Ethan knox - October 2120
"Finn?"
My voice comes out softer than I expect as I crouch beside him, one hand sliding behind his neck to lift him slightly. His weight sinks into me, completely unresponsive, and something cold settles in my chest.
"Hey… come on" I murmur, giving him a gentle shake. "Wake up"
But there is no response
My stomach drops as I press my hand against the stained bandage, trying to slow whatever damage has already been done, but when I pull back, my fingers are slick with blood.
"…no"
Footsteps echo behind me before I can finish.
Tessa rushes out first, Sophie and Issac close behind her, and the moment they see Finn, the atmosphere shifts completely. The air tightens, like everything's bracing at once.
"What happened to him?" Issac asks, already moving closer, his voice edged with urgency.
"I don't know" I answer quickly, shaking my head as I try to keep my hands steady against Finn's side. "He just showed up like this"
Sophie is already beside us, her focus snapping into place as if nothing else exists. She presses her hand against Finn's chest, and that familiar soft green glow begins to spread beneath her palm.
For a brief second, her eyes close, like she's listening to something deeper than just his heartbeat.
"He's... been shot" she says quietly, and somehow calm. "We need to move him... Now."
Issac steps in without hesitation, taking one side while I adjust my grip on the other, careful not to jostle him too much.
"Easy," I murmur under my breath, more for myself than for Finn. "You've made it this far. Don't give up now, yeah?"
We move quickly, Sophie right behind us with her hand still pressed to his back, the glow flickering as she tries to stabilise him while we walk. Tessa rushes ahead, opening doors before we even reach them, clearing a path like she's done this a hundred times before.
By the time we reach the infirmary, my arms are starting to ache, but I barely register it. All I can focus on is the way Finn's breathing feels too shallow, too uneven.
"On the bed" Sophie instructs, already turning toward her desk.
We lay him down as carefully as we can, and the second he's settled, she's back at his side with her stethoscope, pressing it against his chest while the rest of us hover in tense silence.
I watch her face instead of Finn, because I'm not sure I can handle seeing him like that for too long.
"It's getting... weak" she says after a moment, her voice tightening just slightly.
That small shift is enough to make something in me twist.
She doesn't hesitate as she cuts through his shirt and the blood-soaked bandages, exposing the wound properly. There's far more blood than there should be, but beneath it, I can see uneven stitching.
"He did that himself?" I say quietly, almost in disbelief. "He actually stitched himself up."
Sophie pulls up a chair, placing her hand directly over the wound this time, and the green light intensifies, brighter and more focused as she pours everything she has into healing him.
We stand there for a moment longer, watching in silence, until Tessa gently steps closer.
"I think you two should give her some space," she says, her voice softer now. "I'll stay with her."
I glance between Finn and Sophie, noticing the slight tremor in Sophie's hands despite how controlled she's trying to be, and I nod.
"Yeah… yeah, okay."
I lightly tap Issac's arm as I turn toward the door. "Come on. We're probably just making it harder for her to focus."
We step out into the corridor, the door closing quietly behind us, and for a moment, neither of us says anything.
Then...
"I heard someone was hurt?"
Thomas approaches quickly, Edmund just behind him, both of them already on edge. Thomas looks openly worried, while Edmund's expression is more contained, though the sharpness in his eyes gives him away.
"It's Finn," I tell them, running a hand through my hair as I exhale slowly. "He showed up shot."
Thomas swears under his breath, while Edmund's gaze narrows slightly.
"And?" Edmund asks.
I hesitate for a fraction of a second before continuing.
"He said GeneX took Noah."
The silence that follows is immediate and heavy.
Thomas's face drops. "Shit… that's- we need Noah."
Edmund nods in agreement. "We can't have him in Dr Langford's hands."
I look between them, something uneasy settling in my chest at how quickly they reduce him to that.
They're not wrong, we do need him, but they're not seeing the whole picture either.
"When Kai finds out," I say slowly, choosing my words carefully, "he's not going to stop and think about strategy. He's just going to go after him."
Neither of them argues. Because they know exactly what that means.
I know Kai. He won't care what it costs him, even if it destroys him in the process.
Issac lets out a breath beside me. "So what are you saying? Because that facility isn't exactly somewhere you can just walk into."
The silence settles again, thicker this time, until Thomas suddenly speaks.
"I think I might have a plan."
That gets everyone's attention.
I turn to him fully now, studying his expression, trying to read whether this is desperation talking or something more solid.
"A plan?" I echo, folding my arms loosely.
If there's even a chance whatever this plan is could work... If there's a way to get Noah back before Kai finds out, then I'm already in.
________________________________
"And that's the plan," Thomas finishes, leaning back slightly like he already knows how it sounds out loud.
We're all gathered around the whiteboard in Edmund's office, the air thick with marker fumes and tension. Lines, arrows, and rough layouts of the facility are scrawled across it, messy but deliberate. It looks less like a plan and more like something held together by sheer will.
I study it in silence, arms loosely folded, eyes tracing every route, every risk, every point where things could fall apart.
Tessa is the first to break the quiet. "That's a risky plan" she says, her tone measured but firm, like she's already listing everything that could go wrong in her head.
"I know," Thomas replies, nodding once. There's no defensiveness there, just acceptance. "But it only works if all of you are part of it."
Issac lets out a long breath, dragging a hand down his face. "I really don't like the word only in that sentence," he mutters. "Or works, actually. Or plan."
Despite everything, the corner of my mouth twitches faintly.
I glance between them, then back at the board.
The truth settles in slowly, heavily.
This plan depends on all of us moving perfectly, at the right time, in the right place, with no hesitation. One mistake doesn't just fail the mission, it gets people hurt… or worse.
And the more I think about it, the clearer one thing becomes.
I can't ask them to take that risk.
Not for this... Not for something that, at its core, is about me wanting to keep Kai safe.
Before I can overthink it, I push myself away from the wall and step forward.
"I'll go alone."
The words land quietly, but they carry.
There's an immediate shift in the room.
"Ethan-" Edmund starts, but I shake my head, cutting him off as I step closer to the board.
"If we don't act quickly, there's no telling what Joseph Langford will do," I say, my voice steady but firm, even as something tight coils in my chest. "Or what he'll get out of Noah."
Images flicker at the edge of my mind. Possibilities I don't want to look at too closely.
I force my focus back to the present.
"I'm not risking all of you for that," I continue, softer now but no less certain. "This is my decision. I go alone."
There's a pause... A long one.
Then Issac exhales sharply, like he's trying to physically push down his frustration, and rubs his eyes before looking up at me.
"Fine, I'm going too."
That actually catches me off guard.
I turn to him, eyebrows lifting slightly, a surprised laugh almost escaping me. "Issac-"
"What?" he cuts in, shrugging, though his jaw is set. "You think I'm going to let you walk into that place alone? Not happening."
There's something solid in the way he says it. No hesitation left.
Before I can even process that properly, Tessa steps forward as well, crossing her arms tightly.
"Fine. I'm in," she says, her tone sharp but controlled. "But the second things start going wrong, I'm out. I'm not dying for a plan that barely holds together."
"That's fair," I reply gently, meeting her gaze. "I'd actually prefer you don't die."
She rolls her eyes, but there's the faintest flicker of relief behind it.
I look between the two of them, something warm pushing through the tension in my chest, catching me slightly off guard.
"Okay… wow," I murmur, a small, genuine smile breaking through despite everything. "This is either very brave or very questionable decision-making."
"Probably both," Issac mutters.
"Yeah," I nod lightly. "That tracks."
Before I can stop myself, I step forward and pull them both into a hug, wrapping my arms around them tightly.
"Thank you" I say quietly, meaning it more than I can properly put into words.
For a second, neither of them reacts.
Then Issac awkwardly pats my back.
"Alright, alright, I get it," he says, shifting slightly. "This is touching and all, but you can let go now."
Tessa huffs, though she doesn't immediately pull away.
I laugh softly, easing my grip but not stepping back straight away.
But as I finally pull away, the warmth fades just slightly, replaced by something steadier.
Because now it's real.
We're actually doing this.
And no matter how much I smile through it, I know exactly how dangerous this is going to be.