Dev didn't resist.
They moved.
Away from the road—
but not in a hurry.
Kai didn't look back.
Not at the cab.
Not at the space it left behind.
"…We're not following it," he said.
Dev glanced at him briefly.
"…Then why move?"
A pause.
Kai's pace didn't change.
"Because staying is worse."
Silence.
They crossed the road.
Traffic flowed around them—
uninterrupted.
Normal.
Too normal.
Like nothing had shifted—
when something clearly had.
"…It won't stay," Dev said.
Kai nodded once.
"…Yeah."
A beat.
"So we don't chase it."
Dev's gaze shifted ahead.
"Not the source," he said.
"…Then what?" Kai asked.
"The condition."
A pause.
The words settled—
but didn't explain.
"It appears," Dev continued.
"Then corrects."
Kai frowned slightly.
"…So it's not random."
"No."
Another step.
"…It's placed."
Silence.
Kai exhaled slowly.
"…Then we're already late."
Dev didn't respond.
Because that part—
he had already understood.
They turned into a quieter lane.
Less traffic.
Less noise.
But the feeling—
didn't leave.
It followed.
Not behind them—
with them.
"…So what now?" Kai asked.
Dev didn't answer immediately.
His gaze moved—
not searching.
measuring.
"…We don't follow it," he said.
A pause.
"…We find where it happens next."
Kai looked at him.
"…And wait?"
Dev's eyes didn't shift.
"…And observe."
Silence.
No urgency.
No panic.
Just—
decision.
Kai's grip had already loosened.
But his pace stayed the same.
Not faster.
Not slower.
Controlled.
They kept moving.
Not away.
Not toward.
Just—
forward.
Because now—
they weren't reacting.
They were aligning.
With something—
they still didn't understand.
And that—
was the only way to face it.