Kai ran.
His legs screamed with exhaustion, his body still reeling from the shock of whatever had just happened to him. The Rift Authority enforcers weren't far behind—he could hear the rhythmic pounding of their boots against the pavement, the hum of their high-tech rifles charging up.
"Subject is moving east—lock down the perimeter!"
The command blared through a soldier's radio as Kai veered into a narrow alleyway, his breath coming in sharp gasps. The city was eerily quiet at this hour, the usual nightlife stifled under the watchful presence of the Rift Authority. Surveillance drones hovered overhead, their mechanical eyes sweeping the streets. If they boxed him in, he was done.
His mind raced, but his body moved on instinct. He vaulted over a chain-link fence, his fingers burning as he scrambled up the metal, dropping hard on the other side. His knees buckled, but he forced himself to move. Keep running. Don't stop.
The moment his feet hit the ground, his surroundings distorted again.
A flicker.
Like a ripple through existence itself, the world around him warped for a fraction of a second—colors inverted, the air crackled with static, and then everything snapped back. It was barely a moment, but Kai felt it through every nerve in his body. His veins burned, his heartbeat stuttered.
What was happening to him?
No time to think.
A surge of energy burst behind him as one of the soldiers fired, a pulse round slamming into the brick wall just inches from his head. The heat from the impact seared his skin, and chunks of concrete exploded outward, forcing him to duck. They weren't trying to capture him anymore. They were shooting to kill.
He skidded around the corner, forcing himself to sprint harder. His lungs burned, his vision blurred, but still, he pushed forward. Faster. Move faster.
His thoughts flashed back to the rooftop just hours earlier. He had been talking about leaving, about escaping the monotony of life under Rift Authority control. He never expected his escape would be a matter of survival.
Hours Earlier
The rooftop was quiet, the kind of quiet that only existed in stolen moments. Kai leaned against the railing, staring out at the cityscape. The glow of neon signs bathed the streets below in flickering blues and reds.
"You ever wonder if there's something bigger than all this?" Aiden asked, tossing a small rock off the roof.
Kai exhaled slowly. "Like what?"
"I don't know." Aiden rubbed the back of his neck. "Something beyond the Rift Authority. Beyond the rifts. Like… maybe we're just seeing pieces of something way bigger."
Kai let out a short laugh. "Sounds like you've been watching too many conspiracy vids."
"I'm serious, man." Aiden's eyes darkened. "I mean, think about it. The Rift Authority acts like they've got it all under control, but they don't. And what about people like your dad? People who've disappeared?" He shook his head. "We don't know what's really going on."
Kai didn't have an answer for that. His father had been missing for years, lost in one of the many Rift Authority cover-ups.
"I just know one thing," Aiden continued, kicking a loose piece of gravel. "One day, we're gonna get caught up in something we can't walk away from."
Present
"Kai, move!"
The voice snapped him back to reality. Aiden.
Kai's stomach lurched as he spotted his friend at the end of the alleyway, holding open a maintenance door. Aiden's face was set in determination, but there was fear in his eyes—he had no idea what was happening either, but he knew enough to run.
Without hesitation, Kai sprinted toward him, diving through the doorway just as another energy blast scorched the ground behind him. Aiden slammed the door shut, locking it tight. They were in a dimly lit warehouse, the air thick with the scent of oil and rusted metal. Machinery lay in pieces around them, long abandoned.
Kai collapsed against the wall, his chest rising and falling in rapid gasps. His arms trembled, his fingers numb.
"Dude," Aiden panted, doubling over with his hands on his knees. "What the hell did you do?"
Kai could barely form words. "I— I don't know."
Aiden took a step back, eyeing him carefully. "Man, I saw that rift. That thing should've killed you. How are you even standing right now?"
Kai swallowed hard. He had no answer.
A sudden throb rippled through his head, and for a brief second, the warehouse flickered around him, as if reality itself was glitching. He clenched his fists, fighting back the nausea building inside him. Something was wrong.
"Kai…?" Aiden's voice wavered, his expression shifting to concern. "Your eyes. They—"
A loud bang shook the building. The enforcers were breaching the perimeter.
"No time," Aiden snapped, shaking off his shock. "Come on, we gotta move!"
Kai forced himself to his feet, his body still burning from within. Whatever had happened to him, whatever the rift had done, he had no choice but to keep moving—and find out what he was becoming.