Darkness settled over the garage so suddenly that for a second, Amara thought she had gone blind. The only sound was the faint hum of something electrical dying somewhere upstairs and the quiet, uneven rhythm of Luca's breathing beside her. Neither of them moved.
Then came the footsteps again.
Slow.
Unhurried.
Like whoever stood above them already knew there was nowhere to run.
Amara felt the shift in the air before anything else happened. Her emotions no longer exploded outward the way they used to; they gathered now, quieter but heavier, pressing against her skin like invisible pressure waiting for permission to break loose. Somewhere beneath her feet, her shadow stretched unnaturally across the floor, moving slightly despite the darkness.
Luca tightened his grip around the rusted wrench. "Tell me you can throw people with your mind now," he whispered.
Under different circumstances, she might have laughed.
"I don't know what I can do anymore," she admitted quietly.
And that was the truth.
The girl had changed something in her. Or maybe the powers had. Every time Amara used them, something slipped away—small pieces at first, easy to ignore. But now? Now it felt bigger. Personal. Dangerous.
The sound of footsteps stopped directly above them.
Silence followed.
The kind of silence that felt intentional.
Watching.
Waiting.
Then—
A soft knock echoed against the garage door.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Too polite.
Too calm.
Luca frowned. "Okay, that's creepy."
Another knock.
Then the girl's voice drifted through the darkness.
"You're making this harder than it has to be."
Amara swallowed.
"What do you want?" she called back.
No answer at first.
Only stillness.
Then—
"To help you," the girl said simply.
Luca let out a short laugh filled with disbelief. "Yeah, because threatening people is super helpful."
"You think I'm the threat?" the girl asked calmly.
Something about her tone made the room feel colder.
Amara stepped forward slightly. "What does that mean?"
For a moment, there was nothing.
Then the garage lights flickered weakly back to life.
The girl stood near the stairs.
Neither of them had heard the door open.
She was just there.
Hands tucked into the pockets of her dark jacket, expression unreadable, eyes lingering on Amara with a kind of unsettling familiarity.
"You're running out of time," she said.
Amara stiffened. "For what?"
The girl tilted her head slightly. "Before they find you."
"Them again," Luca muttered. "Who are 'they'?"
The girl ignored him.
Her attention stayed fixed on Amara.
"You've already started losing memories faster," she said quietly. "That means they've noticed."
Amara's chest tightened. "Who noticed?"
Instead of answering, the girl looked around the garage like she was checking for something invisible.
Then she asked a question that made Amara's stomach twist.
"What's the earliest memory you still remember clearly?"
Amara frowned. "What?"
"Answer me."
Something about her voice made refusing feel impossible.
Amara hesitated. "I… don't know."
And suddenly—
That scared her.
Because she should know.
Shouldn't she?
Her childhood felt blurry now. Not gone. Just distant. Like pages in a book left out in the rain.
The girl nodded slowly, like she had expected exactly that.
"It's progressing faster than usual," she murmured.
Luca stepped between them. "Stop talking about her like she's dying."
The girl finally looked at him.
For the first time, her calm expression shifted.
Not sympathy.
Pity.
"She won't die," the girl said softly.
A pause.
"She'll just stop being herself."
The words landed harder than fear.
Amara suddenly felt cold.
"What happens to me?" she asked quietly.
The girl looked at her for a long moment.
Then—
"You become useful."
Silence swallowed the room.
Before anyone could speak again, something slammed violently against the garage door from outside.
All three of them froze.
Another hit followed.
Harder.
Metal bent inward.
Luca stepped back instinctively. "What the hell was that?"
The girl's expression changed immediately.
Gone was the calm certainty.
For the first time—
She looked afraid.
"They found you," she said quietly.
Then she looked directly at Amara.
And whispered—
"Now you have to choose whether you trust me."
Outside—
Something scratched slowly against the metal.
Like claws.
Trying to get in. 🖤