Free Web NovelChapter 29: Leaving Before It Gets Worse
Seraphina woke up because something hit her in the face.
She sat up immediately.
"Kael."
"What."
"Something attacked me."
Kael opened one eye.
"A leaf."
Seraphina looked down.
A leaf.
Just a leaf.
Lying in her lap.
Mocking her.
She narrowed her eyes.
"This forest is getting brave."
Kael closed his eye again.
"Go back to sleep."
"I was assaulted."
"By nature."
"Exactly."
The sky outside was still dark.
Not completely night.
Not morning either.
That annoying time between both.
The ruined structure remained quiet.
The strange figure still stood near the entrance.
Motionless.
Watching.
Being creepy.
Consistently.
Seraphina had almost started respecting its dedication.
Almost.
She looked around.
Kael was awake.
Pretending not to be.
Lyra was sitting against a wall.
Actually awake.
Which somehow felt unfair.
Seraphina pointed at her.
"Have you slept at all?"
"No."
"That’s unhealthy."
"Probably."
"You’re agreeing again."
"You notice that a lot."
"Because normal people argue."
Lyra smiled.
"Maybe I’m not normal."
"See? That’s the first believable thing you’ve said."
A sudden crash echoed from outside.
Everybody became alert instantly.
Even Seraphina.
Mostly because it sounded expensive.
The crash came again.
Closer.
Stone breaking.
Wood splintering.
Heavy impact.
Kael was already standing.
Lyra had pushed herself away from the wall.
The figure near the entrance turned.
For the first time since they’d arrived.
It moved fast.
Very fast.
The motion was so sudden that Seraphina almost missed it.
One moment it stood still.
The next moment it was outside.
Gone.
Like a shadow being pulled away.
Silence.
Then another crash.
Louder.
Closer.
Seraphina looked toward the entrance.
"Okay."
"Okay what?"
"Now I’m concerned."
"Now?"
"I was giving it a chance."
A roar echoed through the forest.
Not monstrous.
Not supernatural.
Just angry.
Very angry.
Like something had been disturbed and decided everyone else should suffer for it.
The sound bounced through the trees.
Birds exploded from the forest canopy.
Hundreds of them.
Filling the sky.
Kael’s expression tightened.
Lyra sighed.
Not dramatically.
Just the sigh of someone whose day was getting inconvenient.
"Wonderful."
"You sound unhappy."
"Because I am."
"That’s refreshing."
Another impact.
This time close enough that dust fell from the ceiling.
Everybody looked up.
The ceiling looked back.
Unfortunately.
It didn’t inspire confidence.
Kael grabbed his bag.
"We’re leaving."
"Excellent idea."
Seraphina stood immediately.
No argument.
No joke.
That alone explained how serious the situation felt.
Then something burst through a section of forest.
Not toward them.
Past them.
Running.
A deer.
The animal sprinted across the clearing like death itself was behind it.
A second followed.
Then a third.
Then more.
Every animal in the area seemed determined to be somewhere else.
Seraphina watched them disappear.
"That’s usually a bad sign."
"Yes."
"I hate when you’re right."
"You hate it every time."
"Because it keeps happening."
The ground trembled.
Not violently.
Just enough.
A warning.
The kind that told people they should already be running.
Then something crashed into the clearing.
Not a monster.
A giant tree.
The entire thing slammed into the ground.
Freshly broken.
As if someone had ripped it out.
The impact shook the ruins.
Stone cracked.
Dust exploded through the hall.
Seraphina stared.
"No."
Kael agreed.
"No."
Lyra agreed too.
"Definitely no."
A second tree landed.
This one even closer.
Nobody needed more motivation.
They were already moving.
The three of them rushed out of the structure.
The cold morning air hit immediately.
The clearing looked completely different now.
Birds circled overhead.
Animals continued fleeing.
Branches snapped somewhere deeper in the forest.
Something large was moving.
But unlike before—
Nobody stopped to investigate.
Nobody wanted answers.
Nobody wanted explanations.
They wanted distance.
Lots of distance.
They reached the road.
Kael immediately looked behind them.
The ruined structure stood silently in the distance.
Then—
A massive shape crossed behind the trees.
Only visible for a second.
Too large.
Too fast.
Gone immediately afterward.
Seraphina kept walking.
"Did anybody see that?"
"Yes."
"Good."
"Keep walking."
"Already doing that."
Nobody argued.
A miracle.
The sun finally started appearing over the horizon.
Orange light spread across the landscape.
The road stretched ahead.
Empty.
Quiet.
Normal.
Beautiful.
Seraphina appreciated normal things a lot more these days.
After nearly an hour of walking, Lyra suddenly stopped.
The timing felt suspicious.
Everything about Lyra felt suspicious.
Kael noticed immediately.
"What."
Lyra pointed toward a fork in the road.
One path headed east.
The other south.
"I’m going that way."
Seraphina blinked.
"That’s it?"
"That’s it."
"No mysterious speech?"
"No."
"No secret warning?"
"No."
"No cryptic nonsense?"
"I can if you want."
"Please don’t."
Lyra laughed.
A genuine one this time.
Not the weird mysterious version.
Just normal amusement.
Surprisingly, it suited her better.
Kael reached into his pocket.
Pulled out the token she’d given him.
Held it out.
Lyra looked at it.
Then shook her head.
"Keep it."
"Why."
"Because I said so."
"That’s not an explanation."
"I know."
Seraphina immediately pointed.
"See?"
"See what?"
"You’re doing the thing again."
"What thing?"
"Being suspicious."
"That’s subjective."
"No it isn’t."
Lyra smiled.
Then started walking toward the eastern road.
Just like that.
No drama.
No farewell scene.
No emotional speech.
After a few steps she paused.
Turned slightly.
"Try not to get caught."
"That’s the plan."
"It’s a bad plan."
"I noticed."
Then she left.
Actually left.
No sudden return.
No last-second revelation.
Just gone.
The road felt quieter afterward.
Not awkward.
Just different.
Seraphina watched the empty eastern path for a few seconds.
Then shrugged.
"She was weird."
Kael nodded.
"Very."
"You liked her."
Kael looked horrified.
"What?"
"You listened to her."
"That’s not the same thing."
"Close enough."
"Not even remotely."
Seraphina laughed.
The first real laugh she’d had since entering that ridiculous ruin.
It felt nice.
Then her stomach growled.
Loudly.
Very loudly.
Both of them froze.
The stomach growled again.
Even louder.
A betrayal.
Kael looked at her.
Seraphina looked away.
"Ignore that."
"You’re hungry."
"That’s a strong accusation."
"It’s breakfast time."
"Still an accusation."
Kael sighed.
Then reached into his bag.
Checked it.
Checked again.
Then frowned.
Seraphina immediately noticed.
"What."
"We’re running low."
"On food?"
"Food."
"Okay."
"And money."
Silence.
Seraphina stopped walking.
"Define running low."
Kael continued walking.
That was never a good sign.
"Kael."
No answer.
"Kael."
Still no answer.
"KAEL."
"Very low."
A cold feeling settled in her chest.
Not fear.
Something worse.
Financial problems.
Seraphina stared at the road ahead.
Then at the sky.
Then at her life choices.
"This is unacceptable."
Kael looked entirely unconvinced.
"Unfortunately it’s reality."
"Reality is overrated."
"Reality also buys food."
"I dislike reality."
For the first time since escaping everything—
A truly terrifying enemy had appeared.
One that couldn’t be punched.
One that couldn’t be escaped.
One that definitely wasn’t impressed by noble status.
They were almost out of money.
And Seraphina had absolutely no idea how normal people survived this.
Seraphina stood in the middle of the road.
Still processing the information.
Not the forest.
Not Lyra leaving.
Not mysterious ruins.
Not giant things throwing trees.
Money.
The problem was money.
She pointed at Kael.
"Explain."
Kael kept walking.
"I already did."
"No. Explain better."
"We are running low."
"That part was terrible. Explain the version where we’re not."
"There isn’t one."
"You’re not trying hard enough."
Kael stopped.
Reached into his bag.
Pulled out a small pouch.
Handed it to her.
Seraphina looked inside.
Then looked again.
Then turned the pouch upside down.
Three lonely coins fell into her palm.
Silence.
A long silence.
The kind that changed a person.
"This is a joke."
"No."
"Somebody robbed us."
"No."
"The pouch is defective."
"No."
"You’re hiding the rest."
"No."
Seraphina looked offended.
Deeply offended.
Personally offended.
"How."
Kael answered immediately.
"Food."
"Food is expensive."
"Yes."
"That’s ridiculous."
"People generally agree."
"Why has nobody fixed that?"
Kael resumed walking.
"Because everyone likes eating."
"Selfish." freёweɓnovel.com
Seraphina followed.
Still holding the pouch.
Still hoping more money would somehow appear.
It didn’t.
A disappointing design.
The road stretched ahead.
Morning sunlight slowly chased away the remaining darkness.
For a while neither spoke.
Mostly because Seraphina was grieving.
Financially.
Eventually she broke the silence.
"I blame the researchers."
"For what."
"Everything."
"That isn’t how responsibility works."
"It is emotionally."
Kael ignored that.
A skill developed through years of practice.
They passed a wooden sign.
The paint was old.
Faded.
Barely readable.
Kael slowed slightly.
Read it.
Then continued walking.
Seraphina immediately noticed.
"What did it say."
"Town."
"That’s not a name."
"It has a name."
"Then why didn’t you say it."
"Because you’ll forget it."
"Rude."
"Accurate."
She considered arguing.
Unfortunately he was right.
The name had already disappeared from her memory.
A few minutes later—
Her stomach growled again.
Louder.
Kael looked ahead.
Pretending he didn’t hear it.
A mistake.
"You heard that."
"Yes."
"Why didn’t you react."
"What reaction would help."
"Concern."
"You’re hungry."
"Exactly."
"I know."
"Then be concerned."
Kael looked at her.
"I’m concerned."
"That felt insincere."
Another growl.
This one sounded desperate.
Even Seraphina felt betrayed.
"Fine."
She folded her arms.
"We need money."
"Yes."
"How hard can it be."
Kael immediately looked at her.
That look.
The one that appeared whenever she said something dangerous.
"What."
"Every time you say that, something happens."
"Coincidence."
"No."
"Mostly coincidence."
"No."
The road curved slightly.
A few travelers passed in the opposite direction.
Nothing unusual.
A merchant wagon.
A farmer.
Two guards.
Normal people living normal lives.
Seraphina watched them.
Fascinated.
"Do you think they’re rich."
"No."
"They look richer than us."
"Most people currently are."
Silence.
"That was unnecessary."
"That was information."
She hated information.
Especially when it attacked her.
About an hour later the town finally came into view.
Not large.
Not impressive.
But alive.
Smoke rose from chimneys.
People moved through the streets.
Merchants opened stalls.
Children ran through narrow roads.
Normal.
Ordinary.
The kind of place nobody important would notice.
Seraphina immediately pointed.
"Perfect."
"For what."
"Money."
Kael stopped walking.
A bad sign.
"Explain."
"We’ll earn some."
"How."
"Work."
The silence that followed was magnificent.
"Work."
"Yes."
"Work work."
"There are not multiple versions."
"Normal people do that."
"Yes."
"Every day."
"Usually."
Seraphina stared at the town.
Then at Kael.
Then back at the town.
"You’re serious."
"Yes."
"I escaped political insanity."
"Yes."
"Ancient laboratories."
"Yes."
"Possible death."
"Yes."
"And now you’re telling me my greatest enemy is employment."
Kael looked entirely unsympathetic.
"Food requires money."
"Food is becoming less appealing."
"No it isn’t."
"You’re right."
Her stomach immediately betrayed her again.
"Traitor."
Kael actually laughed.
A rare event.
So rare that Seraphina looked at him in shock.
"Did you just laugh."
"No."
"That was absolutely a laugh."
"No."
"I’ve known you too long."
Kael looked away.
Which confirmed everything.
"Incredible."
The town gates were only a few minutes away now.
People entered freely.
Nobody checked names.
Nobody asked questions.
Nobody cared.
A wonderful system.
Then Seraphina noticed something.
A board beside the entrance.
Covered with papers.
Notices.
Requests.
Job postings.
She immediately stopped.
"Kael."
"No."
"You don’t know what I’m going to say."
"I do."
"You don’t."
"You’re looking at the job board."
"Maybe."
"No."
Seraphina stared at the board.
The board stared back.
A strange feeling appeared.
The same feeling people got before making terrible decisions.
"I have an idea."
Kael sighed.
"That’s exactly what worries me."
A slow smile appeared on Seraphina’s face.
The kind that never led anywhere sensible.
And somewhere in that town—
Completely unaware of what was coming—
Several innocent employers were about to have a very difficult day.
