The drive to the safehouse was quiet—too quiet.
Patricia stared straight ahead, fingers locked tight in her lap, her silence louder than any scream. Emily kept glancing sideways at Jack, her eyes burning with a thousand questions she didn’t dare ask. Ryan’s words kept echoing in Jack’s mind like a blade drawn across steel.
> “They’ve begun the manifestation.”
Those five words struck harder than gunfire.
Jack gritted his teeth and tapped the comms. “How do you know?”
Ryan’s voice crackled in response. “Satellite scans picked up energy spikes near Harmonfield. Same signature from Reidsville. It’s happening, Jack. They’re forcing the Vault open.”
Emily slammed a fist against the dashboard. “They’re not even hiding it anymore.”
“No,” Patricia said softly. “Because they think no one c
