The city didn't announce monsters when they returned.
They just… opened the gate and let them walk out.
Jay didn't feel it yet.
She was laughing too loud in the hallway, Section E orbiting her like always—chaos trailing her footsteps,
curses flying when someone bumped her shoulder, Keifer's hand resting casually at her waist like that's where it had always belonged.
Normal.
Too normal.
Elsewhere — Far From HVIS
The prison gates groaned open with a sound like something old breaking its bones.
A man stepped out.
He looked thinner.
Older.
Meaner in a quieter way.
No dramatic smile. No villain monologue.
Just a slow breath in.
A slow breath out.
And one name sitting heavy on his tongue.
Jay.
He rolled his neck once, knuckles cracking as if his body remembered things his mind never forgot.
"Funny," he muttered.
"They let you out… and the world still has unfinished business."
His phone buzzed.
One message.
She's at HVIS now.
Popular. Protected. Loud.
His mouth twitched—not a smile. Something colder.
"Protected," he repeated softly.
"We'll see."
Back in school
Jay was mid-rant, arms flying as she roasted someone who wasn't even there.
"And then he had the audacity—THE AUDACITY—"
Keifer leaned down, murmuring, "Breathe."
She shot him a glare. "Don't police my emotions."
He smirked. "I like them unhinged."
She grinned, bumping her shoulder into his chest.
Normal.
Too normal.
But then—
A chill.
No reason. No sound.
Just a sudden tightening in her chest like her body remembered something her mind refused to.
She shook it off instantly.
"Ugh," she muttered. "I hate when the air feels weird."
Keifer frowned. "What?"
"Nothing," she said quickly, louder again. "Probably someone ugly nearby."
Section E laughed.
Chaos restored.
But keifer watched
He watched Jay's hand curl briefly into a fist.
And then relax.
Like a reflex she didn't know she still had.
Some enemies shout when they arrive.
Some knock.
And some—
Some wait until you're happy
so they can remind you what fear used to feel like.
And Jay?
She had no idea that the one shadow she never outran
had finally learned her schedule.