Joseph found Celeste near the ravine.

Or instead, he heard her first.

Not screaming. Not crying. Just swearing viciously and continuously at something invisible.

He crept closer through the brush, crouched low, and raised his flashlight just enough to catch a flicker of her silhouette. Celeste sat wedged between two crooked rocks, arms around her knees, her hair frizzed and wild, muttering under her breath.

“—I swear to God, if something crawls on me again, I’m going to launch myself into the ocean—”

Joseph stepped out quietly. “It’s me.”

Celeste snapped up like a spring-loaded trap, her flashlight swinging. “Jesus Christ! Are you trying to get killed? Or kill me?”

“Neither.”

She squinted, her eyes locking on his bare neck. “Wait. Your collar’s off?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh my God. Are you the hunter?”

“No.” Joseph raised both hands slowly, then pulled out the tool from his pocket. “I’m the only one who can get them off. They’re bombs, Cel. Every collar. They’ll go off at sunrise.”

She stared at him, unimpressed. “Sure. Bombs. Right. Is this, like, your redemption arc or something?”

“I’m serious.”

“I figured I’d die tonight anyway. If not from psycho dudes with rifles, then from being eaten alive by mosquitoes. Or brain parasites.”

He crouched down beside her, keeping his voice low. “You don’t have to believe me. But I need you to know something before I do this.”

Celeste rolled her eyes. “Great. A monologue.”

Joseph ignored her. “The thing about the collar is lies—it's the walkie-talkie that sets off a proximity tracker. If two or more of us are too close together, they’ll know where we are. The collar is a bomb.”

She actually stopped chewing him out for a second.

“They didn’t want us hiding alone just to scare us,” he continued. “It’s tactical. Anyone who’s already been helped? They’re liabilities now.”

Celeste swallowed, visibly uneasy for the first time. “So… you can’t stick around?”

“No.”

She looked down at her knees, then back up again.

“So take it off, I guess. Before I step on a wasp nest or start hallucinating from mosquito venom.”

Joseph hesitated for a moment.

Then he moved behind her, slid the tool into the clasp, and twisted.

Click.

The green light blinked.

He yanked the collar off and flung it over the rocks.

BOOM.

Celeste flinched hard.

For the first time, Joseph saw something crack beneath the surface of her sarcasm.

“That was real,” she whispered. “You weren’t lying.”

“No,” he said.

She didn’t look at him; she just rubbed her bare neck as if it still hurt. “I didn’t even notice how heavy it was.”

“Me either,” Joseph said. “Until it was gone.”

The silence stretched. Then:

“Go,” she said, “Before they come. I don’t want to hide anymore. These bugs are killing me.”

Joseph nodded.

---

Joseph found Amelia near the abandoned greenhouse.

She wasn’t hiding—just sitting on the edge of a cracked planter, elbows on her knees, head bowed as if she’d been holding herself together for too long.

When he stepped closer, the gravel shifted under his boots.

Amelia’s head snapped up.

Her flashlight was already raised, and her voice was sharp and breathless. “I heard three gunshots,” she said. “Was that you?”

She rose quickly, her body tense. “Are you the hunter? Are you going to kill me, too?”

Joseph didn’t flinch. He reached into his pocket, pulled out the small black tool, and held it up.

“They weren’t gunshots,” he said. “They were collars detonating.”

Her brows drew in. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“They’re bombs, Amelia,” Joseph said. “Every collar. They explode if I don’t get to them before sunrise. I’ve already removed three—Leo’s, Celeste’s, and mine.”

She took a step back. “And you want me to believe that? That you’ve just been going around… saving people?”

“I’m not the hunter,” he said. “I’m the one with the key.”

She didn’t lower the flashlight. “Then why didn’t you say anything earlier? Why were you sneaking around like a damn shadow?”

“Because if anyone catches on, they’ll stop me,” Joseph said. “And if I don’t finish in time, people die.”

A tense beat passed.

Then Amelia’s jaw clenched. “Prove it.”

Joseph stepped forward carefully, his voice low. “Turn around.”

She hesitated—then shook her head. “No way. You could still be lying.”

“I’m not.”

Amelia stood her ground. “And how do I know that tool even works? What if it’s a trick, and the second you touch me—boom?”

Joseph’s voice was steady. “Because if I wanted you dead, I wouldn’t have warned you.”

Another long pause.

Finally, Amelia turned slowly, reluctantly.

“Try anything,” she muttered, “I swear I’ll take you with me.”

Joseph stepped behind her. He slid the tool into the collar’s latch.

Click.

The green light flashed.

He yanked the collar free and immediately hurled it over the wall.

BOOM.

The sound cracked through the air, distant but deafening. Amelia flinched hard, spinning around, her hand flying to her neck.

The skin was red where the metal had rested. Her breath came fast and uneven.

She stared at him, stunned. “You weren’t lying…”

“I told you,” Joseph said. “I’m trying to save you.”

Amelia didn’t sit. She paced, restless and rattled.

“So now what? You sneak off again, and I’m just supposed to sit here?”

“You can’t follow me,” Joseph replied. “It’s the walkies.”

She frowned. “What about them?”

“They lied about the collars,” Joseph explained. “It’s the walkie-talkies that have the proximity trackers. If you stay too close to someone else, the walkie will ping your location, and the masked men will find you. Game over.”

Amelia stopped pacing. “And you waited until now to say this?”

“There wasn’t time.”

She stared him down, breathing hard.

“I don’t trust you,” she said.

Joseph nodded once. “I know.”

Then, more quietly, he added, “But I haven’t lied to you yet.”

Amelia glanced toward the trees, the dark, and then back at the ruined collar on the ground. Her shoulders sank. “Fine.”

She sat on the planter again, slowly, and rubbed her neck as if the ghost of the collar was still there.

“Go hide, Amelia. They’re coming,” Joseph instructed, turning without another word and disappearing into the woods.

Five more. Time was ticking.

——

Joseph spotted Max alone near the edge of the orchard, his flashlight swinging wildly as he tried to scale a low fence.

“Max,” Joseph called out, his voice low but urgent.

Max turned, his eyes dropping to Joseph’s neck.

“No collar?”

“Holy shit—” Max didn’t wait. He bolted.

“Max! Wait!”

“You’re the hunter?! You?! I trusted you with my Netflix password, man!”

Joseph swore under his breath and gave chase, dodging low branches and crunching leaves. Max was fast, but not cautious; he slipped once, cursed loudly, and kept going.

“I’m not the hunter!” Joseph yelled. “Stop running!”

“Then where’s your collar, huh? What’d you do, eat it?!”

Max dove behind a rusted tractor, panting. Joseph caught up just as a voice rang out—

“Stop!”

It wasn’t either of them. 

Nina stepped out from between two trees, flashlight raised like a weapon.

“What are you two doing?” she hissed.

Before either could answer, Joseph didn’t hesitate—he grabbed Max by the sleeve, yanked him down, and pulled Nina with him into the brush. The three of them crouched behind the tractor.

He tackled Max.

“WH—HEY! WHAT THE SHIT, DUDE—”

Joseph slammed the tool into the collar clasp and twisted.

Click. 

Green light. 

The collar dropped.

Joseph hurled it into the trees.

BOOM.

The blast cracked the air wide open—sharp and final. Max froze, staring like Joseph had just yanked a snake off his neck.

“You just—what—why—the fuck?!” Max clutched his bare throat. “Are you trying to kill me or save me?!”

Joseph held up the tool. “Save you. That thing was set to explode at sunrise. You’re number five.”

Nina stared. “You already did, Celeste?”

Joseph nodded. “And Leo. And Amelia. Now you.”

Max blinked. “You’re serious. You’re actually doing this.”

“I am.”

Nina stepped forward, her voice low. “Then do mine too.”

Joseph moved without pause. Click. Green light. Toss. 

BOOM.

She winced but didn’t look away. Her hand touched her neck, slow and stunned. “It’s real.”

“I told you.”

Max rubbed his face. “Okay. I take back what I said about the Netflix betrayal. Mostly.”

Joseph gave a short breath of relief but didn’t smile.

Max looked around the orchard. “So what now? We just keep moving?”

Joseph shook his head. “We don't stay together. we need to separate now. They're coming.”

Celeste blinked. “Wait—so the masked men…?”

“Yes,” Joseph said. “The collar was a lie; the trackers are in the walkies.”

Max slumped against the tractor, breathless. “Oh, so? We separate now?”

Joseph scanned the dark ahead. “I’ve got three left: Preston, Eli… Jude.”

Nina straightened. “Then let’s go.”

Five down. Three to go. Time was ticking.