Echoes Collide
The air outside the lab vibrated with tension, charged from the storm and the shifts Aria had forced within time. Rain poured down, washing the streets in sheets of silver and blue, reflecting the neon glow that flickered along the rooftops. Every drop seemed to hum with possibility—and danger.
Aria stumbled out of the lab, soaked and trembling, the device strapped tightly to her chest. Her pulse echoed in her ears, each beat a reminder that time itself was watching her.
Kieran fell into step beside her, voice low. "The first thread is stabilized, but every choice you make now will send ripples. They're coming faster."
Aria glanced at him, anxiety pressing against her ribs. "How fast?"
"Minutes, maybe seconds," he said grimly. "The Council won't wait. They've noticed the shift."
They moved through the deserted streets, shadows stretching unnaturally in the storm's light. Aria felt it—the echoes of other timelines brushing against her mind, whispers of futures that hadn't fully unfolded yet.
Suddenly, a bright flare of light cut across the sky. Drones descended, slicing through the storm like predators, their sensors locking onto them immediately.
"Split!" Kieran shouted, grabbing her arm. "We can't face them head-on yet!"
Aria nodded, fear and adrenaline mixing in her veins. They darted into an alley, twisting and turning through the labyrinthine backstreets. The sound of pursuit was relentless, mechanical wings and electronic whirring pressing in on all sides.
Then she felt it—a distortion in the air, a temporal ripple stronger than anything she'd felt before. Her stomach clenched.
"They're using a fold," she whispered. "They can manipulate the timelines too."
Kieran's jaw tightened. "Which means the Council has someone—or something—inside the past, present, and future simultaneously. We're not just running. We're being hunted by time itself."
Aria's mind raced. The device pulsed in response to her fear, glowing brighter with each heartbeat. She realized the echoes weren't just chasing her—they were converging. Past failures, potential futures, and the present moment all collided in her chest.
"We have to anchor here," she said, gripping the device. "If we can't stop them now, there might not be a next step."
Kieran nodded. "Do it. I'll cover you."
Aria closed her eyes, focusing. Energy coursed through her, flowing from the device into the storm, into the streets, into the very fabric of time. Ripples of light expanded outward, bending shadows, slowing the drones, and warping the path of their pursuers.
For a heartbeat, everything paused. Rain hung motionless in the air, drones frozen mid-flight, and the neon lights glimmered like frozen stars.
Then time snapped back.
The drones faltered, their programming struggling against the distortion. Aria grabbed Kieran's hand. "Now!" she shouted.
They ran, disappearing into the twisting streets, leaving chaos in their wake. The storm raged, but Aria felt a strange calm settle in her chest.
The first battle with the echoes had begun—and for the first time, she realized that controlling time wasn't just survival. It was war.
And in the heart of that war, she would either master it—or be destroyed by it.