Kaius stared at the spot where Sura had disappeared into the shadows, her final words echoing in his mind.
"You're in danger."
He shook his head, trying to brush off the feeling of unease that clung to him like a second skin. What danger? He and his father had been living a quiet, normal life for months. No one had bothered them. No one had come looking for them. Sura had to be wrong. She had to be.
But as Kaius made his way back home, that doubt kept gnawing at him, refusing to let go.
The hover bus ride back to the slums felt longer than usual. The soft hum of the engines did little to quiet the storm of thoughts swirling in his head. He kept replaying the conversation over and over—the way Sura had appeared out of nowhere, the seriousness in her eyes, the urgency in her voice. And then… the question that had caught him off guard.
Us? she had asked. The confusion on her face had been clear, and at the time, Kaius had brushed it off, dismissing it as nothing. But now… now it seemed to stick with him.
He sighed, leaning his head against the cool glass of the window, watching the city blur past. The strings had been quiet during the entire encounter, no flashes of red or purple to give him any warning of what was coming. That should have been enough to calm him, but it wasn't.
When the bus came to a stop near his apartment, Kaius stepped off, his legs feeling heavier than before. His boots scuffed the ground as he made his way up the narrow staircase leading to their home, the door creaking open as he entered.
"Dad, I'm back," he called out, dropping the bag of groceries onto the kitchen counter.
Gareth was sitting at the small dining table, his back to the door, hunched over a set of old papers they'd been working on for weeks. Kaius couldn't see his face, but he could imagine the familiar look of concentration, the way his father's brow furrowed when he was deep in thought.
"How'd it go?" Gareth's voice, rough and steady, filled the small apartment.
Kaius sighed, shaking his head as he unpacked the groceries.
"Fine, I guess. Sura showed up."
At that, Gareth's head lifted slightly, though he didn't turn around.
"Sura? What did she want?" Kaius hesitated, glancing over at his father.
"She… warned me. Said something about us being in danger."
There was a long pause, and for a moment, the only sound was the faint hum of the refrigerator and the rustling of the grocery bags. Kaius waited, expecting Gareth to say something more, but the response never came. His father remained quiet, still hunched over his work as if the conversation hadn't happened at all.
Kaius frowned, but before he could press further, Gareth finally spoke again.
"We're fine, Kaius. Just keep your head down, and we'll stay out of trouble."
The answer felt off, but Kaius didn't push. He didn't feel like arguing, not now. His father had always been the one with more experience, more insight into the world they were trying to avoid, so maybe he was right. Maybe everything would be fine.
But that knot of doubt in Kaius's chest tightened.
Later that evening, the quiet in the apartment became suffocating.
Kaius sat at the small table, his fingers tracing the edges of the strange chip he'd found earlier that day. It was still warm to the touch, though he couldn't tell if it was just his imagination or something more. His father's words echoed in his mind—We're fine, just keep your head down—but they did little to calm the storm brewing inside him.
He glanced over at Gareth, who was still at the table, silently pouring over the same stack of papers. The dim light from the single lamp cast long shadows across the room, giving the whole scene an almost surreal quality. For a moment, Kaius considered asking his father again—pressing him for more details, more reassurance—but the thought flickered away just as quickly as it came.
"No. Dad's right. We've been fine for months. There's no reason to think that's going to change."
But the words felt hollow, even in his own mind.
The next morning, Kaius awoke to the sound of distant construction outside their window, the soft rumble of machinery blending with the usual city noise. He stretched, rubbing his eyes as he sat up, his mind still foggy from the restless night.
The strings were there again, faint and distant, just on the edge of his awareness. Green… purple… grey… They flickered in and out of view, like the afterimage of a dream, slipping away before he could fully grasp them.
He shook his head, pushing the sensation away, and dressed quickly before heading out to the kitchen. Gareth was already there, seated at the table, a cup of synthetic coffee steaming in front of him.
"Morning," Kaius mumbled as he grabbed his own mug.
Gareth gave a short nod, though he didn't speak. Kaius sat across from him, the silence stretching between them like a chasm. It was strange—this quiet, this distance that seemed to have settled in the air.
After a moment, Gareth finally broke the silence.
"You need to focus on your work, Kaius. Forget what Sura said. She's always been involved in things we don't understand. We don't need to be dragged into it."
Kaius stared at his father, the words feeling heavier than they should have. He nodded slowly, though the unease in his chest refused to fade.
But as they sat in that quiet apartment, both focused on their own thoughts, Kaius couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. The strings flickered again—red, just at the edge of his vision.
And then.. they were gone.