Lilly woke up to silence.
Not the comfortable kind.
The wrong kind.
She lay still for a moment, listening.
No footsteps.
No weight in the air.
She sat up.
Nana…?
Across the hall, another door slid open.
Noah stepped out, eyes half-open, hair still messy from sleep.
They looked at each other.
Both understood something was missing.
They walked to the kitchen together.
It was empty.
Too empty.
No knife sounds.
No presence that made the room feel watched.
On the table—
Two lunch boxes.
Placed neatly, side by side.
And between them, a folded note.
Noah picked it up.
Didn't rush.
Didn't hesitate.
He unfolded it.
Written in ancestral script, the strokes steady and familiar.
–00– 0—-0 0– -0-
(Take care. Eat well.)
Nothing else.
Lilly stared at the paper.
That was all.
No goodbye.
"She left already," Lilly said quietly.
Noah nodded. "Yeah."
Not worried.
Not surprised.
That unsettled her more than panic ever could.
[CONTROL ROOM – EMERGENCY OVERRIDE TRIGGERED]
The moment Nana stepped outside, alarms lit up.
"Movement confirmed."
"She left a note."
"Zoom in. Enhance."
The folded paper filled the main screen.
One analyst swallowed.
"It's written in her code."
Footsteps echoed.
The President entered the room silently.
"What is it," he asked.
No one answered.
"…We can't decode it," someone finally said.
A linguistics officer stiffened.
"I've seen this before," he said slowly.
"It's an ancient script."
Silence fell.
"…Hunter language."
Brows furrowed.
"Explain."
"In old hunter dialects," the officer said carefully,
"–00– 0—-0 means beasts have begun running amok."
The room chilled.
"And 0– -0-?" another analyst asked.
The officer hesitated.
"I don't recognize it fully," he admitted.
"But the structure resembles… a spear passing through flesh."
The room stiffened.
"So this isn't a farewell," someone said.
"No," the linguist replied. "It's a declaration."
The President stared at the screen.
"…She's going out to hunt."
A pause.
"And she left the territory behind."
All eyes shifted to the live feed.
Noah carefully placing the note into his bag.
Lilly standing beside him.
Unaware.
Unprepared.
Or so they thought.