The back roads outside town were empty, except for the crunch of boots against gravel.
Jade kept her grip on Lexie's hand, pulling her through the dark while Riley led the way with practiced ease. Noah followed behind, constantly scanning their surroundings like something might emerge from the shadows at any moment.
"So... can someone please tell me what's going on?" Lexie finally blurted, breathless.
Her voice cracked on the edge of panic. Not hysterical yet, but close. Lexie wasn't built for this kind of fear; she was built for birthday parties, study groups, and knowing the drama before anyone else.
Jade didn't blame her.
She didn't feel built for this either.
"It's complicated," Jade said softly, for what felt like the hundredth time.
Lexie shook her head, pulling her hand free, forcing Jade to stop.
"No. Not this time. We're running through the woods like fugitives and you're acting like this is... normal. Tell me, Jade. Please."
The rawness in her voice cut straight through Jade's walls.
For a second, she wished she could lie.
But Lexie had always been good at seeing through her.
"I'm not... exactly me," Jade whispered finally.
"I keep reliving the same week. Dying. Coming back. Things glitch. People forget."
"And now... something's hunting me."
Lexie stared at her like she was either insane or deeply broken. Probably both.
"Dying?" Lexie echoed. "You... you've died?"
Jade looked down.
"Apparently More than once."
The silence that followed wasn't empty. It was heavy. Lexie rubbed her arms, breathing shakily.
Riley finally cut in, breaking the moment like glass. "Her existence destabilizes reality. The more she loops, the closer the system pushes back."
Lexie spun toward Riley. "And who are you exactly? Jade's new best friend? Hacker? Government? What?"
Riley arched an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. "Call me a freelancer," she said. "I don't exactly fit into your high school drama club, sweetheart."
Lexie bristled but didn't respond. She wasn't used to being the most powerless person in the room.
Noah stayed quiet through it all, watching. Jade noticed how his jaw clenched, how his eyes scanned the trees as they moved, like he wasn't just protecting her, but waiting for something inevitable.
She stepped closer to him while Riley led further ahead.
"You're tense," Jade said softly.
"I have reason to be."
"Are we being followed?"
Noah hesitated. "Not yet."
He didn't say 'no.' Just 'not yet.'
His answers always carried weight like they were carefully measured.
That was Noah.
Calm. Calculated. Guarded.
But under all of it, Jade caught glimpses of something else, pain.
Like he was carrying her death on his back, again and again which made her wonder why and what she was to him.
As they reached a clearing, Riley suddenly raised her hand, signaling them to stop.
"Shh."
Everyone froze.
Jade held her breath.
Somewhere ahead, a faint clicking sound echoed, mechanical, unnatural.
"What is that?" Lexie whispered.
"Observers," Riley said grimly.
Out of the trees, barely visible, two tall figures emerged.
Not human.
Thin, too thin. Limbs too long. Faces blank like smooth masks with glowing slits where eyes should be. Their movements were sharp, birdlike. Heads tilting side to side as if scanning reality itself for inconsistencies.
Lexie was so scared she almost peed her pants
They weren't human.
They weren't alive.
They were designed to monitor.
"Chrono-Watchers," Noah whispered. "Minions. Early scouts."
"Are they... hers?" Jade asked.
Noah's voice was cold. "They don't answer to the Queen directly. They serve the System. But she benefits from their data."
Lexie whimpered. "Are we invisible or something?"
"No," Riley said. "Not yet. They're scanning stability fields."
"Which means?" Jade pressed.
"If they detect Jade's fluctuations..."
Riley's voice dropped.
"...They'll mark her thread for deletion."
Jade felt Lexie's hand find hers again, squeezing tight.
"Can we fight them?" Lexie whispered.
Noah shook his head. "Not directly. They're not built to be fought. They report."
Jade's breath grew shallow.
The smooth-masked creatures paused, scanning in their direction. Their heads twitched. A faint, high-pitched buzz filled the air as they analyzed something unseen.
"They're picking up the loop echoes," Riley muttered.
Jade whispered, desperate, "What do we do?"
Riley calmly slipped her device from her pocket, flipping a tiny switch.
" We scramble."
The machine pulsed faintly. A low hum vibrated through Jade's body.
One of the watchers froze.
The other twitched, head jerking sharply, as if momentarily confused.
"Move," Riley said.
They bolted again, deeper into the woods.
Not running wild... calculated, controlled.
Jade could hear Lexie's ragged breathing behind her, but her friend didn't let go. As they finally slowed at a safe distance, Riley glanced at her device. "We bought time. But not much."
"How much?" Noah asked.
"Hours. Maybe."
They reached an abandoned train yard, tucked under broken bridges and thick trees. Rusted cars sat like tombs in the moonlight.
Riley signaled them into one of the old cars, its doors creaking as they climbed inside.
For a while, no one spoke.
Finally, Lexie whispered what was sitting in all their minds. "Is there even a way out of this?"
Noah's voice came first, distant. "There's always a way out."
But even as he said it, Jade heard the hesitation. The quiet fear he never let show fully before.
Riley leaned against the metal wall, studying Jade carefully.
"You've lasted longer than the others. That means one of two things: you're uniquely broken... or uniquely important."
"Or both," Jade muttered bitterly.
"Exactly."
The cold settled around them.
For now, they were safe.
But the feeling hung over them like static in the air: The watchers had seen enough.
The Queen hadn't even started yet.