Alex's thoughts haunted him as he trailed behind Mia. The quiet between them felt suffocating, thick with unspoken words. Every step he took seemed to echo in his mind, each one a reminder of the confusion gnawing at him. He liked her. No—he loved her. But why couldn't he bring himself to say it? Why couldn't he find the courage to tell her the truth?
He glanced up, his eyes meeting Mia's, and for a brief moment, their gazes locked. But the silence between them felt unbearable, suffocating. His heart raced, but his mouth was dry, unable to form the words he longed to speak.
Mia, lost in her own turmoil, tried to focus on the path ahead. But the weight of his gaze burned into her skin, like an unspoken promise she was too afraid to acknowledge. If Alex loves me… she thought, Why doesn't he just say it? Why can't he make it clear?
She swallowed hard, pushing the thoughts aside. But the pain, the confusion, the ache in her chest—she couldn't escape it. Why couldn't she love him openly, without fear? What's wrong with me? She hated the way his stares made her heart race, but at the same time, they filled her with an unbearable sadness. They were a promise of something she wasn't sure she could have. Something she feared would slip through her fingers before she could even reach for it.
Her heart ached. Mama, please be safe. I know I'm being selfish for wanting this, but I can't help it…
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sensation of her hair fluttering as she walked, each step carrying the weight of her emotions. Her powers stirred beneath her skin, but Mia didn't have the energy to control them. Her mind was too consumed with Alex—and that painful emptiness that always followed him.
She glanced over her shoulder, but Alex had stopped walking, his back turned to her as he veered onto another path. Her breath caught in her throat. Why?
She wanted to call out to him, to demand an answer, but the words died on her lips. Before she could even take another step, Alex had disappeared into the shadows. Her heart twisted. Why does he do this? Why does he always leave?
The moment he was gone, the reality of their situation hit her. The air around her grew colder, sharper. Her instincts told her to stay focused. She couldn't afford to lose herself in her feelings right now.
She turned her attention to the others: Jake, James, and Nicky. They stood at the edge of the clearing, their eyes trained on her, but their expressions were unreadable. Nicky, ever the one to break the tension, stepped forward.
"Lost something?" he asked, his voice soft, but with a hint of concern.
Mia shook her head quickly, her lips curling into a thin, practiced smile. "No, I'm fine," she said, the words coming out colder than she intended. "I'll go in first, like we agreed."
But Jake was watching her, his gaze sharp and unwavering. The calm that had settled over the group felt wrong to him. There was something in the air—a tension, an impending danger that no one else seemed to feel. He could sense it, a primal warning. And he wasn't about to ignore it.
"I don't like this," he muttered, his voice barely a whisper. He knelt beside a tree, running his hands through his hair in frustration, his face drawn tight with worry. Then, slowly, he raised his head, his eyes locking onto Mia's.
"Mia," he called out, his voice low, but full of urgency. "Listen to me." There was no joking now, no playfulness. His face was grave, his brow furrowed in concern. "No matter what happens, you make sure you come out of there alive. I don't care if I have to chase you through hell or heaven—I'll follow you. You've got two hours. Come out. Alive. Got it?"
His words hit her like a punch to the gut. There was no mistaking it. Jake wasn't joking. The fierce protectiveness in his eyes left no room for argument. Mia froze, staring at him, unable to respond right away. Her heart hammered in her chest as she absorbed the weight of his words. She hadn't seen Jake like this before. His usual smile, his laid-back attitude—it was all gone. In its place was a man who would do anything to keep her safe.
The rawness of his emotions filled the air, and Mia felt a surge of something inside her—something warm, something terrifying. Does he care that much about me?
She blinked, trying to regain control of her racing thoughts. For a moment, she forgot everything—the factory, the mission, the uncertainty of what lay ahead. All she could see was Jake's eyes, intense and filled with an emotion she couldn't quite place.
"I'll be fine," she said, her voice softer now, trying to reassure him. She smiled, though the gesture felt faint, almost forced. "Don't worry, Jake. I won't keep you waiting."
With a final glance at him, Mia turned and walked toward the darkened path that led to the looming factory. Her footsteps were steady, though her heart was anything but. As she moved further into the shadows, she felt the weight of her powers thrumming beneath her skin, urging her forward. But there was also a tightening in her chest—a fear she couldn't shake.
She was entering the unknown, and there was no turning back.
Behind her, the group sighed collectively. James let out a low laugh, though there was no humor in it. "Alex, you never listen, do you?" His voice was bitter as he gazed up at the moon, the distant stars offering no comfort. "You went in with her. You never learn."
He shook his head, a smile playing at the corner of his lips, though it didn't reach his eyes. "All the best, guys. We'll be here, waiting. Don't forget to signal us if things go south."
His words lingered in the air, but Mia didn't hear them. She was already too far gone, swallowed by the darkness.
Alex's father sat alone at the bar, his fingers drumming absentmindedly on the rim of his glass. The hotel was quiet, dimly lit by soft chandeliers that cast shadows against the walls. It was his favorite place, a haven where he had once come to forget the burdens of his life, but tonight it felt suffocating. The wine in his glass swirled lazily, its deep red color catching the light in strange ways, but its taste was flat, a bitter reminder of everything that had gone wrong.
He licked his lips, attempting to draw some comfort from the drink, but it was no use. His mind was elsewhere—caught in the painful whirl of memories that refused to let him be. It had been years since he had felt truly alive. The days when his life had been full of love and promise, when his family had been whole, seemed like a distant dream. He had been so consumed by his own ambitions that he had let the people who mattered slip through his fingers, one by one.
If only I had been there for her, he thought, the weight of regret pressing down on his chest. His beloved wife—gone. His son—distant. His world had shattered, all because of the choices he had made. The choices that had seemed so important at the time. He thought of the deal that had cost him everything, choosing to help his bestie friend to free him from prison his business partner had ended up in, and the dangerous path it had all led him down. If he could turn back time, he would do things differently. But time was a thief, and no amount of regret could bring back what had been lost.
A quiet noise at the edge of the bar pulled him from his thoughts. He glanced up to see a figure standing just behind him—a man in black, his presence unsettling in the otherwise empty space. The stranger's eyes were dark, unreadable, and his voice was soft, but it carried an urgency that made Alex's Dad heart skip a beat.
"Uncle Timmy wants to see you," the man said. There was no explanation, no time for questions. His hand reached out and touched Alex's Dad arm, and in that moment, the world around them seemed to shift. The hotel lights flickered, and suddenly Alex's Dad was no longer sitting at the bar. The air grew colder, the shadows deeper, and they were moving, swiftly, silently, as if they were no longer in the present but somewhere else entirely.
The dining room they entered was almost suffocating in its darkness. Only a few dim lamps cast faint pools of light across the room. At the head of the long table sat Uncle Timmy. Alex's Dad stomach churned. Timmy had never been a man to be trusted, but this was different—this was urgent, and Alex's father could feel it in his bones. There was a tension in the air that he couldn't ignore.
He walked toward the table, but instead of sitting, he stood still, facing Timmy. His heart was racing, his mind racing even faster. There was something Timmy wasn't telling him—something he needed to know. But as he stared at his old friend, anger simmered just beneath the surface.
"Don't give me that look, Timmy," Alex's father muttered, his voice strained with years of bitterness. "Don't think you can boss me around. I was once your boss, remember that."
Timmy didn't flinch. He sat back in his chair, a smirk playing on his lips as he regarded Alex's father with something close to amusement. There was no fear in his eyes, only something darker.
"You really think that matters anymore?" Timmy said, his voice smooth, almost condescending. He tapped the edge of the table with his fingers, a casual gesture that belied the intensity in the air. "I'm here to talk about your son."
The words struck like a blow, and Alex's father breath caught in his throat. His stomach twisted with sudden fear. He leaned in, his body tense. "What about him?" The question came out sharper than he intended, his voice betraying his panic.
Timmy's smile widened, though his eyes darkened. "I know where he is," he said, his voice low. "And you're going to want to hear this. But I don't think you'll like it."
Alex's father hands clenched into fists at his sides. Where is he? What has he gotten himself into? A part of him feared the answer, but he couldn't bring himself to back away.
"You let him go, didn't you?" Timmy continued, his voice growing colder with every word. "You didn't stop him. You just let him slip through your fingers."
Alex's father shot to his feet, the sudden movement knocking the table with such force that glasses clattered to the floor. The anger, the years of repressed emotion, surged through him in a tidal wave. "Why didn't you stop him?!" he shouted, his voice cracking with fury. His heart was pounding now, the fear of losing his son gnawing at him.
Timmy only chuckled darkly. "Why should I stop him?" he asked, leaning forward with an almost knowing look in his eyes. "You know as well as I do—no one can stop a man in love. And when a man is willing to risk everything for the one he loves, you can't change that."
Alex's father froze. The words hung in the air like a heavy fog, and for a long moment, he couldn't speak. His heart skipped in his chest, the realization settling over him like a weight. In love? He felt a strange mix of shock, fear, and something else—something deeper, more painful.
"He's in love," Timmy repeated, his voice thick with amusement and something darker. "And I think that scares you more than anything else, doesn't it?"
The room seemed to close in on Alex's father as the full weight of Timmy's words hit him. His son—his cold, distant son—was in love. And that meant everything was changing, spiraling in a direction he couldn't control. He had always seen Alex as his last chance for redemption, a part of his life that could somehow make up for all the mistakes he had made. But now, his son was following his own heart, and that was something Alex's father could neither understand nor stop.
Suddenly, the regret that had been simmering in him for years bubbled to the surface. His life, his choices, his distance from his son—none of it mattered now. All that mattered was that Alex was out there, alone, following a path Alex's father couldn't even begin to understand. And all the love he had once had for his family—his wife, his son— his daughter felt so far out of reach now. He had let it slip away.
"Where is he?" Alex's father whispered, his voice barely audible. It was no longer just a question—it was a plea.
Timmy's smile never wavered, but the gleam in his eyes darkened. "You'll find out soon enough. But trust me, you should be very careful. Love has a way of changing everything, even for the ones who think they've already lost."