6:07 AM.
Cade woke before the alarm.
Hands numb. Both.
He flexed them. Pins and needles. Slow fade.
Ceiling.
Water stain.
Still a cloud.
6:41 AM.
Lira was dressed.
Didn't look at him.
Lira: "There's eggs."
Cade: "Since when."
Lira: "Yesterday."
Pause.
Cade: "You went out."
Lira: "Yeah."
Another pause.
Lira: "Someone had to."
Plate in front of him. Eggs. Rice.
Too much.
Cade: "I won't finish it."
Lira: "Try."
He did.
Forced it down.
7:02 AM.
Cold walk.
Same route.
She wasn't far. Wasn't close.
Her bag looked lighter.
No keychain.
Cade: "Where's the cat."
Lira: "What."
Cade: "Your keychain."
Beat.
Lira: "Took it off."
Cade: "Why."
Lira: "Didn't want it."
Lie.
He let it sit.
7:19 AM.
School gate.
No goodbye.
She disappeared inside.
He counted to thirty.
Left at twenty-eight.
7:41 AM.
Corner store.
No Ash.
Cade leaned on the wall.
Jacket still damp.
Always damp now.
Checked phone.
Nothing.
7:52 AM.
Still nothing.
He waited.
Then walked toward the Hollows alone.
8:14 AM.
Street shifted.
Cleaner. Dirtier. Older.
Graffiti layered thick.
Kallas was good once.
Crossed out.
Weak.
Crossed out.
Dead.
Cade kept moving.
8:31 AM.
Old laundry building.
Rust and detergent smell.
Empty.
Phone buzzed.
Ash: Something came up. Not coming today.
Cade stared.
Typed: It's fine.
Deleted.
Typed: Why.
Deleted.
Pocketed the phone.
8:47 AM.
He walked by memory.
Jackals here.
Knife fight there.
Dealer near the broken sign.
Tuesday.
He checked.
Tuesday.
Good.
9:12 AM.
Grey jacket.
Across the street.
Watching.
Chest tight.
Not real.
He looked away.
Looked back.
Still there.
9:13 AM.
The man crossed over.
Calm. No rush.
Stopped close.
Man: "Cade Veron."
Not a question.
Cade said nothing.
Right hand shaking.
Man: "You don't talk much. That's fine."
Pause.
Man: "Just listen."
Cade: "Who are you."
Man: "Someone who notices."
Cade: "That's not an answer."
Almost a smile.
Man: "Call me Warden."
Cade: "Warden."
Man: "You'll use it."
Silence.
Warden: "Three Jackals. Scar ran."
Cade didn't react.
Warden: "You slow things down. You see it before it happens."
Cade: "I don't."
Warden: "You bleed for it."
Beat.
Warden: "You shake. You forget."
Cade's jaw tightened.
Warden: "You don't know what it is."
Cade: "Do you."
Warden: "Yes."
Cade: "Then say it."
Warden: "Not yet."
He turned.
Cade: "Why tell me anything."
Warden stopped.
Didn't turn.
Warden: "Because no one told him."
Cade: "Who."
Warden: "The last one."
Pause.
Warden: "The last one who could do what you do."
He walked away.
Cade stayed.
Both hands shaking now.
11:03 AM.
Rooftop.
Grey city.
Ash: You alive?
Cade: Yeah.
Ash: You went alone.
Cade: Yeah.
Ash: Stupid.
Cade: I know.
Three minutes.
Ash: Tomorrow. Don't go alone.
No reply.
2:13 PM.
Home.
Empty.
He sat on the couch.
Didn't turn on the TV.
The last one.
Kallas.
The name stuck.
3:47 PM.
Door opened.
Lira: "You're early."
Cade: "Yeah."
She watched him.
Lira: "Something happened."
Cade: "No."
Lira: "You're lying."
He didn't deny it.
She waited.
Nothing came.
Door closed.
Soft.
11:47 PM.
Bed.
Dark ceiling.
Phone lit up.
Unknown number.
Unknown: You'll meet him.
Unknown: When you're ready.
Unknown: Or when you're broken enough.
Cade: Who is this.
Typing…
Stopped.
No reply.
He saved the number.
No name.