Kai Langford - October 2120
We're so close.
I can feel it deep in my chest, a pulsing rhythm that matches the beat of my powers. Each strike sends a thrill through me, but it's tangled with dread. I don't care. Nothing matters except getting them out of there alive.
We follow the path Daisy gave us, Finn moving beside me with that quiet confidence he always has. I trust him but my attention keeps flicking back to the direction my father went. Part of me wants to chase him down, make him pay for what he did to Ethan, for taking Noah, for the cold precision he uses to hurt the people I care about most. But I can't. Not right now.
The corner turns, and Tessa is there. She's pointing a gun at a security guard's head, and I watch, frozen for a fraction of a second, as she pulls the trigger and he crumples to the ground.
"Tessa" I call, and she spins, relief flooding her features.
"Kai!" she shouts, and then she's moving toward me, arms wrapping tight around me in a hug that almost knocks me back. Her warmth, her presence, it's overwhelming. "Thank God you're here" she whispers, and I feel my chest tighten.
"Are you okay?" I murmur into her shoulder, my hand pressing briefly against her back. She nods, faintly, but it isn't enough to calm the fear in my chest.
"They took Ethan and Isaac in there," she says, pointing toward the looming doors of the facility. "Noah is with them."
My stomach drops. I look at the doors, at the place I've been dreading seeing, and Finn is already moving, tugging at the door.
"It's locked" he mutters, aiming his gun at the heavy door.
"Wait," Tessa says, stepping forward, her hand glowing as she presses against the door. A second later, it clicks, and she steps back, eyes meeting mine with determination.
I glance at Finn, then at the doorway, and I feel the weight of every second pressing down. This is it. This is where they are. My heart hammers, sweat prickling down my back, and I force my breathing to slow, steady, controlled. I have to be ready for whatever waits inside.
Finn signals, and we step in. The air inside is thick, the smell metallic and sharp, and I can feel my shadows stirring along my arms instinctively. A guard moves toward us. Finn doesn't hesitate, firing first, and I let my shadows spring out, wrapping around another guard's neck. The sickening snap echoes in my ears as I throw the body aside, and for a heartbeat, everything goes still.
Then I hear it.
"KAI!"
Ethan's voice, raw and cracking, tears hidden in his words.
My heart stutters.
I look up and see him, blood matted in his hair and streaking down his cheek. Relief and fear clash violently inside me. I move to him, brushing the blood away as carefully as I can, pulling him into a hug like I could keep him from harm that way alone.
"Thank God," I whisper, feeling his warmth, but my hand comes away sticky with blood. My chest twists painfully at the thought of what he's endured.
"Don't worry about me," he says, forcing a small smile despite the blood and the bruises. "Just a knock to the head."
"Noah!" Finn's voice pulls me back.
I spin toward the other chair, and my stomach drops as I take in his state. Bruises, blood, and… one of his fingers is gone. My throat tightens and the world narrows.
Everything else disappears except that image.
"Noah" I murmur, my voice barely more than a breath.
Finn shakes him harder now, panic breaking through his usual calm. "Please, wake up!"
Tessa moves to Ethan, unlocking the restriants and helping him up before working on Noahs restraints.
His body is limp, falling forward, and Finn catches him without hesitation, cradling him like he might shatter if he slips.
"They've been trying to get information out of him," Ethan says quietly, voice steady despite everything, "but he wouldn't give it up."
I swallow hard, the taste of blood and fear thick in my mouth.
"We need to leave now" Tessa says, urgency cutting through the chaos.
I kneel next to Noah, brushing his hair back from his face. Pale, breathing shallow but steady, a collar tight around his neck. My stomach twists, a sick knot forming as anger, fear, and guilt collide inside me.
How could our father do this?
How could he treat Noah this way?
Finn lifts him onto his back carefully. "Let's get him to Sophie" he says, voice calm but edged with tension.
I stay kneeling, staring at my hands, coated in the blood of the people I care for most. Not my own, but every drop feels like a failure. I failed to keep them safe, and because of me, they're hurt.
Ethan drops to his knees beside me, gripping my hands, eyes shining despite the blood and sweat and chaos around us. "Hey," he says, voice trembling, "Let's all go home."
He leans in, pressing a kiss to my forehead, and I nod, swallowing the lump in my throat. He's right. Right now, the only thing that matters is getting them all out of here alive.
I help him to his feet, running my hand gently along his arm, feeling the warmth beneath the blood streaks. "Did you get shot?" I ask, leaning closer.
"Don't worry about it… Isaac-" His voice cuts off as his gaze flicks behind me.
A body lies crumpled near the other guards. Isaac.
Ethan drops to his knees beside him, voice breaking, "I'm so sorry," and Tessa immediately pulls him into a hug.
"It's not your fault," she says, steady and firm. "We knew what we were getting into."
"But-"
"Ethan" Tessa cuts him off, her voice sharp but caring. "There is no time to mourn right now, we have to leave"
I pull a cloth from my pocket, kneeling beside Ethan to wrap it around his wounded arm, pressing gently. I kiss the top of his head as he leans into me, and I feel his tears on my chest.
"We will make them pay" I whisper, voice heavy with everything I'm feeling.
Ethan rests his head against me. "Yeah," he murmurs, the weight of everything settling between us.
I help him to his feet, and we begin moving through the corridor, the shadows long and oppressive around us. Every glance at Noah, secured on Finn's back, twists my stomach further. The collar around his neck feels like a punch to the gut.
As we move through the corridor, I feel the shift in Ethan before I fully see it. His grip tightens in mine, and when I glance at him, his eyes flash blue for a brief second before he winces, bringing a hand up to his head as if trying to steady himself.
I step in front of him without thinking, catching his wrist before he can brush it off. "What's wrong?" The concern slips through despite how controlled I try to keep it.
He shakes his head, forcing himself to straighten. "It's nothing… I just tried to look ahead," he says, pausing as if the effort alone is enough to strain him, "but it cut off and gave me a headache."
My chest tightens at that. He's already pushed his ability too far, and with the way he was hit earlier, it's only going to get worse if he keeps trying.
"Don't use it," I say, tightening my hold on his hand slightly, grounding him as much as myself. "Not right now."
The memory comes back before I can stop it. Him collapsing in front of me, blood everywhere, his voice barely able to reach me as his power tore through him. I can still hear it, still see it, and the thought of it happening again here, where I might not be able to reach him in time, settles heavily in my chest.
"Promise me" I add, my voice firmer now, my eyes fixed on his.
He hesitates, reading something in my expression that I don't bother hiding this time, before he finally nods. "Okay."
It doesn't ease the tension completely, but it's enough to keep me moving.
He looks exhausted, far more than he should, and it lingers in the back of my mind even as I shift my focus forward again. I'll deal with everything else later. Right now, I just need to get him out.
A voice cuts through the corridor before I can take another step.
"Well, well, well…"
It sends a chill through me immediately, something instinctive tightening in my chest before I even turn.
"004… good to see you again."
I turn slowly, stepping forward without realising it, placing myself slightly in front of Ethan and the others as I meet the figure ahead.
"002," I say evenly. "I thought you were overseas."
He laughs, low and amused, as if the situation itself entertains him. "After someone caused a bit of trouble, I was called back."
My hands tense at my sides. There's no mistaking what this is.
002 isn't someone we can outrun easily.
"Who is he?" Ethan asks behind me, his voice quieter now.
"Someone I was trained by" I answer, keeping my eyes on 002.
He smiles at that, pleased. "Trained? That's one way to put it," he says, stepping forward. "I taught you how to survive. How to kill, boy. Don't you forget that"
Before he can get any closer, I strike the ground in front of him with my shadows, forcing him to stop. The space between us warps slightly as they spread, a warning more than an attack.
"Now, now," he says, tilting his head, unbothered. "Do I need to beat you half to death again before dragging you back to Dr Langford?"
"You're not touching him" Ethan says from behind me, but I extend my arm slightly to keep him back, not taking my eyes off 002.
His gaze flicks briefly toward Ethan, then back to me. "I see you've become a disobedient pup" he says, the amusement fading into something colder. "No matter. I'll deal with the rest of them first, then take you and your brother back. Orders are orders."
His hand glows, and a grenade forms instantly.
I react without thinking, pushing Ethan back as my shadows surge up in front of us just as it detonates. The blast hits hard against the barrier, the impact rattling through my body even as it holds.
"Run" I say sharply, already moving.
We take off down the corridor, footsteps echoing loudly as 002 follows without hesitation. Another grenade comes flying toward us, and I throw my hand out again, forcing my shadows to block it, but the strain hits harder this time. Pain spikes behind my eyes, and blood runs from my nose as my vision flickers slightly.
"Kai!" Ethan's voice cuts through, tight with worry.
"I'm fine" I call back, forcing my footing steady despite the weakness threatening to pull me off balance.
He hesitates for a second, just long enough for me to reach him and grab his hand, pulling him forward with me.
Suddenly, a spear cuts through the air and Ethan yanks me sideways just in time, the weapon embedding itself into the wall where we had been seconds earlier.
"Kai! Ethan!" Finn's voice echoes from ahead.
"Go," I shout back. "We'll catch up."
We won't get far if 002 keeps all of us in his sights.
I glance at Ethan briefly. "Keep moving. Don't look back."
He nods, even if there's hesitation behind it, and we move again. The ceiling above us suddenly gives way with a violent explosion, debris crashing down toward us, and I throw my shadows up instinctively to shield us, holding the weight back long enough for us to move through.
"Watch out" Ethan warns, and when I turn, 002 is already forming multiple daggers, sending them toward us in rapid succession.
I rip a door from its hinges with my shadows and pull it in front of us, using it as a shield as the daggers slam into it one after another. The impacts are heavy, jarring through my arms.
Then something stronger hits.
The spear drives straight through the door and into my shoulder.
The pain is immediate and sharp, forcing a breath out of me as I grit my teeth and push forward, throwing the door back toward him to create space.
"Are you okay?" Ethan shouts.
"Go," I say, my voice strained but steady enough. "Now."
Ethan runs, and I follow, though my vision begins to blur at the edges. I can't afford to lose control here.
Ahead, a door leads to a stairwell, and Ethan pushes it open. "This way."
I notice the blood running from his nose now, and for a second, the promise he made echoes in my head, but there's no time to stop him, no time to argue.
A rushing sound pulls my attention back, and when I turn, 002 has already fired a rocket launcher.
I bring my shadows up again, but this time the force tears through, throwing me backwards through the doorway. I hit the wall hard and fall onto the stairs, the impact knocking the air from my lungs as pain floods through me.
"Kai!" Ethan is beside me almost instantly, his hand against my face, grounding me enough to focus again.
I push myself up despite the pain, forcing my body to respond as I look up the stairs just as 002 steps through the doorway, unhurried.
"Still standing?" he calls.
"I'm not done yet" I manage, forcing the words out as I form shadow daggers and throw them, forcing him to step back.
I push Ethan down the stairs, following close behind, my breathing heavier now, harder to control.
Near the bottom, 002 appears again, striking down with a blade. I bring my arm up, shadows wrapping around it to block the attack, the force driving through me as I hold.
He swings again, but I duck, pulling Ethan down with me before driving my fist into him, shadows amplifying the impact and forcing him back.
I don't wait.
I just grab Ethan and run.
We move through a damaged corridor, past broken walls where the missiles hit earlier, and I point toward the opening ahead. "That way."
I help Ethan through before following, the open courtyard coming into view as I spot the others near the gate.
Relief barely has time to settle before something wraps around my leg and yanks me down hard.
"Kai!" Ethan turns immediately.
"Keep going" I shout, forcing the word out. "Don't stop."
"I'm not leaving you."
"I'll catch up," I say sharply, meeting his gaze. "Go."
He doesn't move.
The pull tightens, dragging me across the ground as I turn to see 002 standing in the rubble, a metallic rope wrapped around my leg.
I draw my gun and fire, forcing him to release it and the rope dissolves. I push myself up and run back toward Ethan, closing the distance then suddenly a gunshot rings out.
Pain tears through my leg, dropping me back to the ground as everything sharpens and fractures at once.
I try to move, to force myself back up, but my body doesn't respond the way it should, the pain flooding through me as I grit my teeth.
My vision begins to narrow at the edges, the world around me blurring as if it's being pulled further and further away. I try to steady myself, but my body doesn't respond the way it should, and a harsh cough forces its way out of my chest, blood spilling past my lips.
The strength drains from me faster than I can fight it. My legs give out completely, and I collapse to the ground, unable to hold myself up any longer.
I can't pass out... Not yet... Not when Ethan and the others are still in danger.
Another cough tears through me, blood staining the ground beneath my hands.
But I push myself up anyway.
If I'm going down, it won't be like this.