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Chapter 14 – Echoes in the Fog

The winter fog rolled into the city like a ghost from Don’s memories—soft, suffocating, and familiar.

Every step Don took that morning felt heavy, as if he was dragging a version of himself that refused to be forgotten. That message from Blue Fang wouldn’t leave his mind. He had deleted it, but the words scratched at the inside of his skull like fingernails on a locked door.

He hadn’t slept. His hands shook from the cigarettes, the cold, and the truth he didn’t want to admit.

He was being watched.

---

In school, Jake noticed immediately.

Don’s eyes were bloodshot. His blazer was buttoned wrong. He hadn’t eaten during lunch. He sat in the farthest corner during math class, staring out the window as though something beyond the fog was calling to him.

Jake leaned toward Gor. “He’s worse today.”

Gor nodded. “We need to know the truth. No more guessing.”

“But how?”

Gor was already pulling out his phone. “We follow him.”

Jake hesitated. “That’s low.”

“So is losing someone again.”

---

After school, Don didn’t go home.

He walked past the bus stop, past the market, and into the older part of the city—the one with crumbling buildings and stray dogs barking at silence.

Jake and Gor followed at a distance, hiding behind parked scooters, worn trees, and broken walls.

Don entered a half-abandoned alley.

Jake whispered, “Where is he going?”

Then they saw it.

A group of five boys stood near an old tea stall. Tattoos on their necks. Bandages on their knuckles. They weren’t students. They weren’t kids.

They were wolves.

Don approached without fear.

One of them stepped forward. Tall, lean, and scarred. His voice carried through the fog.

“You look like shit, Vice.”

Jake’s eyes widened. Vice?

Don spoke coldly, “Why are you here, Gino?”

“The gang needs you back. You were the brain. You kept the chaos in control. After the leader... left... the rest lost it.”

“I told you,” Don muttered, “I left all of that behind.”

Gino lit a cigarette. “You don’t leave the Fang. You just forget until you’re needed again.”

Don didn’t reply.

The silence spoke louder.

---

Jake and Gor ducked behind the corner, both stunned.

“Vice?” Gor whispered.

Jake looked pale. “He’s in a gang… And he was vice captain?”

The truth hit them like a tidal wave. It explained the bruises. The disappearances. The way Don fought off those seniors alone.

But also, the pain. The silence. The distance.

---

Back in the alley, Gino handed Don an envelope.

“From the Old Wolf,” he said.

Don didn’t take it.

“I’m done.”

“Don’t lie to yourself,” Gino smirked. “The streets remember.”

Then the group walked away, fading into the fog.

Don stood still, frozen. Inside, the storm howled.

---

Later that night, Jake called Gor.

“We need to talk to him,” Jake said.

“Not yet,” Gor replied. “He’s not ready.”

“Neither are we.”

“But we have to be. If we want to save him.”

---

And somewhere in his room, under the dim orange light of his desk lamp, Don finally opened the envelope.

Inside was a photo.

The old gang—smiling, laughing, together.

And scribbled at the back:

> “You promised you’d lead if I was gone. — R.”

Don gritted his teeth, eyes wet, hands trembling.

Because R wasn’t just anyone.

He was the gang’s old leader.

And his best friend once.

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End of Chapter 14

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