Finn Lennoy - November 2120
The moment I see Noah's face, I know something is wrong.
Most people would not notice it. To them, he probably looks the same as always, composed posture, unreadable expression, hands steady at his sides. But I have spent too many years beside him not to recognise the small fractures underneath the surface.
It is in the tension around his eyes. The way his focus keeps drifting for half a second before snapping back. The slight stiffness in his shoulders that only appears when his mind is moving faster than he can control.
When Ethan rushes out of the room to find Kai, the air he leaves behind still buzzing with panic and relief, I stay where I am for a moment and watch Noah carefully.
He is staring at nothing. Or more accurately, staring through everything.
Around us, Trinity is beginning to wake properly. Voices echo faintly through the corridor outside the nurses office, footsteps passing by in uneven rhythms. Sophie sits behind her desk pretending to organise files, though she has been holding the same sheet of paper for several minutes without looking at it once. Everyone is distracted. Everyone is waiting for the next disaster to arrive.
I walk over to Noah quietly, lowering my voice enough that Sophie will not overhear.
"Did something happen?" I ask.
He exhales slowly and rubs the side of his temple like he is trying to press the thoughts back into place.
"Kai seems to be moving and functioning normally," he says carefully, "but…"
He pauses. That alone unsettles me. Noah rarely hesitates unless he genuinely does not like the conclusion forming in his head.
"He seems… different."
I frown slightly. "Different how?"
Noah glances briefly toward the hallway Ethan disappeared down.
"He does not seem fully aware of his surroundings at times," he says. "And his mood changes unusually quickly. One moment he appears calm, then confused, then angry. It is inconsistent."
A cold knot settles heavily in my stomach.
The vial Noah, Thomas, and Edmund created was rushed. Experimental and untested. We all knew the risks when they use it, but the alternative was losing Kai completely.
At least he survived, I remind myself.
At least he woke up.
Still, the memory of Kai lying motionless in that bed flashes through my head so vividly it almost makes my chest ache. Pale skin, silent machines. Noah sitting beside him for hours without moving, like if he looks away for even a second something terrible will happen.
Maybe this is normal. Maybe recovery after a coma is supposed to feel strange and uneven.
"Maybe he just needs time to adjust," I say gently. "He's probably confused after being unconscious for so long."
Noah looks up at me then, and for a second I can see how exhausted he truly is beneath the controlled exterior.
"Let us hope so," he replies quietly.
But he does not believe it. Not fully. I can tell.
I watch the way his mind is already moving ahead, calculating possibilities, side effects, contingencies. He is planning next steps before Kai has even properly returned to us. That is who Noah is. Always staying five moves ahead of disasters.
Part of me wants to grab him by the shoulders and force him to rest. To sleep for twelve hours straight. To stop carrying the entire world like it is solely his responsibility.
But Noah would never allow himself that kind of mercy.
"Do you remember what you promised me at the GeneX summit?" I ask suddenly.
His attention flicks back toward me, confusion briefly replacing the tension in his expression.
"At the summit?"
I nod, smiling faintly. "You promised me a holiday. I believe I would like to cash in that promise."
For the first time that morning, something almost amused crosses his face.
"Now is not exactly the ideal time, Finn."
"Seems like the perfect time to me." I nudge his arm lightly. "Don't you think all of us, especially Kai, could use a break from…"
I gesture vaguely around us.
The endless corridors. The constant danger. The suffocating atmosphere Trinity has carried for weeks now.
Noah actually seems to consider it. That surprises me more than anything.
"I am fairly certain 'Wanted' individuals cannot simply disappear on holiday," he says dryly.
I smile a little wider. "We're pretty good at sneaking around without getting caught."
That earns a small smile from him. Soft and brief, but real. And somehow that tiny expression only makes me realise how tired he looks.
Dark circles shadow beneath his eyes. His hair is slightly messier than usual, likely from dragging his hands through it all morning. He looks like someone running entirely on caffeine and determination.
"I shall consider it" he replies, nudging me back lightly.
I laugh quietly. "Dangerous words."
For the first time in a long while, things almost feel lighter. Fragile, but lighter. Like we can finally breathe without waiting for everything to collapse again.
When Kai was gone, Trinity changed.
He is never the loudest person in the room. Never someone who demands attention. But his absence settled over the school like a missing heartbeat. Everyone felt it, even if they never said it aloud.
Even when his body was still here, lying unconscious in the nurses office, it did not truly feel like Kai. Just an empty shell everyone was terrified to lose.
And Noah…
Without Kai, Noah becames quieter... Colder. Like a part of him slowly start shutting down one by one. Now, even with all his concern, I can already see some of that heaviness lifting slightly from his shoulders. Just enough to remind me how much Kai matters to him.
"Anyway," I say, deciding to change the subject before Noah disappears back into his own head again, "you need breakfast."
He rolls his eyes immediately, but notably, he does not argue.
We had all been dragged awake early this morning after Kai disappeared, and since then nobody stopped moving long enough to think about basic things like eating or sleeping.
I reach behind me and hand him the coffee I grab earlier along with a plate holding cut fruit and a pastry.
Noah takes the coffee first. Naturally. He drinks half of it almost immediately, like his body remembers caffeine before it remembers survival instincts.
I watch him over the rim of my own cup, shaking my head slightly.
"One day your bloodstream is going to legally classify as coffee" I mutter.
"I fail to see the issue" he replies flatly before taking another drink.
And somehow, standing there in the middle of exhaustion, uncertainty, and chaos… it almost feels normal again.
But before Noah can take another sip of his coffee, the door suddenly bursts open hard enough to slam against the wall.
Ethan stumbles inside, panting heavily.
He is completely soaked through. Water drips from his clothes onto the floor in uneven splashes, his hair plastered messily to his forehead. There is blood smeared across his hands and streaked down the side of his face, bright against pale skin.
"Quick… help…" Ethan gasps between breaths.
And just like that, the fragile calm in the room shatters.
Noah moves first.
The coffee is abandoned instantly as he crosses the room in seconds, grabbing Ethan firmly by the arms to steady him while Sophie shoves her chair back sharply behind the desk, already preparing to act.
"What happened?" Noah asks, panic slipping into his voice before he can hide it. "Where's Kai?"
Ethan shakes his head quickly, still trying to catch his breath.
"His nose started bleeding and he fell unconscious" he says, voice trembling badly.
For half a second, the entire room freezes. Then Noah looks at me once before turning and running straight out the door.
I am right behind him immediately.
Our footsteps echo violently through the corridors as we sprint toward the showers. Behind us, I can hear Ethan and Sophie following close, but Noah does not slow down once.
When we reach the showers, Noah shoves the door open so hard it bangs loudly against the tiled wall.
The floor inside is soaked.
As we rush in, Noah nearly loses his footing on the slick tiles, but I grab his arm quickly before he can fall completely.
He barely even reacts. He just keeps moving.
Then we round the corner.
Kai is lying curled slightly on his side beneath one of the showers, unconscious again.
His clothes are completely soaked through. Blood runs heavily from his nose, mixing with the water before disappearing across the tiled floor in thin pink streams.
Something in my chest drops violently at the sight.
Noah is beside him immediately, kneeling hard against the floor. He presses two fingers quickly against Kai's neck, checking for a pulse before moving his hand to Kai's forehead.
His expression tightens instantly.
Just then Ethan and Sophie rush into the room behind us.
"He's too hot" Noah says sharply, looking back toward us.
Sophie reacts immediately, dropping down beside Kai while Noah moves back enough to give her space to work.
Then Noah turns toward Ethan again.
"How did this happen?" he asks.
Ethan still looks shaken, breathing unevenly as water drips steadily from his sleeves.
"I don't know," he says helplessly. "One minute he was fine and then it was like something shifted in him. His nose started bleeding and then he just collapsed."
I glance between them before looking back at Kai. Judging by the state of both him and Ethan, Kai must have been sitting fully clothed beneath the shower before this happened.
That alone is concerning.
Sophie places one hand carefully against Kai's chest, and almost immediately a soft green glow spreads beneath her fingers. The light reflects faintly against the wet tiles around us, eerie and strangely fragile in the cold room.
Nobody speaks.
We all just watch her silently, waiting as the seconds stretch painfully.
Finally, the glow fades. Sophie exhales slowly before looking back at us, relief softening some of the tension in her face.
"He is just.... extremely exhausted," she says. "His body... is under a massive amount... of strain. After some proper rest, food, and water... he should stabilise."
The breath Ethan lets out sounds almost painful.
"Oh thank god" he whispers before sinking heavily down onto the floor beside the wall.
I look over at Noah.
The relief on his face is subtle, but it is there. The tension in his shoulders loosens slightly, like he has been bracing for something far worse.
"Let's get him back to the ward and into dry clothes," Noah says after a moment.
"Wait."
Ethan pushes himself back upright again.
"I want him in our room."
Noah turns toward him immediately. "Ethan, that doesn't…"
"Kai needs rest," Ethan interrupts, voice firmer this time despite how exhausted he looks. "And where's he going to feel safer than his own room? His own bed?"
Noah looks back toward Kai, his expression unreadable as he considers it carefully. For a moment, I genuinely think he is going to argue. But then he sighs quietly.
When he looks back at Ethan, he gives a small nod.
"Fine," he says. "But if anything else happens, you inform me immediately."
Ethan's shoulders loosen slightly at that.
He nods quickly before moving past us and kneeling beside Kai again, reaching carefully for his hand like he is afraid letting go might somehow make things worse.
I watch the scene silently, exhaustion settling heavily in my chest again.
Just when it starts to feel like things are finally getting better, something always happens to remind us that we are not out of danger yet.
Not even close.