My sister and I were playing hide-and-seek, and Mom was it.
"Eighty-seven… eighty-eight… eighty-nine… ninety!" she called from the clearing near the old cabin. Her voice was sing-song, laced with mischief, like she was genuinely enjoying the game. I peeked over the edge of the wooden picnic table we'd just crawled under.
"Tiff, come on," I whispered, tugging her arm. She ducked down beside me, her dark brown curls bouncing as she stifled a laugh.
We huddled close, pressed against the dirt and gravel beneath the table, trying not to breathe too loud. Our knees bumped. It smelled like pine needles and rust.
"…Ninety-nine… one hundred! Ready or not, here I come!" Mom's voice rang out cheerfully.
Tiffany squeezed my hand. "She's gonna find us," she whispered.
"Not if we stay quiet," I whispered back. But I was smiling too. Mom was good at this game.
Footsteps approached. Crunch. Crunch. We both slapped our hands over our mouths as Mom's boots stopped right in front of the table.
"Hmm…" she said aloud, pretending not to know. "Where could they possibly be hiding?"
She crouched slightly—about to look under—when another voice cut in sharply.
"Kyra." Dad.
His tone was low and urgent, a complete contrast to the game we were playing.
"We need to go. Now."
I stiffened. Tiffany moved, ready to crawl out, but I grabbed her wrist.
"Wait," I hissed. "It's probably part of the game."
But Dad didn't sound like he was playing.
A low rumble reached us—an engine, fast, approaching from the road.
Tires crunched. A vehicle door slammed shut.
And then: a new voice. Male. Cold. Sinister.
"Where's the file?"
I felt Tiffany tense beside me.
"There is no file," Mom snapped. "It was destroyed years ago."
I pulled Tiffany closer as she trembled. Her arms wrapped around my chest like she thought I could protect her from whatever was about to happen.
"Kyra, Kyra," the man said, mocking. "Still such a liar."
Mom's voice didn't waver. "Face it, Ryder. The Gemini Protocol is gone."
Ryder.
I didn't know who he was. I didn't know what the Gemini Protocol even was. But in that moment, I knew one thing—this wasn't just some scary adult argument.
This was life or death.
Ryder laughed. Not a normal laugh. It was hollow, sharp, and wrong. I could only see his boots from under the table, but I saw him reach into his coat.
A strange gun appeared in his hand—sleek, humming with a faint red glow.
Dad stepped forward. "Kyra. Take the kids. Run."
That's when Mom dropped to her knees and yanked us both out from under the table. "Go!" she said through gritted teeth, shoving us toward the trees.
I glanced back—just for a second—and saw Ryder raise the weapon.
A beam of red light shot out.
We ran.
Branches whipped past us. The air smelled like ozone and smoke. Behind us came the sounds of chaos—shouts, more blasts, crashing wood. I kept Tiffany close, our feet pounding the dirt trail we used to hike on sunny afternoons.
Not today.
"Mom, what's going on?!" Tiffany cried.
No answer.
I stopped running. My chest heaved. "Tell us the truth!"
Mom turned. Her face was fierce, streaked with sweat and fear. "Tristan, we don't have time—"
"I want to know what's happening!" My voice cracked. "What is the Gemini Protocol?! Who is that guy?! Why is he trying to kill us?!"
"Tristan…" Her voice softened, but the urgency remained. "You're not ready to know."
"That's not good enough!" I yelled.
I didn't trust her anymore.
How could I?
Everything we knew was suddenly unraveling like it was all some script we weren't meant to read yet. Secrets. Lies. Were they even our real parents?
"I don't trust you!" I shouted.
Her eyes flared, but her voice didn't rise. "You don't have to. Just stay alive."
Then we heard it—more vehicles.
We broke into a clearing at the edge of a cliff where the old rope-and-plank bridge stretched across a deep ravine. The river far below roared, white-capped and furious from the spring thaw.
We froze.
The far side of the bridge was blocked.
Black SUVs. Men in suits with weapons. Just like Ryder.
"Back," Mom said, spinning us around.
But it was too late.
Ryder stood behind us.
He looked… ordinary. But there was something off about him. Something too calm, too clean, like he didn't bleed red.
He smiled, raising the glowing gun.
"You always were predictable, Kyra," he said.
Mom stepped in front of us. "Leave my children out of this."
Ryder tilted his head. "The children are the point. They're the key, remember? They're the last trace of the Gemini Protocol."
I didn't know what that meant. But the way Tiffany clung to my side… I knew it wasn't good.
"Kyra," he said again. "You can't run anymore. Not this time."
Mom took a deep breath, then turned to us. Her hands shook. "Kids… I need you to jump."
"What?!" I backed up. "You want us to what?!"
"The river," she said. "It's deep. It'll carry you away. You'll survive."
"Are you crazy?" Tiffany cried. "We'll die!"
"No," Mom said, eyes wild. "But if you stay here, he'll kill you."
Ryder's weapon powered up again. A pulse of red light surged along its barrel.
"Kyra," he said, voice low. "Move."
"I love you," Mom whispered.
Then she shoved us.
The wind screamed in my ears as we plummeted.
Tiffany's hand was ripped from mine. The last thing I saw was Mom facing Ryder with her fists clenched and fire in her eyes.
Then the water swallowed us whole.
And everything went black.