Too damn late for that.
6
Russ
Something shifts.
Not loud.
Not obvious.
Just wrong.
The tiny hairs along the back of my neck rise first.
Then the silence changes.
I lift my head slowly, every muscle tightening.
Outside—
Gravel crunches.
Too controlled to be one of ours.
I’m already standing before the sound comes again.
“Up.”
The word cuts through the room low and sharp.
Every head snaps toward me.
“Everybody up. Now.”
Olivia moves instantly.
No questions.
No hesitation.
Good.
Lucas is already at the cracked window, rifle raised. Clay kills the lantern light while Miles reaches for the supplies near the back wall.
“Movement north side,” Lucas mutters. “East too.”
My jaw tightens.
Too fast.
They should not have found us this fast.
Olivia crouches beside the children, touching shoulders gently as she wakes them. “Quiet voices,” she whispers. “Shoes on. Stay close to your mothers.”
No panic in her tone.
The kids listen.
