The café door creaked shut behind them. The jazz stopped. Morning light spilled onto the street like it didn't belong there. A quiet too clean. Too sterile.
They slid into the van, neither speaking for a moment.
The engine clicked. Jennifer's systems came online with a faint hum.
The baby in the tank still floated, its eyes closed—peaceful, unnerving.
777 finally spoke, his voice unsteady.
"We're going back… are we?"
Rick didn't even hesitate. "Yes. We're going back. I've got some testing to do."
"You like playing with fire, sure, but isn't this going too far?"
Rick glanced at him, expression unreadable. "Nah. This isn't far enough for me."
777 exhaled. "Right… The dream. I almost forgot to tell you. It was weird."
Rick stayed quiet, prompting him.
"I saw Tobey. He was crying… building something out of clay. Over and over. He tried and failed. Every time, he sobbed harder. But at the end, there was this thing—some kind of creature—flickering behind him. Just for a second. And in that moment… I felt it. That thing was Tobey."
Rick muttered, "That's… disturbing."
The van drove through backroads and dirt paths, where the signs had been before.
"Two hours now," Rick said, eyes scanning the landscape. "I was right again. The sign's gone."
"No trace," 777 murmured. "Do Not Acknowledge It… like it never existed."
Rick glanced at the baby again, floating in the nutrient tank.
"Do you remember… in that dimension, the baby's eyes were open?"
777 froze.
They both turned slowly.
The baby's eyes were shut now. Perfectly still.
"Yeah… I remember. Creeped me out. I assumed it was just an anomaly."
"Same," 777 muttered.
Then, a metallic chime cut through the tension.
Jennifer's voice, calm and mechanical:
"Truck model DR-Hive has arrived. Requesting positioning coordinates."
Rick turned to 777 with a sharp side-eye.
"When exactly did you request that, genius?"
"Relax," 777 said with a shrug. "This'll speed things up. Finding Tobey, tracking the masked woman—faster results."
Rick scoffed. "Right, because nothing screams 'stealth op' like summoning a truck the size of a building. Just tell me it's loaded with stealth drones. Please."
"Yes, yes," 777 replied, trying to sound casual. "Fully cloaked units. 500 of them."
Rick blinked. "Only 500? I expected your version of overkill to be... over-overkill."
"I was gonna load a thousand, alright?" 777 said, arms raised defensively. "Didn't have time. I told Jennifer to manufacture 200 more, and we had 300 already stacked in storage, so—boom—instant swarm."
Rick leaned back in the seat, head resting against the dashboard as he stared at the ceiling of the van.
The air smelled faintly like cold metal and coffee residue, still lingering from the café. Outside, the wind was starting to pick up again, brushing soft leaves across the windshield.
"And let me guess…" Rick said slowly, voice dripping with sarcasm. "You also thought about calling in the DR-Nest truck instead, didn't you?"
"I mean, yeah, but—"
Rick waved a hand in mock understanding. "No no, I get it. DR-Hive has longer signal range. Better swarm control. Probably makes you feel like a goddamn Pokémon trainer with death bots."
777 grinned. "You say that like it's a bad thing."
Rick rolled his eyes, tapping the dashboard lightly.
"Now we wait till night."
The van hummed softly, its cooling system kicking in. Outside, the town felt like it was holding its breath—quiet, too quiet. The wind had stopped, and the sky was caught in that awkward limbo before dusk.
Rick leaned back, fingers laced behind his head.
"Anyway. Jennifer, you got eyes on every cam in this ghost town?"
Jennifer's voice came through clear, almost too cheerful for the mood.
"Yes, sir. All surveillance feeds are online. No signs of Tobey leaving."
777 shifted in his seat, glancing at the dull monitor glow.
"So… what do we do till then? Just sit around and vibe with existential dread?"
Rick cracked a half-smile.
"We pretend we're professionals and not two guys winging it in a horror sim."
777 smirked. "Sick. Wanna play chess on the drone control panel?"
Rick glanced at him sideways. "That's how you summon another cursed dimension, you know."
777 reached for the dark chocolate bar in the cupholder.
"Worth it."