Chapter 24. Puppet Master

  Raven fixed Uri with a sharp look, but she only smirked in response. "Where have I been? Oh, you know, just taking a spa day while you were out making new friends."

  Raven exhaled through his nose, rolling his shoulders back. "Yeah, we’ll talk about that later."

  Before Uri could fire back another quip, a cry interrupted them.

  "Anny!"

  Tabetha ran forward, her face streaked with tears as she dropped to her sister’s side. Panic overtook her, hands hovering over Anny’s wound, afraid to touch it. "Is she going to die? Tell me she’s not going to die!"

  Uri placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "She’s fine, kid. It’s not a fatal wound—just needs proper treatment. Help me get her up."

  With careful effort, they lifted Anny. She groaned, eyes fluttering open as she blinked at the dimming sky above. She turned her gaze toward Raven and gave him a small, tired smile. "You saved us... thank you."

  Raven, caught off guard, scratched the back of his head. "I think you got that backward. If you hadn’t stepped in, I’d be the one dead in the street right now. So… thanks for that."

  A flicker of amusement passed through Anny’s eyes before she winced, holding her shoulder.

  The moment of quiet was broken as more of the captured survivors emerged from the shop, stepping cautiously into the open. Some looked around in disbelief, their freedom almost too much to process. A few let out quiet cheers, while others sank to their knees, sobbing in exhausted relief.

  One of the cheering women turned to Raven. "What do we do now?"

  Raven pointed toward the group. "Start gathering everyone up. We have a safe place at the hospital."

  His words were met with hesitation. One of the women crossed her arms, distrust written all over her face. "That’s what these bastards told us too," she spat.

  Raven clenched his jaw. He didn’t have a good response to that, so he didn’t bother pretending he did.

  "You can come or stay, but we have food and shelter. The police are in charge for now, a guy named Wilkes if any of you know him. I can’t prove anything to you, but that’s where we’re going. Your call."

  The group murmured amongst themselves before making their decisions. Some chose to stay, too broken or afraid to trust anyone else. But the majority followed, limping in small clusters as they moved down the street.

  As night crept over the city, new sounds began to stir.

  Raven’s hunter instincts screamed a warning. The night belonged to the predators.

  They were only about five hundred meters from the hospital, but the twisting alleys between them and safety made it feel like a long way.

  Choosing to move back onto the main road, Raven kept his senses sharp. Something was off. A creeping tension filled the air, something watching them. He turned the corner, leading the group onto the main street when—

  A low growl rumbled in the silence.

  From the shadows, a massive dog stepped forward.

  Raven’s breath hitched. It looked like a Doberman, but twice the size, its frame packed with unnatural muscle. Spines jutted from its back, and where it stood, the concrete sizzled beneath its paws, smoke rising in curling tendrils.

  Shit.

  The beast’s glowing eyes locked onto the weakened survivors; hunger evident in its posture.

  Raven reacted instantly. "Uri, take Anny!"

  Leaving Anny in Uri’s care, he stepped forward, making himself large, trying to intimidate the creature. The dog didn’t flinch.

  Instead, it charged.

  With a snap decision, Raven phased. Ether surged through him like ice water under his skin—numbing, electric. The edges of the world warped for a breath, the sound dimming, as if reality itself held its breath. The massive hound passed harmlessly through him as it lunged for his throat. He spun on his heel, drawing his knife.

  The beast circled, slower this time, realizing its prey wasn’t so easy.

  It lunged again, swiping a massive claw at him. Raven barely managed to phase in time—the air behind him distorted, leaving a trail of burning embers.

  What the fuck is this thing?

  It was fast. Stronger than anything other than the big green bastard.

  The dog prowled, muscles coiled, preparing for another attack. Raven let it come.

  The beast lunged.

  Raven waited.

  At the last second, he phased, stepping just aside as the creature’s fiery breath scorched the air where he had stood.

  He struck.

  His knife punched up under its jaw, the force driving the blade through soft flesh, into bone, into the monster’s brain. The hellhound let out a choked snarl, its burning eyes flickering before it collapsed in a smoking heap. A heavy silence filled the street.

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  Then—

  More howls.

  Raven’s blood ran cold. They had to move.

  "Go! Now!" he ordered, ushering the group forward. They rushed down the street, pushing themselves to move faster despite their injuries.

  By the time they reached the hospital plaza, Raven heard a shout from the barricade.

  "Who’s out there?!"

  "It’s Raven! I have survivors! Injured!" he called back.

  A pause, then movement. The guards waved them forward. Seeing the wounded, one of them turned and yelled, "Get help!"

  As they made their way inside, Henson approached. "Where’s Wilkes?" Raven asked, still catching his breath.

  "Sleeping. He passed out an hour ago. We figured we’d let him rest—hasn’t slept since this all started."

  Raven grunted. "Fair. What about Carter? We need his skills."

  "Think he’s in his office."

  Before Raven could reply, Liu arrived, taking in the battered, exhausted survivors with a sharp gaze.

  In a whirlwind of efficiency, she had them sorted, given food, and led to available beds before Raven could even process how she moved that fast.

  Raven guided Uri and Tabetha down the hall toward the surgery room, ensuring they were inside before stepping away. His next stop was Carter.

  He moved quickly, navigating the dim corridors until he reached the makeshift office Carter had claimed. Through the cracked doorway, he spotted the man sitting on the floor, deep in meditation. Not wanting to startle him, Raven knocked lightly on the doorframe.

  Carter's eyes flicked open instantly. The moment he saw Raven standing there, tension rippled through his body. He got to his feet in one smooth motion.

  "What’s wrong?"

  Raven didn’t waste time. "We've got one injured. She saved my life—I’m hoping you can save hers." “You look like a higher priority” Wilkes said nodding towards Ravens arm, “No, her first, I’ll be fine”

  Carter nodded sharply. "I’ll take a look."

  The two moved swiftly back toward the surgery room, Carter scanning the setup as soon as they entered. He assessed Anny, frowning as he stepped closer. Then, without looking up, he muttered, "You should wait outside."

  Raven folded his arms. "Why?"

  Carter glanced at him, expression blank. "Because I need to remove some of her clothing to treat the wound."

  Raven nearly tripped over his own feet backing toward the door. "Right. Yeah. Got it. I’m gone."

  The door shut behind him, and he let out a slow breath, rubbing his face. His cheeks were still burning.

  Standing there in the dim hallway, he heard Anny groan in pain inside, and his stomach twisted. He hated waiting around, hated being useless when people were hurting.

  A moment later, the door opened, and Uri stepped out.

  Raven glanced at her, then did a quick double take.

  He was surprised to realize that he was glad she was back.

  He exhaled, shaking his head. "Alright. Again—where the fuck have you been?"

  Uri smirked. "Miss me that much?"

  Raven scowled. "Not the point."

  She leaned against the wall, stretching her arms above her head lazily. "I saw a vision of Anny. I don’t know how to explain it—I just knew I had to go to her. So, I did."

  Raven frowned. "Is that supposed to make sense to me?"

  Uri shrugged. "Doesn’t have to. I do what I want."

  Raven exhaled, rubbing his temple. "Is that how you found me too?"

  At that, Uri laughed outright. "No. You weren’t exactly hard to find—taking on an orc by yourself kinda gets attention."

  Raven was still curious about how Uri knew so much, but he realized it didn’t matter to him right now. There were more pressing concerns.

  Deciding to take advantage of her insight, he leaned against the wall. “We set up a hydroponic farm,” he said. “Seems like a good first step.”

  Uri’s expression brightened slightly. “Good. You’ll need it.”

  “You think your skill can give us any insight into what we should be doing next?” Raven asked.

  Uri just smiled, that knowing smirk she always wore when she had more information than she was willing to share. “That depends.”

  Raven narrowed his eyes. “On what?”

  “On whether you’re staying here or not.”

  That made him pause. “What do you mean?”

  Uri gestured vaguely down the hall. “This Sink can grow, Raven. It can become more than just a shelter—it can be a refuge, a stronghold, maybe even a bustling city if you’re willing to invest in it and the people living here.” She tilted her head. “But you need to decide if that’s the best plan.”

  Raven frowned. “You’re saying I need to make that choice?”

  Uri nodded. “We need more information, and you have easy access to it now.” She tapped his forehead lightly. “Go shopping, Raven. Find books that detail what a Sink is and what it’s capable of. Then make a decision.”

  Raven felt a weight settle on his shoulders. Why him? He wasn’t a leader. He wasn’t someone who built things—he survived. That’s what he did.

  “That’s Wilkes’ decision.”

  Saying it felt like passing the burden off, but wasn’t that what Wilkes wanted? What Raven wanted? Uri’s smirk faded into confusion. “I thought you agreed to be equals?”

  Raven sighed. “We did. But then I realized I don’t want to be a leader.” He shrugged. “I agreed to follow Wilkes as long as I agree with what he’s doing.”

  For the first time since meeting her, Uri’s smirk vanished.

  The shift was instant, almost unnatural, her eyes flashing with something sharp and unreadable—but gone before he could place it. The air between them felt heavier for just a second, like a storm about to break. Something in his gut twisted. It wasn’t just irritation; it was something colder.

  Raven had seen it, though. And for some reason, it left a strange weight in his chest. She forced a smile. “That’s an interesting choice, Raven.”

  Raven wasn’t sure what he had just seen, but for some reason, he felt like he had just done something wrong.

  Deciding to leave it alone for now, he turned and made his way toward the patient ward. He checked in on Anny, finding her asleep in a hospital bed, her breathing steady. Tabetha was curled up beside her, passed out in a chair, her head resting on the bed.

  Satisfied that they were okay, Raven headed to the ward where his cot was.

  Raven sat on the edge of the cot, staring at his hands.

  They were clean now, but he could still feel the blood. The warmth of it. The way it had splattered across his skin.

  He had killed before—monsters, creatures, things that shouldn’t exist. That had been easy. There was no hesitation when something unnatural lunged for his throat.

  But this had been different.

  They had been human.

  He clenched his fists, but that didn’t stop the images from surfacing.

  The man who had looked him in the eye, mouth opening to shout before Raven’s arrow pierced his throat. The gurgling sound he had made before collapsing.

  The one who had screamed in pain when Raven’s knife sank into his flesh, his desperate attempt to flee cut short by a blade to the back.

  Raven exhaled sharply, resting his elbows on his knees.

  It had been necessary.

  They would have kept hurting people. They would have kept taking women, enslaving them, killing anyone who got in their way.

  They deserved to die.

  So why did it feel like he had crossed something he couldn’t come back from?

  A part of him had enjoyed it. And that terrified him.

  It wasn’t sadism. He wasn’t a killer by nature. But in that moment—standing over their corpses, breath sharp in his lungs, blood cooling on his hands—there had been something else.

  A thrill. A cold, focused clarity. A feeling of absolute control.

  And worse? A part of him had wanted them to suffer. He knew what they had done to those women. He had seen the terror in their eyes, the bruises, the broken spirits.

  So he had killed without remorse.

  And it had been easy.

  That was what scared him most.

  Eventually, exhaustion took him, and he fell asleep.

  But his dreams were restless.

  He saw armies of goblins, their twisted faces sneering as they marched in formation.

  Packs of fire-breathing hounds prowled through the city ruins, their glowing eyes searching for prey.

  And looming above it all, Uri stood over him.

  Strings stretched from her fingers to his limbs, pulling, twisting, controlling.

  A puppet master.

  Raven tossed in his sleep. The strings tightened.

  A whisper, distant and unfamiliar, brushed against his thoughts.

  "Keep moving."

  Then softer. Closer. In his ear.

  "Don’t stop."

  Raven’s eyes snapped open.

  The phantom pull of the strings still tingled in his limbs.