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Unfortunately, I do. I look back at the symbol.

"This wasn't an attack."

"What was it?"

"A message."

Her expression shifts.

"What kind?"

I don't answer. The entity is changing tactics. It doesn't just want access. It wants communication. And somehow, that feels worse.

Back inside, I update the plan. No more passive defense. No more waiting.

"We need to force it to reveal itself."

Carys looks up.

"How?"

"Track its movements."

"Then what?"

"Trap it."

She studies me.

"You mean fight it."

"If necessary."

She doesn't look away.

"Necessary is a word people use when they already made a decision."

I pause. Because she's right. I already made it.

"I'm not letting it choose the battlefield."

The room goes quiet.

"So what do we do?"

"We prepare."

The word feels heavier than it should. Because preparation assumes there is a chance. A chance we can win. A chance we can survive.

Outside, a group of tourists walks down the street laughing. Someone nearby tests a Halloween decoration. A mechanical witch cackles loudly. The sound carries through the open window. A fake monster laughing. A real monster waiting.

Seven days until Halloween. Seven days until whatever this thing is trying to become reaches its end. And now we know something important. It's not coming for the house.

It's coming for Sayer.

And it has finally realized…

We're standing in its way.