The cafeteria was empty.
Not the kind of empty that comes from people being somewhere else—the kind that settles into a place when no one has any reason to be there anymore. The tables were clean. The chairs were pushed in. The windows looked out at grey sky and nothing else.
Wolfen sat at the far end of the longest table, his boots up on the seat across from him, his head tilted back, staring at the ceiling. Leo was two chairs down, spinning a piece of metal between his fingers, watching the light catch its edges. Jordan sat across from them, still, quiet, his katana leaning against the table beside him.
They didn't eat here anymore. None of them did. The food was cold, the company was gone, and the room smelled like dust and something that used to be alive.
Wolfen came sometimes. Sat alone. Didn't talk. Didn't eat. Just sat.
Today, they were all here. None of them knew why.
"Does anyone else feel like..." Leo stopped spinning the metal. "Like drained? Like all the fun is just gone?"
Jordan nodded. "Yeah."
Wolfen didn't move. "Eva's less responsive. Maya's always trying to get her to talk. Zoey isn't talking to me—she still feels guilty. Lena's always looking at Jordan." He paused. "Dave's gone somewhere. So yeah. It feels empty."
Leo's eyes slid to Jordan. A slow grin spread across his face.
"Speaking of you and Lena."
Wolfen's boots hit the floor. His head came up. The smirk was already forming.
"I've been noticing you two," Wolfen said. "Close together. Really close."
Jordan's face went red. "Shut up."
"Ooooh." Wolfen leaned forward, elbows on the table. "Ma boy. I didn't know you had it in you."
"Shut. Up."
Leo leaned in too. "So how does it feel?"
Jordan blinked. "What?"
"Love, bro." Wolfen's smirk widened. "Love. How does it feel?"
"I said shut up."
"Oh, come on." Leo was grinning now. "We saw you two holding hands. Plenty of times."
Wolfen started nudging Jordan's arm with his elbow. Nudge. Nudge. Nudge.
Jordan didn't answer. He didn't blush. He didn't stammer.
He stared at something behind them with wide, frozen eyes.
"Oh, come on, love boy." Leo was still smirking. "We know you like her. So when are you going to seal the deal?"
Jordan didn't answer.
Leo's smirk faltered. "Jordan?"
Jordan's eyes didn't move.
Leo turned.
Wolfen turned.
Maya stood in the doorway. Eva stood beside her. Lena was behind them, her face slightly pink, her eyes fixed on the floor. Zoey was last, arms crossed, jaw tight.
Maya looked mad. Zoey looked madder. Eva was cracking her knuckles.
"Leave them alone," Eva said.
Leo's smile became a very different kind of smile. The sweating kind. "Of course. Come on, dude." He grabbed Wolfen's arm.
Wolfen didn't move.
"What if I'm not afraid?" Wolfen's voice was calm. Too calm. "What if I want to get hurt? What if I'm not scared? What if I'm prepared to face you?"
Leo's grip tightened. "I advise against it."
Wolfen stood.
---
Later, Wolfen walked through the forest with a bloody nose and a bruised ego. Leo walked beside him, shaking his head.
"Bloody women," Wolfen muttered.
"I told you to stop."
They walked in silence for a minute. The trees were thick here, the light thin, the air cold.
"Always remember, Leo." Wolfen pressed a wad of cloth to his nose. "When the devil was learning how to do his thing, he learned by watching women."
Leo snorted. "Damn, bro."
They walked further.
"What about you and Zoey?" Leo asked. "You two are pretty close too."
Wolfen's voice went flat. "Shut it, CLR, or I'm going to kick you."
"Yeah, yeah."
They came out of the trees.
The clearing was wide, open, empty. Grey sky overhead. Dead grass underfoot. Nothing moved.
Except.
Wolfen stopped. Leo stopped.
They felt it at the same time—the prickle at the back of the neck, the weight in the chest, the sudden certainty that something was very, very wrong.
A figure stepped out of the trees.
Eva. But not Eva. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, tight against her skull. Her face was scarred in places that hadn't been scarred before. Her smile was wrong.
Another figure. Derek. Blood on his face. Blood on his clothes. A fresh wound still weeping down his cheek.
Another. Maya. Her hair cropped short. Her eyes already scanning for prey.
Another. Leo. Blood on his hands. Blood in his eyes.
Another. Jordan. Katana drawn. Katana wet.
And at the front, leading them, Wolfen. Golden eyes colder than they'd ever been. Smile sharper than any blade.
Clones, Leo thought. The word was there, ready. But it didn't fit.
"Not clones." Wolfen's voice was quiet. "They're from another universe. The bald bastard brought them here."
The other Eva stepped forward. Her smile widened. Her head tilted.
"Hey, hey." Her voice was a rasp, sharp as broken glass. "Let's have some fun."
The forest went silent.
Wolfen stood still. Leo stood beside him. The other versions of themselves stood across the clearing, hungry, waiting.
Somewhere far away, the boy on the bone throne smiled.
The hunt was about to begin.