Chapter 296 — Eat Moving
The road narrowed as they left the trees behind.
There was no obvious reason for it.
Nothing had collapsed across the path. No buildings blocked the way, and no new opening had appeared beneath their feet. The road simply became thinner until two people could barely walk beside one another without their shoulders touching.
Nobody complained.
A narrow road was still a road.
Brook walked near the middle of the group, though he had stopped pretending that he was keeping pace naturally. His right leg dragged slightly whenever the ground rose, and the wound in his side had become a deep, rhythmic ache that moved with his breathing.
He could feel the blood beneath his shirt.
He could feel every stitch.
He could feel his body beginning to count the distance for him.
Not in miles.
In steps.
Ten more.
Twenty.
Thirty.
Stop thinking about it.
Keep moving.
The others were in similar condition.
Athena walked with one hand occasionally pressed against her ribs. The lightning had left her drained, and the dried blood beneath her nose made her look harsher than usual. Tala stayed beside her, pale and quiet, no longer touching the ground unless she absolutely needed to.
Gabriel had taken the rear.
Crowley moved ahead.
Sera stayed near Brook.
Henry was somewhere between them, carrying Hutena's bag over one shoulder while she kept both hands around the Book of Future.
For several minutes, there was only the sound of their footsteps.
Then Henry said, "I have an idea."
Crowley did not turn.
"No."
Henry frowned.
"You don't even know what it is."
"I know you."
"That's hurtful."
"It's accurate."
Henry walked faster until he was beside Brook.
Brook glanced at him.
"What is it?"
Henry looked around.
"Food."
Brook stared at him.
"What?"
"Food."
"I heard you."
"Good."
Henry reached inside his coat.
Sera looked over.
"What are you doing?"
"Something important."
"You sound suspicious."
"I'm carrying supplies."
"Since when?"
"Since before everyone started running for their lives."
He pulled out a small cloth-wrapped bundle.
It was flattened on one side and stained with dirt.
Henry opened it.
Inside was half a piece of bread and a strip of dried meat.
Brook looked at it.
"Where did you get that?"
"I told you. Supplies."
"You've been carrying that the whole time?"
Henry shrugged.
"I planned ahead."
Sera stared at him.
"You burned breakfast."
"That was different."
"You burned it."
"It was a tactical fire."
"How is burning eggs tactical?"
Henry thought about it.
"It made us leave before the house disappeared."
Sera stared at him.
Henry smiled.
"See? Tactical."
Brook almost laughed.
Almost.
His side hurt too much.
Henry tore the bread in half.
"Eat."
Brook shook his head.
"No."
Henry pushed the piece toward him.
"Eat."
"We're moving."
"Yes."
"I can't stop."
"Who said stop?"
Brook looked at him.
Henry held out the bread.
"Eat moving."
Brook stared at him for a moment.
Then he took it.
The bread was dry.
Hard.
It tasted like dust.
He chewed anyway.
Henry handed him the meat.
Brook took that too.
"Slow down," Sera said.
"I'm not."
"You are."
"I'm chewing."
"Like you're being chased."
Henry looked behind them.
"We are being chased."
Sera sighed.
"Fine."
Brook swallowed.
His mouth was dry.
Henry reached for the water flask at his belt.
Brook took it.
One sip.
Then another.
Henry pulled it back.
"Not all of it."
"I wasn't."
"You looked like you were."
Brook handed it back.
Henry tucked it away.
"See?"
Brook looked at him.
"What?"
"I just saved your life."
Brook shook his head.
"You gave me bread."
"Exactly."
"That's not saving my life."
Henry looked offended.
"Have you ever been hungry while running from an invisible hole?"
"No."
"Then you don't know what heroic bread looks like."
Brook finally laughed.
It hurt.
He immediately pressed his hand to his side.
Sera noticed.
"That was stupid."
Henry smiled.
"Still worked."
Brook looked ahead.
The road continued.
For the first time in hours, he felt something other than fear sitting in his stomach.
Food.
It was a small thing.
Almost meaningless.
But it reminded him that his body was still a body.
It needed food.
It needed water.
It needed sleep.
It needed someone to tell it to keep going.
That felt strangely important.
They continued.
Henry stayed near Brook.
He kept one hand on the strap of his bag and the other close to his light.
The glow had weakened.
It no longer filled the road.
It only illuminated a small circle around his feet.
Brook noticed.
"How long?"
Henry knew what he meant.
"Long enough."
Sera gave him a look.
Henry sighed.
"Four seconds."
Brook frowned.
"That's it?"
Henry lifted his hand.
The glow brightened.
One second.
Two.
Three.
Four.
He let it fade.
Henry shook his hand.
"Five if I push it."
Sera looked at him.
"Don't."
"I wasn't going to."
"You were."
"I was considering it."
"That's worse."
Henry shrugged.
"I like round numbers."
Brook looked at him.
"Four isn't round."
Henry stared.
"It is emotionally round."
Sera closed her eyes.
"That sentence hurt me."
Henry smiled.
Then the ground behind them moved.
The joke died immediately.
A low vibration traveled through the road.
Crowley stopped.
Everyone stopped with him.
The vibration continued.
Brook turned.
The road behind them remained intact.
For now.
Crowley looked at the horizon.
"Keep moving."
They did.
The vibration followed.
Not close.
Not yet.
But present.
Brook ate the last of the bread.
The taste remained in his mouth.
Dry.
Warm.
Human.
He swallowed.
Henry glanced at him.
"Better?"
Brook nodded.
"Yes."
Henry smiled.
"See?"
"Don't make it a thing."
"It's already a thing."
They walked faster.
The road descended into a shallow basin.
On either side were fields of tall grass.
The wind moved through them in long waves.
Nothing else moved.
Brook watched the grass.
There were places where it stopped moving.
Perfect circles.
Not holes.
Not yet.
Just patches where the wind passed around something that did not seem to be there.
Tala noticed too.
"Don't go near those."
Henry looked.
"Why?"
Tala did not answer.
She did not need to.
They stayed on the road.
Brook looked toward Athena.
She had gone quiet.
Not normal quiet.
The kind of quiet that meant she was remembering something she did not want to.
He recognized it.
He had seen it in Crowley.
In Gabriel.
In Sera.
Everyone carried places inside themselves.
Some places were worse than others.
Athena caught him looking.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You were staring."
"I wasn't."
"You were."
Brook looked away.
Athena continued walking.
After a moment, she said, "Don't."
Brook looked at her.
"Don't what?"
"Try to understand me because you saw me bleed."
He frowned.
"I wasn't."
"Good."
She kept walking.
Brook let the silence return.
A few minutes later, the road ended at a crossroads.
Three directions.
All looked the same.
Crowley stopped.
Henry came beside him.
"Please tell me you know."
"I know."
Henry waited.
Crowley looked down each road.
"None of them."
Henry frowned.
"None?"
"We don't use roads."
Brook looked at the ground.
The road beneath them had begun to tremble.
Sera noticed.
"The road is going."
Crowley nodded.
"Off it."
They stepped into the field.
The moment their feet left the road, the crossroads behind them vanished.
All three roads disappeared.
The grass remained.
Henry looked back.
"I officially hate roads."
Crowley kept walking.
"You hated them before."
"I hate them professionally now."
Sera almost smiled.
Brook looked ahead.
The field was wide.
They could cross it without following anything.
That should have made him feel better.
It didn't.
Open ground meant no obvious direction.
No cover.
No structure.
Nothing to use if Heaven or Hell returned.
And there was still the thing behind them.
He could hear the distant grinding.
It had not stopped.
It was simply farther away.
They moved across the field.
Halfway through, Brook heard something.
A footstep.
He turned.
Nothing.
Another.
Behind them.
He drew his sword.
Crowley turned.
Gabriel moved into position.
Athena raised one hand.
The group stopped.
A figure emerged from the tall grass.
Brook recognized the armor.
Hell.
The soldier stopped when he saw them.
It was the same man Brook had spared.
His face was swollen from the headbutt.
Blood had dried beneath his nose.
He carried no weapon.
Crowley stepped forward.
The soldier stopped.
"Don't."
Brook raised a hand.
Crowley looked at him.
Brook walked forward.
Sera caught his sleeve.
"Brook."
He shook her off gently.
The soldier stared at him.
"You should have killed me."
Brook stopped several feet away.
"Maybe."
"You left my weapon."
"Yes."
"Why?"
Brook looked at him.
"Because you were beaten."
The soldier laughed once.
There was no humor in it.
"You think that's mercy?"
"No."
"Then what is it?"
Brook considered the question.
"I don't know."
The soldier looked toward the others.
"You know what they will do when I return."
Crowley stepped closer.
"You aren't returning."
The soldier looked at him.
Crowley's expression remained flat.
"The road behind you is gone."
The soldier turned.
The field where he had come from was already changing.
Grass disappeared in a slow line.
The soldier stared.
Then he looked at Brook.
"What am I supposed to do?"
Brook looked toward the open field.
"Run."
The soldier almost laughed.
"You expect me to trust you?"
"No."
Brook pointed ahead.
"Run anyway."
The soldier hesitated.
Then he did.
He ran across the field in another direction.
Nobody stopped him.
Brook watched until he disappeared into the tall grass.
Sera came beside him.
"That was dangerous."
"I know."
"He could have attacked."
"He didn't."
"He might come back."
"Maybe."
Sera looked at him.
"You're becoming very comfortable with that word."
Brook started walking.
"Maybe."
Sera followed.
Behind them, the grass vanished.
The line moved toward where the soldier had disappeared.
Brook hoped he had run far enough.
He did not know.
They continued.
The field became rougher.
Small hills interrupted the ground.
Henry's light flickered.
He raised his hand.
Nothing happened.
He tried again.
A weak glow appeared.
One second.
Then gone.
Henry looked at his palm.
"That is concerning."
Sera glanced over.
"How much?"
"Four seconds."
"You used it."
"Yes."
"So?"
"I think I used more than I had."
Sera sighed.
"Stop using it unless we need it."
Henry nodded.
"Fine."
They walked in darkness.
The moon emerged from the clouds again.
It was enough.
Not much.
But enough.
Brook kept his eyes ahead.
The pressure inside his chest returned.
Lucifer.
This time there was no voice.
Only a sensation.
A direction.
Brook looked to the left.
A clear path cut through the hills.
He knew immediately that it was wrong.
It was too easy.
The path led downhill.
The group would reach the trees faster.
Brook stopped.
Crowley noticed.
"What?"
Brook pointed.
"That way."
Crowley looked.
"Why?"
"I don't know."
Crowley studied the path.
"Then we don't."
Brook nodded.
They went right instead.
The path disappeared behind them.
Brook felt the pressure fade.
He did not feel victorious.
He felt tired.
The fragments inside him were becoming easier to recognize.
That frightened him more than when they had been silent.
He did not want Michael or Lucifer to become familiar.
He did not want them to become voices he depended on.
A power that told him where to go could eventually become a power that decided for him.
Brook did not know where that line was.
He only knew he did not want to cross it.
They reached a low stone wall.
It stretched across the field.
Old.
Weathered.
Ordinary.
Brook placed one hand on it.
Stone.
Real.
He climbed over.
The others followed.
Beyond the wall was a narrow dirt road.
Crowley looked at it.
"Don't."
Henry groaned.
"Of course."
They crossed the field instead.
The dirt road disappeared twenty seconds later.
Henry stopped.
"How do you keep knowing?"
Crowley looked at him.
"Experience."
"That is not comforting."
"It wasn't intended to be."
Brook kept walking.
The night deepened.
Hours seemed to pass.
They stopped only long enough for people to adjust their footing, drink water, or check wounds while still standing.
No one sat.
No one unpacked.
No one made camp.
The ground behind them was still disappearing.
Eventually, Henry fell behind.
Brook noticed.
He looked back.
Henry was walking with his shoulders hunched.
"Henry."
"I'm coming."
"You are."
"Good observation."
Brook waited.
Henry caught up.
Brook looked at his face.
"You tired?"
Henry smiled.
"No."
Brook raised an eyebrow.
Henry sighed.
"Yes."
Brook nodded.
"Me too."
Henry looked at him.
"That was the first honest thing you've said in an hour."
Brook looked ahead.
"I've been honest."
"No. You've been technically accurate."
Brook smiled.
"What's the difference?"
"Technically accurate is when you say, 'I'm still moving.' Honest is when you say, 'I don't know how much longer I can.'"
Brook was quiet.
Henry looked at him.
"You don't have to answer."
Brook swallowed.
"I don't know how much longer I can."
Henry nodded.
"Okay."
Brook glanced at him.
"Okay?"
"Yeah."
"That's all?"
"What do you want me to say?"
"I don't know."
Henry smiled.
"Neither do I."
They kept walking.
After a moment, Henry reached into his coat.
Brook looked at him.
"If that's more bread—"
"It's not."
Henry pulled out another small piece of dried meat.
Brook stared.
"You had more?"
Henry looked offended.
"Of course."
"Why?"
"Because unlike you, I plan for emergencies."
Brook took it.
Henry smiled.
"Eat."
Brook did.
They walked while he chewed.
The moment was small.
No speeches.
No promises.
No explanation.
Just food.
A person walking beside another person.
The world could erase roads.
It could erase houses.
It could erase hills.
It could open its mouth beneath their feet.
But Henry could still reach into his coat and find something to eat.
Brook swallowed.
The taste was terrible.
He looked at Henry.
"This is awful."
Henry grinned.
"I made it myself."
Brook stared at him.
Henry laughed.
"Fine. I bought it."
"Better."
"Much better."
The laugh that followed was quiet.
It did not last long.
But it existed.
Then the ground shook.
Everyone stopped.
The vibration came from ahead this time.
Crowley turned.
"Keep moving."
They did.
A line appeared in the field behind them.
It moved slowly.
The earth opened.
The mouth stretched wider.
Brook did not look for teeth.
He knew they were there.
He ran.
His knee screamed.
He ran anyway.
Athena pushed forward.
Gabriel stayed beside Tala.
Sera held Hutena's arm.
Henry's light remained off.
Nobody spoke.
The field seemed endless.
Then a ridge appeared ahead.
Beyond it was darkness.
Not absence.
Just night.
Brook saw it and kept going.
The group climbed.
At the top, they looked down.
Another valley.
No roads.
No lights.
No buildings.
Just open land.
Crowley looked at the others.
"We cross."
Henry stared down.
"Of course we do."
Brook breathed hard.
His side was bleeding again.
His knee was barely functional.
His body wanted him to stop.
He looked at the people around him.
They were all still standing.
So he started down.
One foot.
Then another.
He did not know where the valley ended.
He did not know how long they had before the ground vanished again.
He did not know whether the next hill would hold.
He did not know whether Heaven or Hell would find them.
He did not know what Michael wanted.
He did not know what Lucifer wanted.
But he knew what he wanted.
He wanted them alive.
That was enough.
For now.
The group descended into the valley.
Behind them, the mouth continued to grow.
Ahead, the land remained.
And they kept moving.
End of Chapter 296