Ethan Knox - December 2120
[The shadows from the tree line stretch further than they should, as if the world itself is leaning forward to listen.
The air feels wrong. Pressed. Like a held breath waiting to snap.
"Stand back," Monica says sharply.
She lifts her hand at the figure in the road and then the explosion hits.
Light blooms hot against the dark, swallowing the shape whole.
Monica lowers her arm slightly, breathing hard.
And then—
Something cuts through the smoke.
Fast. Precise.
It strikes Monica in the neck.
She drops instantly, hands flying up out of instinct more than hope, fingers slicking red as she tries to hold herself together. It doesn't work. It never works when it's that clean, that final.
"Monica!" My voice comes out wrong.
My feet don't think. They move, but the smoke shifts again before I can reach her.
And he walks through it.
Kai.
The world narrows until there's nothing else and my chest tightens like something inside it has been grabbed and twisted.
"Kai… please."]
_____________
I bolt upright, gasping for air like I've just been pulled from water that didn't want to let me go. Sweat clings to my forehead and my chest tightens as I reach out instinctively, searching for Kai beside me to steady the panic already rising. My hand meets nothing but cold, empty sheets.
"Kai?" I call out, voice cracking slightly as dread starts to creep in.
The room doesn't answer.
For a second I stay frozen, trying to convince myself he's just shifted position, maybe gone to the bathroom, maybe stepping into the corridor. But then I remember he said he was going out for fresh air. My eyes flick to the clock and something inside me twists, because it's too late for that. Far too late.
And the dream is still clinging to me. Too vivid. Too sharp. Like it wasn't something I saw, but something I lived.
I throw the covers off and rush out of the room, moving before I've fully processed what I'm doing. I don't knock when I reach Noah and Finn's door, I bang on it hard enough to shake the frame.
A moment later, Finn opens it, hair messy, blinking with sleep and confusion.
"Ethan?" he says, voice thick. "What's wrong?"
Noah is already sitting up behind him, rubbing sleep from his eyes, but the moment he sees my face he's fully alert.
"I think something bad is about to happen to Kai," I say, and even I can hear how certain I sound.
Noah is on his feet immediately.
I step inside as I explain everything, the vision spilling out in fragments. Shadows stretching where they shouldn't, Monica attacking a figure on the road, the explosion, the silence after it, and then Kai stepping through the smoke like something changed about him. Saying it out loud makes it feel even more real, like I'm dragging it into this room with us.
"Shit," Finn says, already grabbing his coat and shoes. "I'll go look for him. You two stay here."
"What? No way," I cut in quickly. My voice is sharper than I mean it to be, but I can't hold it back. "If something's happened to him, I need to be there."
Noah is already pulling his shoes on, moving with a tense focus that doesn't leave room for argument. Finn looks like he wants to insist, but the moment stalls when something outside the window catches our attention.
Two figures.
Monica and Gerald.
We're moving before anyone says anything else, rushing outside and closing the distance fast, but even from a few steps away I can feel it, something is wrong in the way they carry themselves.
"What happened?" I ask as we reach them.
Finn immediately moves to support Gerald as Monica adjusts her stance slightly, like her body is still recovering from impact or strain.
"It's Dr Langford," she says. "He found us."
The words hit like a drop in pressure, like the air itself collapses inward for a second.
My stomach turns cold.
"Where is Kai?" Noah steps forward, voice tight, urgent in a way I've rarely heard from him.
Monica and Gerald glance at each other, and that silence tells me more than any answer could.
Gerald is covered in blood.
Finn exhales slowly, already shifting into control, taking Gerald's weight more securely.
"Let's get him to Sophie," he says evenly, steady in a way that feels like the only thing holding the moment together. "And you tell us what happened on the way."
___________________
The journey to Sophie's office feels endless.
As we walk, Monica tells us everything that happened. She explains how Kai had asked her and Gerald to track down Christopher, how they waited until everyone was asleep before sneaking out, and how they planned to deal with the problem before it could threaten anyone else.
Then she tells us about Dr Langford.
About how he found them.
About how he drove them off the road.
With every detail, the knot in my stomach grows tighter.
By the time we arrive, I feel like I might be sick.
Sophie immediately gets to work treating Gerald, guiding him onto a bed and examining his injuries while the rest of us remain gathered nearby. The room is strangely quiet despite everything that's happening. Nobody interrupts Monica's story. Nobody asks questions.
We're all thinking the same thing.
Kai did this because he thought it would protect us... Because he thought it would protect me.
The thought settles heavily in my chest. Even now, after everything we've been through, he's still willing to throw himself into danger if it means keeping the people he cares about safe.
I glance towards Noah and immediately realise something is wrong.
His face has lost all colour. His breathing is noticeably heavier than before, and his eyes seem fixed on some terrifying possibility the rest of us can't see.
"Noah."
Finn steps closer and places his hands gently on Noah's shoulders.
Noah drags both hands through his hair, gripping it tightly.
"What if he took him?" he asks, his voice trembling. "What if he's taken Kai away again?"
The fear in his voice catches me off guard.
"It's okay," Finn says softly. "Kai is strong. He won't get caught that easily."
But Noah immediately shakes his head.
"No. He can't go back there." His breathing becomes faster. "He can't go back to the facility."
For a moment, I simply stare at him.
I've seen Noah worried before. I've seen him under pressure. I've seen him when Kai was fighting for his life.
But this feels different.
Usually, no matter how scared he is, Noah manages to lock everything away and focus on solving the problem in front of him. Now he looks like he's struggling to hold himself together.
Finn seems to recognise it too.
Without hesitation, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small container of pills. He places two in Noah's hand and waits.
Noah stares at them for a few seconds before swallowing them without water.
I remember Kai mentioning Noah's psychotic episodes before, but hearing about them and seeing the reality are completely different things.
Even when Kai nearly died, Noah had managed to stay focused enough to direct everyone around him. He'd been terrified, but he'd still kept moving.
Now it feels like the possibility of Kai being taken back to the facility is affecting him in a way nothing else can.
Finn carefully pulls Noah into a hug, one hand resting on the back of his head while Noah's fingers clutch at the fabric of his jacket.
Nobody says anything.
We simply wait.
Slowly, Noah's breathing begins to even out. The tension in his shoulders eases slightly, though the fear never fully leaves his expression.
Eventually I break the silence.
"We need to go find him."
The words leave my mouth before I've fully thought them through, but the moment I say them I know they're true.
Every minute we're standing here is another minute Kai is alone.
Noah pulls back from Finn and nods immediately.
"We do."
Monica pushes herself off the seat.
"I'll take you to where the crash happened."
"I'll come as well" Gerald says. The second he tries to sit up, pain shoots through him and he lets out a groan.
Monica gives him an unimpressed look.
"You're going nowhere."
She folds her arms before offering a small smile.
"Don't worry. We'll bring him back."
I want to believe her.
As everyone starts preparing and moves towards the door, Finn catches hold of Noah's arm.
"You should stay."
Noah doesn't even hesitate.
"No. I need to be there in case anything has happened to him."
Only then do I notice the briefcase in his hand and the sight of it sends a chill through me. It's the same briefcase he carried when Kai almost died. The same one filled with medical supplies, emergency plans, and every contingency Noah could think of.
He's preparing for the worst and considering what I saw in my vision, part of me thinks that's probably the right decision.
Finn follows my gaze and notices the briefcase too. For a moment he simply watches Noah, taking in the stubborn set of his jaw and the determination behind his eyes.
Eventually he sighs and lowers his head.
"Fine," he says. "But you stay in the car."
Noah nods, although judging by the look on Finn's face, neither of them truly believes that's going to happen if Kai needs him.
A moment later, the door behind us opens. I turn to see Edmund and Daniel standing there.
Daniel looks exhausted and thoroughly unimpressed by being dragged into whatever disaster is unfolding tonight. He squints against the light spilling from the room behind him and rubs a hand over his face.
"What's the bastard got himself into now?" he asks.
"I'll explain in the car" Monica replies.
As everyone starts moving, my attention catches on something in Edmund's hand.
The sight makes me stop. It's Handcuffs.
My stomach immediately tightens.
I recognise them before he even reaches us.
Edmund walks over to Finn and holds them out. Finn takes them automatically, his expression shifting into confusion as he looks down at them. The rest of us follow his gaze.
The cuffs sit heavily in Finn's hands, and even from where I'm standing I can hear the faint hum coming from them.
Ability suppressors. The realisation settles over the group like a cloud.
"I heard Kai has been experiencing episodes where he acts without fully realising what he's doing" Edmund says calmly.
The words hit me like a punch because I already know what he's implying.
My chest tightens as Edmund turns towards Noah.
"You and I both know that counterfeits are capable of consuming a person's mind," he says. "They can influence behaviour and push someone to act against their own intentions."
Noah's eyes move from Edmund to the cuffs. For a few seconds, he simply stares at them.
"That won't happen to him" he says eventually. His voice is quiet but firm.
"We don't know that." Edmund folds his arms.
The firmness in his tone makes several people shift uncomfortably.
"The cure was made using counterfeit formulation. It was administered without any meaningful testing, and we have no reliable data regarding the long-term effects. We can't afford to ignore the possibility that something could go wrong."
The words hang heavily in the air.
"We can't risk the safety of everyone at Trinity."
Before I can stop myself, I step forward. "Kai wouldn't hurt anyone here." My voice comes out stronger than I expect, though there's a tremor beneath it. "He'd never do that."
Edmund looks at me. For a moment, his expression softens slightly.
"I believe that." The response catches me off guard, then he gestures towards the cuffs. "But these are a precautionary measure."
The low hum from the suppressors suddenly feels much louder.
I know exactly what those cuffs are capable of. They don't just restrain someone. They weaken them. Suppress their abilities. Strip away the advantages they rely on.
The reason Edmund handed them to Finn instead of anyone else becomes painfully obvious. If the worst happens, Finn is the person most capable of stopping Kai.
The thought makes me feel sick.
"No."
The word leaves me before I can stop it.
"We're not putting those on him."
"Well, let's just hope it doesn't come to that" Daniel says as he walks past us.
He grabs his keys from his pocket and heads towards the car, clearly unwilling to spend any more time discussing possibilities nobody wants to consider.
The rest of us remain where we are for a moment.
I bite down hard on the inside of my cheek. Part of me wants to keep arguing. Part of me wants to tell Edmund that Kai has spent years protecting people, sacrificing himself for others, and that treating him like a threat is unfair. But every time I try to form the words, my vision flashes back to the dream.
Monica collapsing onto the road.
Blood spilling through her fingers.
Kai walking through the smoke with that empty expression.
The memory sends a chill through me and I hate that it makes me hesitate. I hate that, for even a second, it makes me wonder if Edmund could be right.
Unable to look at the cuffs any longer, I turn away and head for the car.
The walk feels longer than it should and by the time I climb into my seat, my chest feels tight enough to crack.
I stare out of the window while everyone else piles in around me, trying not to think about the suppressors sitting somewhere behind me.
Trying not to imagine what it would mean if we actually had to use them.
Trying not to picture the look on Kai's face if he realised we'd brought them at all.