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"Seeing you two."

Carys sits beside me.

"Weird good or weird bad?"

"Weird..."

He searches for the word.

"Like I walked into a family that already existed."

The statement hits harder than any attack. Because he's right. Not because he wasn't part of it. Because he was. The three of us have been moving together like this from the moment the threat arrived. Protecting. Arguing. Planning. Trusting. The supernatural explanation is easy. The harder truth is that we are simply a family who lost time.

Carys reaches toward him.

"Come here."

He hesitates. Only for a second. Then he does. She wraps her arms around him. I look away. Because some moments are too important to interrupt. After a few seconds, she releases him.

"You're hurt too. You never washed all those cuts and scrapes properly before you fell into bed last night."

"I'm okay."

She gives him the same look she gave me. He immediately sighs.

"Fine."

I almost smile. Definitely her son. I stand carefully.

"We need to check the perimeter."

Carys looks at me.

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

"The monster is gone."

"I know."

"Then why?"

Because I've spent my entire life understanding that emergencies don't end when the immediate danger disappears. They end when you confirm everyone is safe. I don't say that. I just answer honestly.

"Because I need to know."

Her expression softens.

"Okay."

We walk outside together. The damage is obvious. The front of the cottage looks like something out of a horror movie. Which is fitting. The windows are destroyed. The porch railing is cracked. The garden is flattened. But there is no darkness. No distortion. No pressure.

Just a cold October evening.

I walk the perimeter slowly. Nothing. No unusual movement. No strange temperature changes. No scent of the entity. The Hollow is quiet. Finally.

Carys stands beside me.