Survival plot || H.S.

Chapter 16: Reflection

The safe house loomed before them, a crumbling structure on the outskirts of the city, standing barely on its foundation. Its weathered exterior-paint peeling in long, jagged strips, and walls sagging from years of neglect-seemed to mirror their weary spirits. Ava felt a sense of bitterness toward the place. It was a refuge from the creature but also a prison, far removed from the sterile lab where she'd once found purpose and order.

As the group stepped inside, the quiet was unsettling. Shadows clung to every corner, cast by the single, flickering light overhead. They didn't need to speak to feel the shared weight of their recent losses. The creature had ravaged the city, and they'd seen people die. Ava felt every life lost deep in her bones. Each death became a personal wound, a reminder of the chaos she had inadvertently unleashed.

Tom was the first to break the silence, his voice steady but thick with exhaustion as he dropped his pack onto the floor. "We need to assess our next move," he said.

"Agreed," Maya replied, though her voice sounded distracted. She set up her laptop at a small, rickety table, her fingers already tapping furiously. "I'll try to locate the creature. If it's tracking you, Ava, we might be able to find a pattern-something to anticipate its moves."

Ava leaned against the wall, her gaze distant as she watched her friends work. But even as they discussed strategies and theories, Ava sensed a tension beneath their words-a quiet resentment building like a storm.

"You should've been more prepared," a voice snapped suddenly, slicing through the room's quiet. Ava's stomach twisted as she turned, startled to see Harry standing by the door, his expression filled with an unbridled fury she hadn't expected.

"Harry?" she stammered, shocked. "How did you find us?"

He stepped forward, his gaze cold and unyielding. "Did you think I wouldn't? You left a trail." His voice was barely above a whisper, each word laced with venom. His eyes, however, held something else-a glint of pain that belied his anger.

Tom moved between them, his stance defensive. "Harry, what are you doing here?" he asked, his tone hard.

"Don't pretend to be surprised," Harry retorted, barely sparing Tom a glance. His focus was solely on Ava. "I came here to do what you all should have done a long time ago."

Maya stepped back, alarm flashing in her eyes. "Harry, calm down. This isn't the time-"

"Isn't it?" he snapped. "You have no idea what this cost me!"

Ava tried to speak, but Harry's expression silenced her. He took a step closer, anger radiating off him like heat. "Do you have any idea the lives you've destroyed, Ava?" His voice was raw, seething with an unrelenting fury. "And yet here you are, running like a coward."

Ava swallowed hard, guilt and sorrow knotting in her throat. "Harry, please. I never wanted this to happen. I was only trying to help-"

"Help?" He laughed bitterly, his eyes flashing with disbelief. "Is that what you tell yourself? That this was somehow noble?" His hand drifted toward his jacket pocket, and Ava's heart stilled as she glimpsed the handle of a small blade.

Tom noticed too and edged closer, his voice calm but firm. "Harry, put that away. This isn't going to help anything."

Harry ignored him, taking another step toward Ava, the blade catching the faint, flickering light. "You don't get it, do you? I don't care about helping anyone anymore. I'm here to make sure no one else suffers because of you."

The words cut deeper than she expected, striking at the guilt she had been trying so hard to bury. She held her ground, refusing to look away. "If killing me will make it right, then do it," she said, her voice steady despite the fear simmering beneath her skin. "But it won't bring anyone back."