They kept circling back.
The forest.
The missing Omega.
The storm building outside.
I shut it down.
When I stepped out, I dressed quickly and without care, as if speed could outrun the feeling that kept pressing at the back of my mind.
Sleep should have followed easily after that.
It didn’t.
I lay in bed for a long time, tossing and staring at the ceiling while the storm grew louder outside. Rain struck the windows harder now, wind pushing against the walls in uneven bursts.
My jaw tightened.
I turned once.
Then again.
Still nothing.
Eventually, I sat up.
Then I exhaled sharply and stood.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I muttered under my breath, through gritted teeth.
I put on my boots, and left the room.
Outside, the air hit colder.
The storm had fully taken hold now—wi
