(Kelvin's POV, Radiata safehouse, night)
The safehouse feels tighter tonight. Liliana paces the length of the room, her sneakers squeaking on the old floorboards. Gabriel sits at the window, the city lights reflected in his eyes. I sit at the table, notes scattered in front of me, though none of them hold answers. Liliana breaks first.
Liliana: "We can't keep circling like this. She's cracking, Gabriel. Did you feel it today? That wasn't just remembering. That was breaking."
Gabriel:[calm, steady] "Memory fractures before it fuses. It's expected."
Liliana:[snapping] "Expected?! She stood up in front of a classroom full of kids and said she wasn't even herself anymore! Do you get how dangerous that is? Do you get what that does to her?"
Gabriel doesn't move. His stillness is infuriating. I lean forward, folding my hands over the notes.
Me (Kelvin): "She's right. The longer we wait, the worse this gets. You said it yourself — the bond is awake. Sooner or later, someone else will notice. Someone outside her family. We can't afford that."
Gabriel's gaze shifts to me, cool, unblinking. His voice is clipped, final.
Gabriel: "Observation first. Intervention later."
Liliana:[mocking, frustrated] "Oh sure. Let's just watch her unravel until she's committed to a psych ward. Brilliant plan."
I sigh, rubbing my temple. Liliana's fire is exhausting, but she's not wrong. My voice stays even, careful.
Me: "We don't have the luxury of waiting. If she spirals in public again, it won't just be whispers. It'll be attention. The wrong kind. We know what happens when the wrong people notice."
Liliana freezes at that. Even Gabriel's jaw tightens a fraction. Silence stretches. Then Gabriel finally speaks, low but sharp.
Gabriel: "…If we bring her in, there is no going back. Her anchors will be cut. Permanently."
I meet his eyes, steady.
Me: "They're already slipping."
Liliana slams her hand on the table, loud and final.
Liliana: "Then that's it. Decision made. We bring her in before she shatters completely. I don't care how broody and dramatic you want to be about it, Gabriel. She needs us."
Gabriel doesn't answer right away. His gaze drifts back to the city, lost in its lights. The silence that follows is his closest thing to hesitation. I watch him carefully, voice soft but firm.
Me: "You said choice doesn't change what's written beneath the skin. Maybe. But at least let her choose to walk through our door before the world pushes her through it."
For a long time, nobody speaks. Then Gabriel exhales, slow, almost weary. His answer is quiet.
Gabriel: "…We'll see."
Liliana groans, muttering under her breath. But I catch it — the faintest crack in his tone. The tiniest slip. Enough to tell me even Gabriel knows we're running out of time.
Kelvin's POV, Radiata safehouse, continuing the same night)
Liliana still paces, muttering curses that don't make sense strung together. Gabriel hasn't moved from the window — the perfect statue, as if the city itself is more worth listening to than us. I gather the notes in front of me, but really I'm just giving my hands something to do.
Liliana:[snapping] "You know what your problem is, Gabriel? You think waiting is some kind of strategy. It's not. It's cowardice wrapped in a dramatic trench coat."
Gabriel doesn't even look at her. She throws up her arms in disgust, turning to me instead.
Liliana: "Tell him I'm right, Kelvin."
I lean back in the chair, meeting her sharp eyes with a calm she can't stand.
Me (Kelvin): "You're right. But you're also loud. Which makes you wrong."
She gapes at me, then shoves my shoulder with more force than necessary. My chair creaks under the impact. I can't help but smile faintly.
Liliana:[grumbling] "You're impossible."
Me: "And you're dramatic. But beneath all that noise, you care. That's why you're pacing holes into the floor."
Her mouth opens, then shuts again. For once, she doesn't have a comeback. Gabriel's reflection in the window shifts — just slightly. He's listening. Always listening.
Gabriel:[quietly, still not turning] "Concern is useless if it clouds judgment."
Liliana:[snapping back instantly] "And judgment is useless if it kills her before she even understands what's happening."
The words hang heavy in the room. For a moment, the only sound is the hum of the fridge. My chest feels tight. I speak before the silence swallows us whole.
Me: "You've both got pieces of the truth. But none of this matters if we don't act. So let's cut through the philosophy and face it: she's unraveling. Fast."
Gabriel finally turns, just enough for me to see his profile in the half-light. His eyes are darker than the night outside.
Gabriel: "…And if she can't withstand the unraveling?"
Liliana laughs, sharp and bitter.
Liliana: "Then what? We just toss her aside? Add another name to the list of people you've stood over while pretending you're too detached to care?"
Her words hit him like a strike. I see it — the flicker in his eyes, gone as quickly as it comes. He doesn't answer. Instead, he turns back to the window, his voice like stone.
Gabriel: "This isn't about care. It's about survival."
The silence stretches again, thick and suffocating. Liliana stares at him, fury in her shoulders. I stare at both of them, exhausted by the weight of choices none of us want to make. Finally, I say the thing neither of them will.
Me: "If we do nothing, we'll lose her. And if we lose her, we lose more than just another anomaly. We lose the one chance that maybe—just maybe—things don't end the same way they always do."
Liliana freezes, eyes cutting to me. Gabriel's reflection shifts again, his head tilting just slightly. He doesn't speak, but I know he heard me. And for once, maybe, that's enough.
(Kelvin's POV, but shifting focus to Gabriel alone afterward)
Liliana finally storms off, muttering curses under her breath as she slams the door to her room. I gather the notes into a neat stack, though none of them feel useful anymore. Gabriel hasn't moved from the window. His back is all angles and shadows. I pause at the doorway, watching him for a moment.
Me (Kelvin): "For what it's worth… she's not just another anomaly. And you know it."
He doesn't answer. He doesn't even blink. I sigh, too tired to fight more tonight. With a nod to his silence, I leave the room, letting the door click shut behind me.
Now it's only Gabriel. The city hums outside, a thousand lights flickering like dying stars. He leans his forehead against the cool glass, eyes closing for the first time all night. His voice slips out, barely audible, as if the city itself is the only one allowed to hear it.
Gabriel: "…Iris."
The name tastes like ash and fire in his mouth. His hand curls tight at his side. For a long moment, he just breathes — slow, deliberate, fighting the weight pressing down on him. Then another name follows, softer, almost tender, breaking against the dark like a confession.
Gabriel: "…Anastasha."
The silence that answers him is unbearable. He straightens, the mask sliding back into place, eyes opening to the indifferent city. By the time the others wake tomorrow, he'll look the same as ever. Cold. Detached. Unshakable. But tonight, for one fragile moment, the truth slipped out.
(Anastasha's POV, late night, at home)
The house is too still. Too careful. Dinner had been quiet — everyone pretending nothing happened at school, pretending Naomi's red eyes weren't from crying, pretending I wasn't shaking through the whole meal. Miriam forced smiles, Daniel kept his head down, Caleb kept lining his toy cars up in perfect rows. I stayed silent. Now the silence follows me to my room, pressing heavy on my chest. I can't breathe in it anymore.
I sit on the edge of my bed, staring at the cracks in the ceiling. My hands won't stop trembling. The words slip out, a whisper I don't mean to say aloud.
Me (Anastasha): "I don't belong here."
The door creaks open. Naomi's voice is sharp, tired, but laced with something softer underneath.
Naomi: "Then where do you belong?"
I flinch. She leans against the doorframe, arms crossed. Her hair's messy, her face blotchy from tears. She looks at me like she's bracing herself for another fight.
Me:[defensive] "I didn't mean it like that."
Naomi:[snapping] "Yes, you did. You've been saying it all week without saying it. Acting like you're haunted. Acting like we're strangers."
Her voice cracks. She looks down, shaking her head.
Naomi: "You're my sister. You're supposed to be my best friend. And I don't even recognize you anymore."
The guilt hits me hard, but the pressure in my chest is worse. I dig my nails into my palms, whispering before I can stop myself.
Me: "…Maybe I'm not supposed to be here at all."
Naomi's eyes widen. Her face crumples, fear and anger twisting together.
Naomi: "Don't you dare say that. Don't you dare leave me."
Her voice is breaking. My heart lurches, but the words won't stop. They tumble out like I'm confessing to a crime.
Me: "I see things, Naomi. I hear things. Names that don't belong to me. Faces that feel like mine but aren't. I'm splitting in half and I don't know which side is real anymore."
Her lips tremble. Tears fill her eyes. She whispers, barely audible.
Naomi: "Then fight it. Please, Anna… fight it. Stay with me."
The name Anna burns like salt. I shake my head, tears spilling hot.
Me: "I can't. I don't know how."
The silence between us is unbearable. Finally, Naomi whispers the thing that shatters me.
Naomi: "…Then at least let me come with you."
My breath catches. I want to say yes, to cling to her like we did when we were kids hiding from storms. But I know the truth — whatever this is, wherever it's pulling me, she can't follow. It'll break her. I force myself to shake my head.
Me: "…You can't."
She breaks then, turning away, her sobs muffled by her hands as she stumbles down the hall. The sound guts me. I sit frozen on the bed, shaking, until the silence is unbearable again. Finally, I grab my bag, shove a few things inside, and slip out the window into the night.
( Anastasha's POV, nighttime streets, first meeting with Gabriel)
The night air bites colder than I expect. My breath clouds in front of me as I walk fast, almost running. The streets are half-empty, just pools of orange light from the lamps and the faint buzz of distant traffic. Every sound feels too loud — my footsteps, my heartbeat, the rustle of my bag. I don't know where I'm going. I just know I can't stay.
But halfway down the block, I freeze. Because someone is already there.
A tall figure stands under a flickering streetlight, still as stone. Black coat, dark eyes, hair catching the weak light like threads of shadow. My stomach drops. My feet stop moving on their own.
Me (Anastasha):[shaky] "You—"
The word dies in my throat. He takes one slow step forward. His voice is deep, steady, calm in a way that makes my skin prickle.
Gabriel: "You shouldn't be out here."
The sound of it slams into me — familiar, too familiar. My throat tightens. My body trembles, but I force words out.
Me: "…You're real."
His gaze sharpens, unreadable. He tilts his head slightly, as if testing me.
Gabriel: "And what am I, exactly?"
The lamp buzzes above us. My chest heaves. The name slips out before I can stop it, soft but certain.
Me: "…Gabriel."
For a fraction of a second, his mask cracks — a flicker of recognition, of something heavier. Then it's gone, replaced by that cold stillness. He closes the distance between us, his footsteps quiet but unyielding. I stumble back a step, clutching my bag to my chest.
Me: "Stay back—"
Gabriel:[calm, measured] "If I wanted to hurt you, I already would have."
The words freeze me. My breath catches. He stops just close enough that I can see the faint shadow of stubble along his jaw, the lines of exhaustion in his face. His voice softens, but it's no less heavy.
Gabriel: "You've been whispering my name for days. You knew I'd come."
My pulse spikes. Heat rushes to my face. I shake my head, denial spilling out fast.
Me: "No—no, I didn't—I don't even know why I—"
Gabriel:[cutting in, sharp but quiet] "You remember."
The air feels thinner. My knees wobble. I clutch the strap of my bag so hard it hurts.
Me: "I don't! I don't remember anything! I'm just… broken. I'm losing my mind."
For the first time, his expression shifts. The cold edges soften just slightly, enough to let something human through. His voice drops lower, almost gentle.
Gabriel: "You're not broken. You're waking up."
The words hit like a blade sliding between ribs. My chest aches. I whisper back, trembling.
Me: "…And what happens if I don't want to wake up?"
His eyes meet mine. Dark, steady, unflinching. For a heartbeat, I think he might smile — not with warmth, but with something like grief. His answer is quiet, final.
Gabriel: "Choice doesn't change what's written beneath the skin."
The silence between us burns. My throat closes. I whisper the only thing I can.
Me: "…Who are you to me?"
He studies me for a long, unbearable moment. His jaw works, like the answer is there but caged. Finally, he whispers back, softer than breath.
Gabriel: "…Someone you've already lost."
The words knock the air from my lungs. Tears sting my eyes. I stagger back a step, shaking my head, but his gaze follows me, unrelenting. I want to scream, to run, but part of me feels nailed to the ground under his eyes. Like I've known them my whole life. Like I've known them longer.
(Anastasha's POV, nighttime streets, continued)
My breath comes ragged, white puffs in the cold night. Gabriel doesn't move closer, but his presence feels like a wall pressing in. I take another shaky step back, clutching my bag like a shield.
Me (Anastasha):[hoarse] "You don't get to say that. You don't get to tell me who I am. You're just—" [I choke on the word] "—a stranger."
His gaze doesn't flinch. His voice is calm, heavy, a truth he knows I won't accept.
Gabriel: "Strangers don't haunt each other's dreams."
My chest seizes. Heat crawls up my neck. I shake my head, desperate, furious.
Me: "Shut up! Just shut up! I don't know you, I don't—"
Gabriel:[cutting in, quiet but sharp] "Then why do you keep saying my name in the dark?"
The words slice through me. My throat closes. I stumble, my knees almost giving. My whisper is broken, pleading.
Me: "…Because I'm losing my mind."
He takes a single step forward, the lamplight catching his face. His expression is unreadable — not cruel, not soft, something in between. His voice lowers, deliberate.
Gabriel: "No. Because you're remembering."
The silence between us thickens until it hurts. I want to scream, to deny, but my body betrays me — my lips shape his name without sound, my chest heaves with recognition I can't kill. Finally, I force words out, jagged.
Me: "Why me? Why now?"
For the first time, his mask cracks — not in his eyes, but in the way his jaw tightens, like the answer costs him. He speaks low, almost reluctant.
Gabriel: "Because you were always going to find me again."
The air rushes out of me. My knees shake. I hate that part of me believes him. I hate it even more that another part wants to. My whisper comes out raw.
Me: "No. No, I can't. I have a family. A life. I'm not— I'm not whoever you think I am."
He closes the distance by another step. His shadow falls across me. His words are steady, inevitable.
Gabriel: "That life is already breaking. You know it. You feel it every time you look in the mirror and don't see yourself."
My breath hitches. My hand trembles on my bag strap. He doesn't reach for me, but his voice is enough to feel like a grip.
Gabriel: "Come with me. Let me show you what you've been running from."
My chest clenches. My voice rises, panicked.
Me: "No! I don't even know you! I don't trust you!"
The words echo down the empty street. His face hardens at last, a flicker of something cold settling in his eyes. Before he can answer, another voice cuts through the night.
Liliana (off-screen):[sharp, teasing, covering tension] "Well, this is cozy. Didn't know we were starting recruitment interviews without me."
I whirl around. A girl about my age leans casually against the fence, her dark curly hair catching the lamplight, eyes bright with mischief that feels out of place in the tension. Behind her, a taller figure approaches — steady steps, calm presence. A boy, warm-eyed, quiet. His gaze lands on me with something softer, gentler, and it makes my throat ache.
Kelvin:[to Gabriel, calm but firm] "You weren't supposed to do this alone."
Gabriel doesn't look away from me. His voice stays flat, unshaken.
Gabriel: "She found me."
Liliana:[snorts] "Oh please. You've been skulking around waiting for this all week." [to me, grinning] "Hi, by the way. Don't freak out, we're not as creepy as Mr. Tall, Dark, and Broody here makes us look."
My head spins. My heart hammers. Three strangers. Three voices that feel like they've been circling me forever without me knowing. My knees threaten to give, but I force words out, broken and small.
Me: "…Who are you people?"
Kelvin steps forward, his voice calm, careful, like speaking to someone on the edge of a cliff.
Kelvin: "The ones who know what's happening to you. The only ones who can help you understand it."
My chest burns. The night tilts. Gabriel's eyes don't leave mine. His voice is the last to cut through, quiet, final.
Gabriel: "And whether you want it or not… this is where your story starts."
My chest heaves. My eyes dart between the three of them — Gabriel's shadow like a blade, Kelvin steady as stone, Liliana smirking like she walked into a rom-com instead of my nightmare. I stumble back a step, clutching my bag tighter.
Me (Anastasha):[snapping] "Stay away from me. All of you."
Liliana:[raising hands like mock surrender] "Whoa, chill, Samurai Jack. Nobody's here to drag you into a van. …Well, unless Gabriel planned that. He's got the vibes for it."
Gabriel doesn't react. He doesn't even blink. Kelvin sighs softly.
Kelvin: "Liliana."
Liliana:[grinning wider] "What? I'm just saying, he looks like the type to whisper creepy destiny lines and then poof into smoke." [to me, stage-whisper] "Trust me, I've been stuck with him long enough to know — zero sense of timing, maximum broody energy. If brooding were an Olympic sport, he'd have like… twenty gold medals."
My throat works. I almost laugh — almost — but the fear strangles it. My voice comes out sharp, shaking.
Me: "This isn't funny!"
Liliana:[tone softening, but still cheeky] "You're right. It's not. But you look like you're about two seconds from fainting, and someone has to break the horror movie vibes before you bolt straight into traffic."
Kelvin steps forward slowly, his voice calm, steady, grounding.
Kelvin: "She's not wrong. You're scared. You have every right to be. But we're not here to hurt you. We just… know what you're going through."
I glare at him, clutching my bag like a weapon.
Me: "Oh yeah? Then explain it. Explain why I keep saying names I don't remember. Explain why I don't even feel like myself anymore. Explain why your friend over there—" [I point at Gabriel, voice cracking] "—looks at me like I'm some ghost he lost."
The silence that follows is sharp. Gabriel's jaw tightens, but he says nothing. Liliana whistles low, breaking the tension.
Liliana: "Wow. Straight for the jugular. I like her."
Kelvin shoots her a look. She shrugs, unrepentant. Then she leans toward me, voice dropping just slightly more serious.
Liliana: "Look, I get it. Creepy trench-coat guy shows up whispering your name like some tragic anime love interest? Yeah, I'd be calling the cops too. But here's the thing—" [she taps her temple] "—you wouldn't keep dreaming about him if there wasn't something real under all that fear."
My chest burns. I shake my head, denial spilling fast.
Me: "No. No, I don't want this. I don't want any of this."
Kelvin's voice is gentle, careful.
Kelvin: "You don't have to want it. But you deserve to understand it. You deserve the truth."
I squeeze my eyes shut, trembling. My voice cracks.
Me: "…And if I don't want the truth?"
Gabriel finally speaks, his voice quiet, steady, final.
Gabriel: "It doesn't matter."
Liliana groans, throwing her hands up.
Liliana: "Ugh, see what I mean? Drama king. Can't even sugarcoat existential horror for five minutes. Honestly, I'm amazed he hasn't scared you into running yet." [beat] "Wait… are you into that? Is this like a tragic slow-burn romance setup? Because if so, I'd like to formally request popcorn."
My jaw drops. My fear tangles with something else — something dangerously close to a laugh. I bite it back, shaking my head hard.
Me: "You're insane."
Liliana:[grinning] "Probably. But you know what? It beats being alone in this mess. Trust me — you'll need people who get it. Even if they're unbearable ninety percent of the time." [she jerks her thumb at Gabriel] "Exhibit A."
Kelvin sighs, but there's the faintest ghost of a smile tugging at his lips. Gabriel's expression doesn't move. His eyes never leave mine.
(Anastasha's POV, nighttime streets, continued — decision to go with Radiata)
The cold bites harder the longer I stand there. My breath shakes. Their eyes are on me — three strangers who feel too familiar, too impossible. My chest aches. Every instinct screams at me to run, but my legs won't move. Kelvin's voice is the one that finally cuts through the noise, low and steady.
Kelvin: "You don't have to trust us tonight. Just… come with us. One night. If you want to leave after, no one will stop you."
I shake my head fast, clutching my bag tighter.
Me (Anastasha): "I can't. My family—Naomi—"
Liliana:[gently mocking, but softer underneath] "Newsflash: your family already knows something's wrong. You think they didn't notice you zoning out at the table, whispering in the bathroom, screaming at school? Honey, the cat's not just out of the bag — it set the bag on fire and ran laps around the house."
I glare at her, but my throat tightens. The worst part? She's right. Kelvin steps closer, palms open, careful, like I'm a deer about to bolt.
Kelvin: "You're not abandoning them. You're protecting them. The longer you stay without answers, the more they'll see. The more they'll worry. And the more you'll break in front of them."
My chest heaves. I think of Naomi's face in the hallway, tear-streaked, whispering that she didn't recognize me anymore. The memory burns. My whisper comes raw.
Me: "…I don't want to leave them."
Gabriel's voice cuts in — quiet, final, heavy.
Gabriel: "You already are."
The words hit like a blade. I flinch, hating that part of me knows he's right. My legs wobble. I sink to the curb, clutching my head in my hands. Liliana crouches in front of me, her grin softer now, less sharp.
Liliana: "Look. You don't have to marry us or sign your soul away. Just… crash for a night. Worst case, you find out we're actually a cult and you sneak out the window. Best case, you finally stop whispering names into mirrors like a horror movie extra."
I let out a broken laugh — small, shaky, but real. She smiles at it like she's won a victory. Kelvin crouches beside me too, his voice calm, kind.
Kelvin: "One night. That's all. Let us show you what's happening. Then you decide."
The silence stretches. My heart pounds. Finally, I nod once, jerky, like the decision hurts.
Me: "…One night."
Liliana grins, springing up like she's just been handed free tickets to a concert.
Liliana: "Yes! See, Gabriel? Actual human interaction works better than ominous doom speeches. You should try it sometime."
Gabriel doesn't respond. He just watches me, eyes dark, unreadable. When he finally speaks, his voice is quiet, but certain.
Gabriel: "One night is all it will take."
The words chill me even as I stand on shaky legs. Part of me wants to run again, but I follow anyway — because for the first time in weeks, even in the fear, I don't feel entirely alone.