The rain hadn't stopped. It followed them like a curse — hammering the cracked windshield of the stolen jeep as it tore down the empty highway, wipers squealing in vain against the downpour.
Ezra sat in the passenger seat, soaked and silent, his eyes fixed on the endless ribbon of asphalt ahead. Jace drove like a man possessed — one hand gripping the wheel, the other clutching a cigarette that had gone out three times already.
Mara sat in the back, half asleep, her wounded leg stretched across the seat. The air inside smelled like wet leather, gun oil, and exhaustion.
"Tell me again," Jace muttered over the sound of the engine, "why we're driving straight into the kind of place even rats won't hide?"
Ezra didn't answer immediately. He turned his head slightly, eyes still on the road. "Because that's where he is."
Jace exhaled sharply. "You don't even know that for sure."
"I feel it," Ezra said. "He's alive."
Mara's tired voice floated from the back. "You said that before. Then you almost got us all killed."
Ezra's jaw tightened. "Then maybe I'll get it right this time."
Silence settled again — the kind that fills the space between people who care too much and say too little.
After a while, Jace flicked his cigarette out the window. "You're aware we're low on ammo, food, and sanity, right?"
Ezra gave him a faint look. "You can stay behind."
Jace barked a humorless laugh. "Yeah, sure. And miss the chance to shoot that smug bastard Draven in the face? Not a chance."
Mara cracked one eye open. "You'd probably miss."
Jace grinned. "Maybe. But I'd look good doing it."
For the first time in hours, Ezra almost smiled. Almost. But it faded as quickly as it came.
The road curved north, cutting through the skeleton of an abandoned city — towers crumbling under the weight of vines and rust. Nature had started reclaiming what humanity had ruined. Neon signs flickered dimly through the fog, ghosts of a world that had once been alive.
Ezra pressed his palm against his temple. Ever since the night of the explosion, something inside him had changed. The pulse — the strange, rhythmic thrum beneath his skin — had grown stronger. Sometimes it felt like a heartbeat that wasn't his. Sometimes it whispered.
"Find me."
Kai's voice. Or maybe his mind trying to make sense of pain.
Whatever it was, Ezra followed it.
Meanwhile — Draven's Facility
Kai hung from the restraints, body broken but mind burning. The cell lights flickered overhead, casting long shadows across his bruised face.
Every breath hurt. Every second felt longer than the last.
He'd lost track of time — hours, maybe days — since the explosion. Draven's men came and went, prodding, questioning, injecting. But none of it mattered. His focus stayed fixed on one thing: Ezra.
When the pulse started — faint, like static under his skin — Kai almost thought he was hallucinating. But then it grew stronger. Familiar. Alive.
He smiled through bloodied lips. "That's it… good job, kid."
The door hissed open. Draven entered, coat pristine despite the chaos outside, his expression sharp and clinical.
"You're tougher than I gave you credit for," Draven said, adjusting his gloves. "But everyone breaks eventually."
Kai lifted his head, one eye swollen nearly shut. "You've been saying that for years. Still waiting to see it happen."
Draven's jaw tightened. "Always the hero."
"I was never the hero," Kai muttered. "You made sure of that."
Draven circled him like a predator. "You think this is about you? You were just a tool — the first success in a line of failures. But him…" His smile darkened. "He's the future."
Kai's voice dropped to a growl. "You touch him, and I'll—"
"You'll what?" Draven interrupted, amused. "Bleed on me?"
He stepped closer, his words dripping with satisfaction. "You bonded with him — imprinting at a molecular level. Your blood carries the key to his stability. He's not just tied to you emotionally, Kai. He needs you to survive."
Kai's breathing faltered. "You're lying."
"Am I?" Draven gestured toward a monitor. The screen flickered to life — showing thermal satellite footage. Three heat signatures moving through the rain.
Ezra. Jace. Mara.
Kai's heart seized.
Draven smirked. "He's coming to you. The link is drawing him here. Romantic, really — like gravity dragging stars to their own collapse."
"Let him go," Kai said through gritted teeth.
"Oh, I plan to," Draven replied softly. "I want him to see what you've become."
He turned toward the guards. "Prepare the transfer chamber. When he arrives, we begin Phase Three."
Kai struggled against the restraints until his wrists tore open. Blood ran down his arms, but he didn't stop. "Draven!"
The door closed.
And for the first time, Kai screamed — not in pain, but in fury.
The Road to Nowhere
By the time Ezra's group reached the mountains, the storm had turned to mist. The air grew colder, the road narrower. At the peak stood an old communication tower, blinking faintly through the fog.
Jace whistled low. "That's got 'bad idea' written all over it."
Ezra squinted through the glass. "That's our marker. It's where the signal's strongest."
Mara groaned. "You're really trusting a headache as a GPS now?"
Ezra didn't answer. He could feel it — a pull in his chest, magnetic and alive. It wasn't a guess anymore. It was a connection.
They parked the jeep and approached on foot. The ground was slick with mud, their boots sinking with each step. Every sound felt amplified — wind, water, breath.
Then they saw it.
Half-hidden behind the tower was a complex carved into the mountainside — steel doors, faint lights flickering behind reinforced glass.
Jace muttered, "Well, that screams 'evil lair.'"
Ezra's hand found the gun at his side. "Stay close."
They made their way down the slope, every sense on edge. Security drones hovered lazily above, scanning the mist. Ezra moved like a shadow, his movements sharper than before — more controlled, more lethal.
When they reached the entrance, Jace crouched beside the keypad. "Give me a minute."
"You've got thirty seconds," Ezra said quietly.
Jace smirked. "I love it when you're demanding."
Mara rolled her eyes. "You love it when anyone's breathing."
The lock clicked.
The door slid open with a hiss, releasing a blast of sterile, cold air. The corridors beyond glowed faintly blue — too quiet, too clean.
Ezra stepped inside first. The moment he crossed the threshold, his pulse spiked.
He staggered, clutching his chest.
Mara rushed to him. "Ezra? What's wrong?"
He shook his head, voice trembling. "He's here."
Somewhere Below
Kai's eyes snapped open.
The pulse hit him like lightning.
He could feel Ezra now — not just in his mind, but in every cell of his body. Their link flared, raw and electric.
He pulled once more, the metal restraints creaking under his strength. The hum of the signal was building — loud, sharp, unbearable.
And then, with a scream of metal and fury, the chains snapped.
Kai hit the floor hard, blood dripping from his wrists. He didn't stop. He pushed to his feet, staggering toward the door.
Outside, alarms began to wail.
Guards shouted. Red lights flashed.
Kai smiled through the chaos. "I told you, Draven. You should've killed me when you had the chance."
He grabbed the nearest weapon off a fallen soldier and headed into the hall, every movement driven by one thought.
Ezra.
Back in the corridor above, Ezra straightened, the throbbing in his chest fading into something else — something steadier.
Jace frowned. "What now?"
Ezra's lips curved faintly. "Now… we find him."
Mara glanced around at the flickering lights. "And if Draven finds us first?"
Ezra's eyes hardened. "Then we make him regret ever touching what's mine."
The steel doors ahead opened with a hiss, revealing rows of cold white corridors stretching into the unknown.
The storm outside faded into silence.
The real one was just beginning.