Chapter 171: Lie To Me.

『"It’s getting real uncomfortable here..."』

[Time Until Apostle Deadline: 47:23:47]

"Raj," Meredith called again. "Did the wendigo bite you?"

"No," Raj said, sounding certain. "No bite. I’m good."

Amara felt her bullshit senses tingle once. Bullshit, she said nothing.

Meredith studied Raj for another moment, then nodded slowly. "You complained about the creature feeding on your soul. That normally doesn’t happen unless it has its fangs in you."

She paused, choosing her words carefully. "Better to catch it early than deal with a complicated curse later."

"No curses to worry about," Raj said, and he even managed a smile that almost looked genuine. "All good here. Just got thrown around a bit, but nothing the Breastplate couldn’t handle."

"Good," Meredith said, but she didn’t sound entirely convinced. She pulled out her device, already coordinating their extraction. "Transport ETA is four minutes. Hiro and Sophia already leading them here."

Amara looked at Meredith, then at Raj. "Let’s get clear of the cave mouth then."

They moved away from the cave, and Amara found herself walking beside Raj, very aware of the lie still sitting between them.

She wanted to say something, demand the truth, force the issue, but this wasn’t the place. Not with Meredith three feet away and the mission technically still active.

So she kept quiet and hated herself for it.

A few moments later, Ethan emerged from the tree line, the violet sphere contained securely inside the SCP orb. He gave Meredith a small nod as he rejoined the group.

***

By the time they reached the clearing, the transport had already landed. Ankle-high grass swayed beneath the spinning rotors as Sophia and Hiro climbed out.

Relief washed across Sophia’s face the moment she saw them.

"You’re all okay," Sophia said. "The telepathic interference in that cave was insane. Every time I tried to get a clear read on anyone’s position, the signal just fractured into static."

Ethan lifted the reinforced container in one hand. "I think it had something to do with this."

Meredith looked at it. "The Fear Sphere?"

Ethan nodded.

She folded her arms. "It’s possible. Whatever that thing is, it may have also been responsible for interfering with my tracking."

Amara’s gaze lingered on the ball in Ethan’s hand. "That would explain how it stayed hidden for so many years."

Raj looked at his shoulder, then back at Amara as she continued.

"Between its scrambling ability and the cave’s natural interference, nobody could track it properly." Her gaze dropped. "It could hunt, disappear, and leave almost nothing behind."

Meredith nodded grimly. "Which means every search party that went in was already going in blind."

Hiro eyed the container warily and scratched the back of his neck. "So, just to be clear... inside that containment ball is basically another magic ball that negates tracking and makes people more afraid?"

Ethan gave a small nod. "More or less."

Hiro grimaced. "Man... Ishigami did say fear probably makes the food taste better. Apparently he wasn’t exaggerating."

"Speak of the devil," Sophia muttered.

Heads turned toward the tree line.

Ishigami emerged from between the trees, his expression mildly puzzled after catching only the tail end of the conversation. A few thin strings still trailed behind him before fading from sight.

"Found three more victims in the northern cave branch," he reported. "Partially consumed. I marked the locations for the recovery teams."

Silence settled over the clearing for a moment as the weight of his words sank in.

Three more people who’d come into these woods and never left. Added to the seven already confirmed dead, that was ten lives stolen by hunger that couldn’t be satisfied.

Meredith’s jaw tightened, but her voice remained professional. "We’ll notify next of kin once identifications are confirmed. At least the families will have closure now."

The transport aircraft’s rotors began spinning faster, signaling it was time to leave. As they boarded, Meredith turned back toward Raj, who was already halfway up the ramp.

"Raj," she called, and her tone got everyone’s attention. "I need you to be certain before you answer."

Raj swallowed.

"Did the wendigo bite you?" she asked. "Even a scratch. Even the smallest wound that broke skin."

Raj stopped moving. "Tough skin," Raj said, flexing. Then he continued into the aircraft to take his seat as though he hadn’t just lied through his teeth.

Amara watched the exchange, her eyes following Raj as he moved to take a seat, her fingers curling into a fist at her side.

For someone who could regenerate, confirming a bite would be impossible until it was too late.

"Raj—" Amara started.

"No bite," he said without turning around. "I already told you. I’m fine."

Meredith sighed. "Symptoms usually begin with aggression, paranoia, and intrusive thoughts about consuming human flesh."

Hiro’s eyebrow went up. "Did we miss anything?"

Meredith continued, folding her arms. "If we catch it early, the cleansing ritual has a ninety percent success rate. But if we wait too long..." She didn’t finish the sentence.

"It’s a good thing I didn’t get bitten then," Raj said, sounding so sure. But Amara knew better.

She felt something in her chest tighten. Angel’s Bane was practically screaming at her now. He was lying, and everyone was about to accept it because what else could they do?

Ethan caught the look on her face, the conflict she couldn’t hide, her brows furrowing with worry. His expression hardened with concern.

"What’s with the look?" he asked quietly, moving to stand beside her as the ramp closed behind them with the hydraulic hiss of pressure equalizing.

Amara waited until Meredith had turned away, apparently satisfied by Raj’s denial, before leaning close enough that only Ethan could hear.

"Raj is lying about being bitten," she whispered, the words feeling like a betrayal even as she spoke them. "But maybe... maybe he has his reasons?"

Ethan’s entire body went rigid. "What the fuck, Amara. We have to tell Meredith. This could be bad. This could be really bad."

"Maybe my lie detection is going haywire or something," Amara said, wanting so badly to believe that was the case.

"Let’s just ask Raj first," she said. "Confirm it from him before we tell Meredith anything. Give him a chance to explain."

"Amara—" Ethan started, his voice filled with warning and frustration.

She looked up at him with a desperate hope that this wasn’t as bad as it seemed, and it made him pause.

"Please?" she said quietly.

Ethan’s jaw clenched, but after a moment he nodded once. "We talk to him the second we’re back at the Institute."

"Yeah," Amara said quickly.

"And if he confirms the bite," Ethan continued. "We’re telling Meredith immediately. No arguments."

"Agreed," Amara said, though the guilt in her stomach only deepened.

Nobody spoke much during the flight back. The adrenaline crash was hitting all of them now.

Ishigami sat with his eyes closed.

Sophia exchanged a quiet look with Hiro. Whatever tension existed between them had been overshadowed by the uneasiness permeating within the aircraft.

Meanwhile, Raj sat alone near the back, staring at his hands like they belonged to someone else.

Amara watched him from across the cargo hold and felt the knot of worry in her chest tighten with every passing minute.

***

[Time Until Apostle Deadline: 44:17:31]

The Institute’s landing pad was busier than usual when they touched down.

Multiple aircraft bearing logos other than the Institute’s sun emblem came and went, suggesting a coordinated operation across several branches.

Director Hale was waiting for them as they disembarked. From the look on his face and the busy landing pad, it was clear that something had developed during their absence.

"Successful elimination?" he asked Meredith.

"Wendigo confirmed dead. Mission accomplished." Meredith reported. "The Five performed admirably." She looked at Raj. "No casualties."

Amara’s stomach twisted from Meredith’s words. If Raj was telling the truth, she was right. But if he wasn’t...

Then this mission hadn’t ended without casualties after all.

"Good." The Director’s attention swept across all five of them. "Get cleaned up and debriefed. We’ve got a situation developing that’s going to require all available personnel."

"The Apostles?" Ethan asked.

"Oraculum branch detected movement." That was all he gave them. "Dismissed." He then looked at Meredith. "Except you, Meredith."

Ethan handed the orb to Meredith, then they separated.

Meredith followed the Director toward Command. Ishigami was there one moment, then gone the next. The Five headed toward the R.C. for a much-needed break.

Once they arrived, it was nothing but awkward silence and uncomfortable glances.

"Okay, is someone finally going to tell us what’s happening?" Hiro broke the silence, heading to the fridge to grab a soda. "You’ve all been acting weird since you got out of the cave."

Sophia grinned. "Maybe they’re cursed." She wiggled her fingers theatrically, only for her smile to disappear as soon as she noticed Amara’s gaze shift to Raj.

Raj, on the other hand, caught the look and understood immediately what she was asking without words needing to be spoken.

"I’m gonna grab a shower," he announced, already moving toward his quarters. "Get the cave smell off me."

"Actually," Amara said with enough firmness that everyone stopped moving. "We need to talk first. All of us. About what happened in the cave."

Raj’s expression shifted, his wariness replacing exhaustion. "There’s nothing to talk about. We killed the wendigo. Mission accomplished. End of story."

"Raj," Ethan said, and his tone made it clear this wasn’t a request. "We need to talk. Now."

The tension in the room escalated as Hiro and Sophia looked between them, confusion evident.

Nobody moved.

Raj’s hand twitched once at his side, a small, almost imperceptible spasm, like something was shifting under his skin. Then he shoved it into his pocket a little too quickly.

"Fine," he said at last, drawing a slow breath. "Let’s talk."