The city held its breath, and so did they.
Boots thundered down the street behind them, growing closer and louder like a storm charging through the alley.
Enor's pulse surged.
Ar remained still and unconscious, his weight dragging them down. They were carrying far too much to outrun anyone.
Her eyes flicked to the gear.
Two packs were strapped to Ar. One to her back. And two more were fixed to Cedrik's chest and shoulders like a harness.
"We can't carry all of this," she muttered. "We have to leave them."
"What?" Cedrik whispered, his expression panicked.
She had already begun moving. She tore off her pack and shoved it beneath a cracked pipe by the wall. Ar's gear went next, stuffed behind splintered crates. She barely managed to cover them.
"We'll come back for them. Maybe. I don't know."
Cedrik stood frozen. "Where the hell are we even going!?"
"I don't know!" she snapped. "You know I'm not from here."
She pointed down the alley.
"I don't know this part of the city. You've lived here. You know these streets. Lead the way! Anywhere is fine as long as we don't get caught! Come on!'
Cedrik's face cracked.
"I don't know either!" he shouted back, voice strained. "Never in my life did I step outside the house!"
Enor stared. "The hell?"
"I mean it," he said, voice breaking. "Grandpa never let me leave the house! I barely understand how streets work."
Their eyes met.
The silence between them held too much to say.
Then came the shouting.
"There they are! One is down! Aim for the others."
"Shit," Enor hissed.
She dropped to Ar's side. Cedrik did the same.
A dart smashed into the wall behind them.
Neither moved. No time. No air. No space for hesitation.
Enor grabbed Ar beneath the arms. Cedrik mirrored her with shaking hands.
They lifted him.
His weight dragged through their bones. His feet scraped against the dirt as they staggered forward. The alley narrowed around them, filled with debris and broken fences.
Enor's breath came short and raw. Cedrik's legs nearly gave out.
Another dart skimmed the ground beside them. Someone shouted again. A flash of light cut past their backs.
But they kept going.
Ar dangled between them, heavy and limp, his arms over their shoulders. Cedrik stumbled again and Enor didn't even look, she just yanked him forward.
Voices rose around them. The enemy was closing in.
They turned the corner and slumped behind a concrete wall. Just high enough to hide them. Just wide enough to pretend they had a chance.
Enor dropped to her knees. Her chest heaved and her hands refused to stop shaking.
Cedrik sagged beside her, too breathless to speak with Ar slumped between them, head tilted at a wrong angle.
They needed to keep running but their bodies had reached their limits.
Enor was considering giving up.
She stared as the regulator on her collarbone blinked violently, faster than she had ever seen.
Slowly, she lifted her hand and covered the light with her palm. As if hiding it might calm the signal. As if silence and stillness could make them invisible.
But the light did not stop.
The hum in her chest kept climbing.
And the footsteps were getting too close.
She turned her head toward Cedrik. His eyes were unfocused. He did not ask her what to do next.
He already knew there was no plan left.
Enor clenched her fingers around the edge of the regulator.
If this was really where it ended, she would not go down without trying.
If she could fight, even for a few seconds, Cedrik and Ar might get a small window. Just enough time to find an opening.
She let go of the regulator.
She let go of Ar. Rose on shaking legs. Her breath caught, but she steadied.
One step. Another.
Toward the alley entrance.
"Enor?" Cedrik's voice wavered. "What are you doing?"
She did not turn around. She flexed her fingers once. Her eyes focused on the path ahead.
"They're coming," she said. "And if we're caught, it's over. Maybe I can hold them off. Just for long enough."
Cedrik staggered upright. "You can't. You don't even have control over your power!"
She stopped for a second.
"Remember what Grandpa said?" Cedrik continued, his voice cracking. "Your core is shattered. What if this kills you?"
She finally turned toward him. Her jaw was locked in frustration. Her eyes looked hollow and full of something beyond fear.
"I know, but if I don't try now," she said, voice breaking, "none of us are getting out of this."
Cedrik stood frozen. His chest rose and fell with each panicked breath. His fists trembled by his sides.
He had no argument left.
Because he knew she was right.
Enor turned back toward the street.
The humming inside her chest had become sharp and relentless. Her steps felt heavy, like she was moving through water or some unseen force. Maybe it was fear. Maybe it was the slow build of something she did not fully understand.
The moment her foot crossed the boundary of the wall, something shifted.
A burst of pressure exploded outward from her body. Air rushed away from her, rippling across the ground. It stirred dust and lifted her hair and clothing. The force nudged her back a little. Sparks traced across her skin glowing with a faint pink.
It was starting.
Her chest surged with desperate hope.
At the alley's end, soldiers raised their weapons. One. Two. Three.
Enor lifted her hand.
Come on.
She reached for the energy.
A soft burst answered. Misty pink light rolled off her shoulders and fingertips.
Then it vanished.
She froze.
No.
She reached again. And again. Her hands shook. Her breath broke.
Nothing.
The power was gone.
She pushed harder, bit her lip until it bled. The regulator blinked like mad.
Please. Come back.
A flicker. Then silence.
Behind the soldiers, a voice rang out.
"Hands up. Stay where you are."
She exhaled, dry and hollow. Not quite a laugh. Not quite anything at all.
If they had not already aimed at her, she might have done it herself just to beat the humiliation.
She looked up at the rifles aimed at her.
And the only thing she could think was this:
STUPID PITIFUL ASS JUST DIE ALREADY.
She closed her eyes and braced for what was coming.
But suddenly, from above, something flashed.
Enor flinched, then froze in place.
Two figures dropped from the rooftop overhead. They were so fast they blurred the air around them. So loud the alley cracked from the force of their descent.
Time bent around them.
Despite the ringing in her ears, Enor heard the heavy impact of boots on concrete. And the sudden rush of air as one of them surged forward in a single, clean motion.
A marked girl.
Sparks curled around her skin, and glowing veiny marks lit up her arms in a breath taking image.
She met Enor's eyes for a heartbeat, then she punched.
A glowing fist slammed into the first soldier's
face with inhuman force, throwing him backward like a rag doll, weapon clattering from his hands midair.
Her companion moved almost simultaneously. His foot connected hard with the stomach of the second soldier, flipping him sideways. The rifle dropped. He caught it without missing a step and spun.
Three clean shots.
Three darts.
The soldiers collapsed one by one before they even hit the ground.
Then silence followed.
A faint stir of wind lifted the dust around them.
The two newcomers stood where the soldiers had fallen. Sparks still hovered faintly around their forms.
Enor blinked.
Her brain hadn't caught up yet. She was still standing like an idiot, mouth slightly open, chest rising too fast.
What had just happened?
She looked at the soldiers lying in the dirt, then at the two who had saved her.
No way. There was no way this was real.
The girl stepped forward, cool and composed, her glowing patterns dimming slightly.
Her gaze settled on Enor.
"You're the one from the school incident," she said. "Enor, right?"