Kai Langford - September 2120
I tighten the shadows around 016, forcing them to constrict like a vice.
She fights it at first, explosives flaring brighter as she strains against the dark but I push harder. Just a little more.
Her resistance falters.
Then her body slackens, sparks guttering out as she goes limp in my grip. She's unconscious before she hits the floor. I loosen the shadows immediately, letting them withdraw but not vanish. They stay coiled around me, alive and alert, waiting.
My hand comes up to my face without thinking. When I rub beneath my nose, my fingers come away smeared with red. Still bleeding. I barely register the headache that starting to push through.
The click of metal snaps me back to reality.
The sound of a gun being loaded.
When I look up 009 stands a few metres away, feet planted, gun raised and aimed straight at my head. The shadows twitch, reacting before I consciously tell them to. We stare at each other in silence, the air between us tight and electric. His eyes are steady, trained but there's something beneath that calm.
Hesitation.
I shift my stance, shadows sliding closer to my arms, ready to strike if he pulls the trigger.
His gaze flicks to 016's unconscious form, then back to me and with a slow breath, he lowers the gun.
The sound of it sliding back into his holster is almost deafening in the quiet. I hadn't realised how tightly my chest was locked until it loosens and I can finally breathe.
"004" he says quietly, shaking his head. "What the hell happened to you?"
"It's… a long story" I reply. My voice comes out rough, like it's scraping its way free. My breathing is still uneven, my body buzzing with the aftermath of the fight.
009 doesn't press. He walks past me and kneels beside 016, checking her pulse, her breathing. When he's satisfied she's only unconscious, he carefully lifts her and settles her weight across his back like it's second nature.
"Why are you here?" I ask, watching him.
"We were ordered to observe Christopher Oswald," he hestitates as if weighing whether to continue. "Dr Langford didn't want him going anywhere near your brother."
The words hit hard.
Noah.
My stomach twists, a familiar cold sinking deep into me.
009 adjusts his grip on 016. "We never saw each other tonight" he adds quietly.
He turns away, already stepping back into the shadows of the warehouse.
"009," I call.
He pauses, glancing over his shoulder.
"I meant what I said before," I tell him. "Come with us."
For a moment, just a moment, his eyes shift. Doubt flickers there. Want. Fear. Hope. All of it tangled together.
Then he shakes his head.
"See you later… Kai." he says softly.
He turns and disappears into the darkness, carrying 016 with him.
I stay where I am long after they're gone, shadows slowly settling back into my skin. Guilt coils tight in my chest. I want to help them get out the facility, just like Ethan did for me.
But I know how deep that fear runs. How heavy the chains feel when you've worn them your most your life.
I turn away from the warehouse and head back to where the car is parked. Every step feels heavier now that the fight is over, the adrenaline bleeding out of my system and leaving everything else behind.
When I reach the car, Ray is already in the driver's seat. Christopher Oswald is slumped unconscious across the back, head lolled to one side, wrists bound.
I slide into the passenger seat and shut the door.
"What happened to him?" I ask, glancing over my shoulder.
I wanted to ask him why he's seeking out Noah. But I guess I will have to wait.
"He talked too much," Ray says easily. "So I put him to sleep." He flashes a quick grin, but it fades almost immediately as he looks at me properly. "You alright, lad? You look a bit… rough."
"Yeah," I say, nodding. "I'm fine."
It's automatic. A reflex.
I lean my head back against the cold window as Ray pulls away, the engine's low hum filling the silence. With the motion of the car, the last of the adrenaline drains out of me and that's when everything else rushes in.
My chest aches, deep and tight, each breath sharper than it should be. My heartbeat feels wrong too fast, then stuttering, like it can't decide what rhythm it wants to keep. I press a hand lightly against my sternum, jaw tightening.
It must have been from that electric shock from that guards strike to my chest. I swallow, forcing the thought down. It'll settle. It always does I just need rest.
Ray reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a crumpled napkin, holding it out to me.
"You might want to sort that before we get back" he says, tapping his own nose to demonstrate.
I frown, then take it. When I wipe beneath my nose, the napkin comes away dark with blood.
I stare at it for a second longer than necessary.
"Huh," I mutter.
I usually can push myself harder before the nose bleeds starts. It is cause i've not been training?
Ray glances over, his expression tightening. "You sure you're okay?"
"It's nothing," I say again, folding the napkin and pressing it back into place. My voice is steadier than my body feels. The shadows beneath my skin stir faintly, responding to my unease, but I keep them leashed.
The car continues down the road, warehouse lights disappearing behind us. Christopher remains unconscious, while Ray drives us back to the school
"So who were those two that showed up?" Ray asks, glancing over at me. "They seemed to know you."
I look at him briefly, then turn my attention back to the blur of streetlights sliding past the window.
"I used to work with them," I say. "We used to be in the same team back at the facility."
"Oh."
That's all he gives me.
He must hear it in my voice or see it in the way my shoulders lock because he doesn't ask anything else. The silence settles back in, thick but not uncomfortable.
I hope 009 and 016 don't suffer for losing Christopher, though I know how unlikely that is.
The road stretches on, dark and empty. The steady rhythm of the car, the low hum of the engine… it starts to wear me down. My eyelids grow heavy, exhaustion finally catching up with me now that there's nothing left to fight.
I let my eyes close.
Just for a moment.
________________________
"Kai… Kai!"
A voice cuts through the dark, and suddenly I'm being shaken awake.
I jolt upright, breath sharp in my chest. The shadows react before I do, coiling instinctively around my hands, ready to strike.
"Whoa there, lad," Ray says quickly, lifting one hand in surrender.
It takes me a second to orient myself. The car. The road. Ray in the driver's seat.
Right. We're heading back to Trinity.
I rub a hand over my face, forcing myself fully awake. "Sorry."
"Don't worry about it" Ray says with a small smile. "You were out cold. We're nearly back already."
I glance over my shoulder. Christopher is still slumped in the back, unconscious, exactly where we left him.
As we pull into the school grounds, something in my chest eases. The buildings loom out of the dark, familiar and solid, and the tension I've been carrying loosens its grip. For the first time tonight, I feel… safe.
We step out of the car, and the fatigue hits me all at once. My limbs feel heavy, my head thick. I rub absently at my chest, the ache is still there, but it's dulled now, no longer sharp enough to steal my breath.
Ray opens the back door and hauls Christopher out, slinging him over his shoulder with practised ease.
"I'll take care of him" he says. "You go see Sophie and get some rest." He gives my back a firm pat. "You did good tonight. Couldn't have done it without you."
The praise makes my skin prickle with discomfort. Ray must notice, because he just laughs, turning away before I can respond.
I know he said to see Sophie, but I don't want to make a fuss. I'll be fine. I just need sleep.
I turn towards the main school building and nearly collide with Ethan as he bursts out through the back door.
His hair is a mess, like he's been running his hands through it over and over, and he looks like he sprinted the whole way here.
I stop short.
His smile is instant and bright. "Kai! You're back!"
He starts towards me, and my heart kicks harder, not from electricity, not from pain, but because it's Ethan.
Just like that, the exhaustion fades into the background.
But when he looks at me, his smile falters. Worry creases his face as his eyes scan me.
"Kai… are you okay?"
He lifts his hands and cups my face, warm and familiar. I lean into his touch without thinking, the way I always do.
The world goes quiet.
For a moment, I can forget about the fighting. Forget about 009 and 016.
It's just Ethan.
And that's enough.