Kai Langford - October 2120
"Kai, wait."
I hear Finn's voice behind me, but I don't stop. My body keeps moving forward, pushing through the doors of the science block and out into the cold night air, my focus already set on the only thing that matters now.
The car.
The facility.
Ethan and Noah.
Everything else fades into the background as my feet carry me across the field, each step driven by something deeper than thought. I don't need a plan yet. I don't need to think it through. All I know is that they're there, and I'm not, and that alone is enough to keep me moving.
If I keep going, I can fix this.
If I get there fast enough, maybe-
A hand grips my arm suddenly and pulls me back hard enough to stop me mid-step.
"Kai, stop."
Finn's voice is firmer now, his grip unyielding as he holds me in place. The force of it cuts through the momentum I'd built, grounding me just enough to make me turn slightly toward him.
"I have to go," I say, my voice low and controlled, even though the urgency underneath it hasn't gone anywhere.
Behind him, movement catches my attention as Daniel and Thomas run out of the building, closing the distance quickly, while Edmund follows slowly behind, but my focus settles back on Finn almost immediately.
"And do what?" Finn asks, his expression tightening. "Walk in there and hope your dad just hands Ethan and Noah over to you?"
I look away from him, my jaw tightening as the reality of it presses in.
"I know he won't," I say quietly. "But if I hand myself over, maybe he'll let them go."
It doesn't sound like a good plan even as I say it, but it's the only one that feels immediate enough, direct enough to matter right now.
Finn shakes his head, his grip tightening slightly. "Kai, don't be stupid. You know exactly what happens if you do that."
I don't answer, because I do know.
"You're walking straight into his hands," he continues, his voice sharper now. "And he won't let them go. He'll keep Noah and Ethan there to control them, and he'll use them to control you."
The words land heavily, settling into something I can't ignore, even if I want to.
I know how my father works. I know how far he's willing to go.
But that doesn't make standing here any easier.
"I can't just stay and do nothing" I say, the tension in my voice slipping through despite how controlled I try to keep it.
"We're not doing nothing," Finn replies, not backing down. "We're just not sacrificing you as well."
I swallow, my thoughts pulling in too many directions at once, each one leading back to the same place.
Noah, trapped somewhere he shouldn't be, back in a place that is built to break him down piece by piece while he endures it without ever asking for help.
Ethan, already on his way there, or worse, already inside, walking straight into something he doesn't fully understand but refuses to turn away from.
Because of me.
Because he knows what Noah means to me.
The thought sits heavy in my chest, tightening with every second I stand here instead of moving.
I glance back toward the car, then at Finn, then at the others gathering behind him, all of them waiting for something, for a decision I haven't fully made yet.
"What else am I supposed to do?" I ask, my voice quieter now, the sharp edge in it softening into something more uncertain than I want it to be.
"We go together," Finn says without hesitation. "We get them back properly."
I open my mouth to argue, but the words don't come out straight away.
My gaze drops briefly to the blood still staining his shirt, even if it's been treated. He's standing, he's steady, but that doesn't mean he's fine, and the thought of dragging him into more danger sits wrong.
If something happens to him, Noah-
I cut the thought off before it can go further.
"Finn, I-" I start, but he shakes his head before I can finish.
"Why do you think Noah gave you all that equipment?" he says, nodding toward the shed, a faint smile pulling at his expression despite everything. "Let's actually use it."
I hesitate, the urgency still there, still pushing, but shifting now into something more controlled, something I can work with instead of being pulled by it.
The others step closer, the space between us closing naturally.
Thomas moves forward slightly. "Let me go through the plan Ethan and the others were following."
"I'm coming with you" Daniel adds, stepping up beside him.
I look at him properly now, taking in the strain he's trying to hide, the exhaustion that hasn't gone anywhere even if adrenaline is covering it for now.
"Daniel, you almost burned out. You can't come."
He scoffs, his expression tightening. "You really think I'm going to sit here while Tessa's in there?"
I rub the back of my neck, frustration building, not at him, but at the situation itself, at the fact that I understand exactly why he's saying it.
"If you push yourself again, you won't survive" I say, keeping my voice firm.
He doesn't back down, and I know I wouldn't either if our positions were reversed.
I exhale slowly, giving in even if I don't like it.
"Fine," I say, meeting his gaze. "But you're not using your powers. Not once. Understood?"
He looks away with a small tsk, but he doesn't argue, and that's enough.
"Great," Finn says, clapping his hands together once. "Then the three of us-"
"Four."
The voice cuts in softly, and all of us turn.
Sophie stands a few steps back, a backpack over her shoulders, her hands gripping the straps tightly like she's holding herself in place.
"I'm… coming as well."
I shake my head immediately. "No. It's too dangerous."
She shifts slightly but doesn't step back, her gaze steady despite the nerves showing in the way she holds herself.
"That's exactly... why I need to go," she says, her voice quiet but firm. "What if... someone gets badly hurt? You won't make it back in time."
The words settle, uncomfortable because they're true.
I don't like it, but I can't argue with it.
"Sophie knows how to look after herself," Edmund adds, stepping forward. "She's your best option to make sure everyone comes back home safe."
I glance between them, weighing it properly this time, measuring the risk against everything else waiting ahead.
My jaw tightens slightly before I finally nod once.
"Stay close," I tell her, my voice quieter now but firm. "You don't take unnecessary risks."
It's not approval, not fully, but it's enough.
I turn toward the shed, my focus sharpening again, the urgency settling into something more controlled, something I can act on instead of being driven by.
"We don't have time to waste" I say, already moving.
Because every second still matters.
And this time, I'm not going alone.
__________________________________
Daniel parks the van just short of the facility, keeping enough distance to avoid detection while still close enough for us to move quickly when we need to. The engine cuts, and the quiet that follows feels heavy, pressing in around us as the reality of where we are settles fully.
In the back, Sophie is already working, hunched over the computer with the device Noah gave us connected, her fingers moving quickly as she cycles through signals.
"Any luck yet?" Daniel asks, leaning over the seat, his voice low but edged with tension.
"Not yet," she replies, not looking up, her focus completely fixed on the screen.
She's trying to find the right radio frequency, something that will connect us to the comms Ethan and the others are carrying. It should work. Noah wouldn't have given it to us otherwise. But even knowing that doesn't stop the unease from settling in.
Thomas went through their plan in detail before we left, breaking down every step, every route, every possible adjustment. It's solid, carefully thought out, but plans like that only hold as long as nothing unexpected happens, and inside a place like this, something always does.
If even one part of it goes wrong, they'll be exposed far too easily.
My jaw tightens slightly as the thought settles, my mind drifting briefly to Ethan and the way he relies on his ability to stay ahead of things, to adjust before danger fully forms. I can only hope it's enough, that he's seen something that keeps them one step ahead of whatever's waiting inside.
Outside, Finn and I begin unloading the equipment from the van, the weight of the boxes heavy in our hands as we set them down in position facing the facility. The metal scrapes lightly against the ground as we line them up, careful but efficient.
Finn activates one of the units, and the box opens with a mechanical hum, panels shifting apart as the launcher inside rises into position. It rotates slightly, locking into place as he brings up the controls on the tablet.
A map of the facility appears on the screen, detailed and precise.
One command is all it would take.
One press, and the missiles would launch.
I watch the screen for a moment, longer than I should, before forcing my attention away.
"I… I found it!"
Sophie's voice cuts through the tension, sharp with urgency.
Finn and I move immediately, heading back to the van and climbing in, the confined space suddenly feeling smaller as we gather around her.
"It's weak," she says quickly, adjusting the device, "but I can hear something."
She presses a button, and the speakers crackle to life, the sound distorted but clear enough to make out voices beneath the static.
We all lean in slightly, listening.
"You really don't get him at all-" a voice breaks through. "You think- you've already won."
I recognise it instantly.
Ethan.
Relief comes first, quick and sharp, cutting through everything else as the tension in my chest eases slightly.
He's alive.
"-never been in control of him… or Noah," his voice continues, breaking in and out through the interference.
Then another voice follows, calm and controlled in a way that makes something cold settle deep in my stomach.
"Confidence - mistaken for significance."
My father.
The connection falters, fragments of sound cutting in and out, but it doesn't matter. Hearing him is enough.
My shadows begin to shift at my feet without me realising at first, stretching slightly where the light should fall cleanly, reacting to the tension building under my skin.
Then a sound cuts through the static.
"Ugh!"
It's not a word this time, just a sharp, pained reaction.
Ethan.
Everything in me reacts instantly, the hesitation gone before it can even form.
I'm already moving, pushing the van door open and stepping out into the cold air, the sound still echoing in my head as my focus locks onto the facility ahead.
There's no space left for waiting, no room for second guessing.
Behind me, Finn follows, catching up easily, his presence steady at my side.
"Let's go get them back" he says, his voice firm.
I don't answer.
I don't need to.
Every instinct I have is already pushing me forward, pulling me toward the building where they are, where everything is happening without us.
Ethan is inside.
Noah is inside.
And whatever is happening in there I'm not letting it continue.