going alone."
Jamo stopped.
"No."
Vivian walked toward him slowly.
"If there's really a nest underground, then I'm the reason they're active."
"You don't know that."
"But you believe it."
Jamo didn't answer.
Because he did.
Vivian stepped even closer.
"If this started with me… then I finish it."
Jamo's voice dropped low.
"And if you turn?"
The question sliced through the room.
Vivian froze.
Because for the first time
Neither of them had said it out loud.
Turn.
Become one of them.
Jamo's eyes stayed locked on hers.
"If that happens," he said quietly, "I need to know you understand something."
Vivian's heartbeat slowed painfully.
"What?"
His voice stayed calm.
Controlled.
But it nearly broke her anyway.
"I won't hesitate with you."
Silence.
Cold.
Brutal.
Vivian searched his face for regret.
For softness.
For anything.
But Jamo meant it.
Every word.
Her throat tightened.
"You'd kill me."
Jamo stepped closer.
"If it means stopping this? Yes."
The honesty hurt more than a lie would have.
Vivian looked down briefly.
Then nodded once.
"Good."
Jamo frowned slightly.
"That's not the reaction I expected."
Vivian looked back up at him.
"If I lose myself…"
Her voice shook slightly.
"I don't want mercy either."
Something shifted in his expression then.
Pain.
Real pain.
But it disappeared almost instantly.
A loud crash suddenly echoed from outside.
Both of them reacted immediately.
Jamo moved to the window.
Vivian beside him.
The street below had erupted into chaos.
People were running.
Screaming.
And in the middle of the road
Something crawled out of a sewer entrance.
Then another.
Then five more.
Vivian's breath caught.
"They reached the surface."
Jamo's expression hardened instantly.
"No."
The creatures lifted their heads slowly.
Then all at once
Turned toward the building.
Toward them.
Vivian's pulse spiked.
"They know we're here."
Jamo grabbed the duffel bag.
"Then we move now."
But before either of them could step away
One of the creatures suddenly spoke.
Not growled.
Not screamed.
Spoke.
And the voice that came out made Vivian's blood run cold.
"Viv…"
Jamo froze beside her.
Because it was Lucas's voice.