Arnold's heart thudded in his chest, every beat a harsh reminder of the storm that was about to hit. The figure standing in the doorway was more than just a ghost from his past—it was someone he'd hoped was long gone, someone whose name still haunted his nightmares.
As the figure stepped into the dim kitchen light, Arnold's breath hitched.
It was Lucas—his brother.
But it couldn't be. Arnold had buried Lucas years ago, or at least, he thought he had. His older brother had disappeared, leaving a trail of broken promises and unanswered questions. Arnold had spent countless years trying to move on from the void Lucas had left in his life, yet here he was, standing in his kitchen like he'd never left.
"Lucas…" Arnold's voice was barely above a whisper, his mind racing to make sense of the impossible. "You're… alive?"
Lucas's lips curled into a smirk, but there was a coldness to it that didn't belong to the brother Arnold once knew. His face was more rugged, his eyes darker, as if the years had hardened him in ways that Arnold couldn't quite comprehend.
"Alive? That's what you want to ask me?" Lucas's voice was a deep rasp, every word laced with bitterness. "You don't even know the half of it, Arnold."
"Where have you been?" Arnold demanded, stepping forward, his hands clenched into fists. "You disappeared without a word, and now you show up like this?"
Lucas's eyes flicked to the ground, as though avoiding the question for a moment. When he finally met Arnold's gaze again, the anger in his eyes was unmistakable. "I didn't disappear. I was taken."
Taken. Arnold's mind spun at the word. It was a word he never thought he'd hear from Lucas—never thought his brother would utter something so dramatic, so loaded with meaning.
"Taken by who?" Arnold's voice was sharp now, each word weighed down by confusion and a growing sense of fear. "What happened to you, Lucas?"
But Lucas didn't answer. Instead, he took a step forward, slowly and deliberately, his movements almost predatory.
"You're asking the wrong questions, Arnold." His voice was eerily calm, the kind of calm that sent a chill down Arnold's spine. "The real question is—what's going to happen to you now that I'm back?"
Arnold felt a jolt of panic surge through him. His mind was screaming for answers, but they weren't coming. The unsettling feeling gnawed at him, making his pulse quicken. What had Lucas been through? What was he involved in now?
Before Arnold could say another word, Rachel's voice interrupted the tension in the room. She stepped into the kitchen, her hands shaking as she glanced between the two brothers.
"Arnold, please," Rachel said softly, her eyes pleading with him. "Lucas… he's not the same anymore. He's been changed."
Lucas chuckled darkly at Rachel's words, the sound cold and mocking. "Oh, I'm the same, Rachel. I've just been… enhanced. You wouldn't understand."
Rachel's gaze dropped to the floor, her lips trembling as she fought to hold back her tears. Arnold could see the fear in her eyes, the same fear that had been present when Jake had entered the house. But this was different—this was far worse. Rachel had known Lucas had been alive, hadn't she? Why hadn't she told him?
"What do you mean, 'enhanced'?" Arnold demanded, his voice now growing more urgent. "What the hell are you talking about?"
Lucas turned his eyes back to Arnold, and there was a quiet intensity behind his gaze. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Hell, I don't even believe it myself sometimes. But it's real, Arnold. What I've become—it's real. And it's going to change everything."
Rachel took a step back, pressing her hand against her mouth as if she were holding back a scream. Arnold's mind raced, trying to process everything that was happening in front of him. His brother, the one he had mourned for years, wasn't the man he remembered. He was something… else.
"You've been part of something dangerous, haven't you?" Arnold's words were thick with disbelief. "What are you mixed up in, Lucas? What's happening?"
Lucas's smirk faded, and for the first time, there was a flash of something deeper—regret, maybe? He looked over at Rachel, his expression unreadable. "It's not what you think, Arnold. It's not about what I've been through. It's about what's coming next. What you've gotten yourselves involved in."
Arnold's stomach churned with unease. What had Rachel been hiding from him? What was so dangerous that even Lucas, the brother he thought was dead, was willing to return and warn them about?
"I don't want to be a part of whatever mess you're in, Lucas," Arnold said, his voice unwavering despite the confusion and fear that was building inside him. "I don't care what you've become. I'm not going to let you drag Rachel into it."
Lucas's eyes narrowed. "Oh, you don't get it, do you? This isn't about you or Rachel anymore. This is bigger than anything either of you can handle. You've already made your choice by getting involved with her."
"Getting involved with her?" Arnold's anger flared at the accusation. "What the hell are you talking about?"
But before Lucas could respond, the silence was shattered by another sound—the loud, piercing ring of Arnold's phone, slicing through the tension in the room. Arnold reached into his pocket, his hand shaking slightly as he glanced at the screen.
It was an unknown number.
"Hello?" Arnold answered, his voice hoarse.
The voice on the other end was unfamiliar, but there was something in the tone that sent a shiver down Arnold's spine. "Arnold, I suggest you listen carefully," the voice said. "There are things you don't understand, things that are happening right under your nose. If you want to keep Rachel safe… if you want to stay alive… you need to stop asking questions."
Arnold's heart skipped a beat. His eyes shot toward Rachel and Lucas, who were now locked in an uneasy stare. What the hell was going on?
The voice on the phone continued, its tone colder now. "You're in the middle of something much darker than you can imagine. And if you keep digging… well, let's just say you won't like what you find."
Before Arnold could respond, the call ended abruptly, leaving him standing in the middle of the kitchen, stunned.