novelraw Chapter 565: Welcome Home?
Chapter 565: Welcome Home?
The distance between places shrank like they had never been there in the first place.
They drove through regions that had nearly killed them the first time around, and nothing rose to meet them now. Not a single ambush. Not a single lab, or military, or drug lord, or general. Just the road, the sky, and five people who had finally found the time to breath.
Whatever had been standing in their way before was either no longer interested in dealing with them or no longer breathing.
Either way worked for Sera.
The truck made it exactly forty-seven feet past the edge of the old highway before a new reality seemed to slap them in the face.
Ashkar eased it forward carefully at first, the tires crunching over broken asphalt and creeping vines that had swallowed the road in long, thick green ropes.
The air around them was already wrong...too warm, too wet...and the smell of earth pressed in through the open windows causing Sera to wrinkle her nose.
Then a fern the size of a small house unfolded itself directly in front of the hood causing Ashkar to have to brake hard.
The truck idled for a moment as even more heat ticked under the hood as the jungle breathed around them.
Psycho leaned forward between the seats, peering through the windshield. "So," he said lightly, "this is not the ice age."
Sera stared at the wall of vegetation, sweat already beading at her temples. The humidity clung to her skin like a second layer... like the world had decided personal space was optional and wanted to get as close to her as possible. "No," she replied. "This is... aggressively not the ice age."
Aerenyx rolled his shoulder once, expression unreadable. "The air is saturated," he said. "High oxygen content. Rapid plant growth. Insects will be—"
A massive winged shape buzzed past the windshield, its shadow blotting out the light for a split second.
"Extra large," Psycho finished for him, grinning.
Caerwyn leaned out of the truck and immediately straightened as rain-slick leaves brushed his shoulders. Opening the back door, his boots sank a fraction into the mud beneath the greenery, and he took a moment to assess what lay beyond the wall of plants.
"This is not a forest," he said calmly. "This is...something prehistoric."
Sera laughed, soft and incredulous, the sound slipping free of her before she could stop it. It felt good to laugh without checking corners or listening for alarms. It felt better than it had in a long time.
Ashkar shut off the engine.
The silence that followed wasn’t empty. It pulsed with sound—chirring insects, distant calls, something large moving slowly far away. Heat curled around them, thick and relentless, as if the world itself was exhaling.
"Well," Psycho said, opening his door and immediately recoiling as something bright green crawled onto the frame. "Good news. I don’t think anyone’s following us."
"And the bad news?" Sera asked.
He flicked the insect away with a snap of ice. "I’m pretty sure everything here can eat us."
Ashkar turned in his seat to look at her. "You’re sweating," he noted, concern threading his voice despite the heat rolling off him.
"Humidity," she replied, wiping her brow. "I’ll live."
He didn’t argue, but when she moved to open her door, his hand landed at her waist without thinking, steadying her as she stepped down into the thick growth. The touch was instinctive now, practiced and intimate in a way that didn’t ask permission.
She leaned into it briefly, grounding herself.
The jungle swallowed the truck almost immediately once they stepped away from it. Vines crept over the hood as if curious, leaves brushing against metal and glass with soft persistence. Within minutes, it looked less like a vehicle and more like a forgotten relic.
Psycho circled it once, hands on his hips. "So," he said thoughtfully, "unless someone packed a machete, a miracle, or a portal, I’m guessing we’re walking."
Caerwyn glanced skyward, eyes tracking movement high above the canopy. "Walking may be optimistic."
A distant roar rolled through the air, low and resonant enough to vibrate in Sera’s chest.
She stilled, her instincts flaring to the surface.
Ashkar stepped closer, fire humming just beneath his skin, not flaring but present. Protective. Anchoring. His hand found hers this time, fingers lacing without ceremony.
"That," Psycho said brightly, "was definitely not a bird."
Sera squeezed Ashkar’s hand, smiling despite herself. "We wanted away from people," she said. "I guess this would be a good example of ’be careful what you wish for’."
Aerenyx tilted his head, listening. "The creatures here recognize hierarchy," he said after a moment. "They’re aware of us. But they’re not approaching."
"Because they’re smart," Psycho replied. "Or because something bigger told them not to."
Caerwyn’s gaze flicked to Sera, then Ashkar, then back to the jungle. "Either way," he said evenly, "we are not prey."
They stood there for a moment, five figures at the edge of something ancient and unchecked, the jungle pressing close without hostility. The world wasn’t testing them. It was observing.
Sera inhaled deeply, filling her lungs with wet heat and green life and the faint metallic tang of Ashkar’s fire.
"This is Country N," she said softly. "Or what’s left of it."
Psycho snorted. "Left implies restraint."
She laughed again, then winced as the movement tugged at healing flesh. Ashkar noticed immediately, his grip tightening just enough to remind her she wasn’t alone.
"Do we have a destination?" Caerwyn asked.
Sera closed her eyes for a moment.
"I don’t know the roads anymore," she admitted. "But I know the direction. East. Toward where the water used to be."
Ashkar nodded. "Then we go east."
"On foot?" Psycho asked. "Through Jurassic Park?"
Aerenyx glanced at him. "Complaining will not make the distance shorter."
"Worth a try."
They didn’t make it ten steps before the jungle reminded them exactly how dense it was. Broad leaves slapped against arms and shoulders, vines tangled around boots, and the ground sucked greedily at every footfall.
Sera stumbled once, more from uneven ground than pain, and immediately found herself supported on both sides.
Ashkar’s arm wrapped around her waist, heat radiating steady and reassuring. Aerenyx’s hand hovered near her back, ready without crowding.
She didn’t pull away.
Instead, she rested her weight more fully against Ashkar for a moment, letting herself be held.
"This," she said lightly, "is what happens when you don’t pack a teleporter."
Psycho snapped his fingers. "You know, I did know a guy once—"
"No," Caerwyn said instantly.
They all laughed, the sound scattering birds overhead and sending something massive crashing away through the undergrowth. The jungle reacted, then settled again.
Ashkar adjusted his hold, lifting Sera easily over a thick root without comment. The motion was smooth, practiced, intimate in the way of someone who had carried her through worse.
She caught his shoulder as he set her down, fingers lingering. "Thank you," she murmured.
He met her gaze, eyes warm and steady. "Always."
They moved slower after that, not out of fear but awareness. Touch became constant—hands brushing, shoulders bumping, Ashkar’s presence a quiet anchor at her side.
Psycho walked ahead now, clearing a path with casual flicks of ice that cracked vines without freezing the air. Aerenyx followed close behind Sera, silent and watchful, his attention split between the environment and her breathing.
Caerwyn ranged farther out, storm pressed tight beneath his skin, mapping space and threat without needing to say a word.
And Ashkar stayed with her.
Always with her.
"You okay?" he asked quietly when the humidity thickened again.
She nodded. "I’m good. Not hurt."
He brushed his thumb across her knuckles. "We can rest if you want."
"In a jungle full of potential dinosaurs?"
He smiled faintly. "I’m Hearth and home," he reminded her, his voice dropping an octave. "I can make anywhere livable."
Something warm settled in her chest at that.
They broke through the last wall of undergrowth into a clearing that stole the breath from her lungs.
Massive trees towered overhead, their trunks wider than houses. Flowers the size of bathtubs bloomed in impossible colors, and beyond them, water shimmered from what looked to be either a great lake or an ocean swollen and alive as steam rose from its surface.
Something enormous moved at the far edge of the clearing, scales catching the light.
It paused.
Looked at them.
Then turned away.
Psycho let out a slow whistle. "Apex recognizes apex," he said. "Love that for us. Who knew the lizards were the smart ones?"
Sera stood there, Ashkar’s arm still firm around her, and felt something unfamiliar stretch open inside her.
Not tension.
Possibility.
"This," she said quietly, "will do."
Ashkar leaned down, his forehead resting briefly against hers, fire warming but gentle. "Then we will build here," he said. "Or near it. However you wish."
She smiled, unguarded and real.
"Welcome to the jungle," she said. "We got fun and games."