Blood register

Night had fallen by the time they reached the outskirts of the city. The sleek sports car Reggie had left at the cabin—hidden beneath a weathered tarp in the old shed—roared through the darkness, its headlights cutting through a fog that seemed too thick, too unnatural.

Blake drove while Rose sat rigidly in the passenger seat, her fingers tracing patterns on the window as she stared at the changed landscape passing by. Five years. The thought hammered in her mind with each mile marker they passed. Five years away from Celena.

"The road's different," Blake noted, slowing as they approached what should have been the southern bypass into the city. Where once there had been a simple two-lane road, now stood a massive concrete barrier with a single checkpoint.

No cars waited in line. No guards manned the station.

"Something's wrong," Rose whispered, leaning forward. "Where is everyone?"