"Kev… Kev, wake up. Wake up…"
A soft voice bristled over Kevin's mind as he tried to open his eyes.
Above him, a cloud-covered sky gave off a weak, ashen light. Shapes wove through the gray — at first like dark veins stretched across a dying world, but as his sight cleared, he realized they were only the bare, twisted branches of leafless trees.
He tried to sit up, but the bone-chilling cold slid over his bare skin like a blade.
That's when he noticed the mound he lay in.
He was naked, sprawled in the center of a pool of crimson liquid, its surface congealed into a sticky, reddish glue clinging to his body — maybe blood, maybe something worse. The smell hit him a moment later, metallic and faintly sweet, and his stomach turned.
Gritting his teeth, Kevin forced himself upright, though his limbs trembled and his bones felt hollow. He glanced around, the cold gnawing at him with every breath, but nothing around him made sense.
How had he gotten here?
He shut his eyes, trying to will his mind back — and caught only flashes.
A heavy, endless rain.
Running.
More running.
A flash of white light.
Pain.
And then nothing.
The quiet was broken by a sudden crack.
BANG!
A gunshot split the air.
Kevin dropped instinctively, his breath catching in his throat, as a haggard old man emerged from the trees, rifle raised, eyes wary.
"Kid… what the hell are you doing in this forest? I could've killed you," the man barked, stepping closer with caution.
Kevin raised his hands weakly, still kneeling in the bloody mound.
The old man's eyes narrowed as he took in the sight — a boy, naked, covered in dried crimson, blood streaking his face.
"Jesus…" the man muttered, lowering his gun. He moved closer, genuine concern replacing suspicion as he crouched and inspected Kevin's head.
"Kid, what happened to you?" he asked, voice softer now.
The man squinted at him, then sighed.
"Let me guess," he said with a bitter edge, "you were hazed into some goddamn group too, huh?"
Kevin blinked at him, then let out a faint, dry chuckle. His voice was hoarse as he murmured:
"Something like that."
The old man shook his head, muttering something under his breath. Then, without another word, he slipped off his heavy winter coat and draped it over Kevin's shoulders, then helped him to his feet.
"Alright… come on. Let me get you home," the man said, slinging the rifle over his shoulder and steadying Kevin by the arm.
"Where do you live?" he asked as they started walking through the crunch of frost and dead leaves, heading toward the faint silhouette of an old pickup truck parked among the trees.
The fire crackled low, shadows flickering across the worn wooden table.
"She's on to us," Dante said, voice sharp and cold.
Jareth ran a hand through his hair. "Lilith. When she finds out where we are we are good as dead ." as he felt his anxiety grip him.
Mira's eyes didn't waver. "We don't have time for regrets , we are gonna try again to find that kid then once we get him we hand him over to him then we get our protection"
"Where do you think he is now?" Jareth asked.
"i don't know" Mira said quietly. "His power beacon dwindled and my spell couldn't find him."
" Lilith can't take him before us if she does we are fucked massively fucked." Dante said as he picked his coat and put it on
"May someone remind why the hell are we helping somebody's son from the mother of monsters." Jareth snapped feeling the desperation kick in
" Well our House thinks if we do find the kid and deliver him to the unspoken he will grant us a chance to survive the aero without dying"
Mira pushed the words out of her mouth seemingly trying to make sense of them.
"hey."Dante raised his hand to Jareth's shoulder as he said" we will get that kid for all the House has done for us we gotta repay them and if they survive we will too "
A heavy silence settled over them.
Outside, the wind howled like a warning.