Ethan Knox - January 2121
Two weeks.
For most people, that would have been nothing. A brief pause before life started moving again.
For us, it felt almost unreal.
The house had settled into a rhythm I wasn't sure any of us expected. Mornings drifted into lazy afternoons, and afternoons melted into evenings filled with card games, shared meals and the occasional argument over whose turn it was to wash the dishes.
Finn had somehow managed to uncover an endless collection of embarrassing stories about Kai's childhood, and Noah, to my surprise, had willingly added to them. Every time Kai groaned and buried his face in his hands, I silently committed another piece of him to memory.
I find myself wishing time would stop here.
It won't.
It never does.
Standing on the porch, I wrap both hands around a mug of hot chocolate, letting the warmth seep into my fingers. The afternoon air carries the scent of damp earth after a brief shower, and somewhere beyond the trees birds settle down for the evening.
Inside the house Finn and Noah are talking, their voices muffled through the walls.
But outside, Kai paces.
Again.
He has worn the same path across the porch boards over the past few days, each turn just a little sharper than the last. His shoulders are tense, jaw tight, eyes never settle in one place for long.
He isn't here anymore.
His body is, but his mind has already gone back to Trinity.
"Maybe we should head back now," he finally says, breaking the silence. "We've been here long enough."
I watch him for a moment before answering.
"Edmund said we could stay longer."
Kai doesn't respond, so I continue softly.
"You still need more time to recover."
He stops pacing and looks at me as though I'd said something ridiculous.
"I've had more than enough time."
I almost smile.
Only Kai could survive everything he'd been through and convince himself he was perfectly fine after two weeks.
I step closer until we are only a pace apart.
"You've spacing out" I say. "That doesn't mean you've healed."
His expression softens for only a heartbeat before the worry returns. His hand twitch at his side.
Without thinking, I reach down and take it.
His fingers are colder than mine.
"Just one more week," I say quietly, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. "Then we'll go back."
He stares at our joined hands before lifting his eyes to mine.
"What if GeneX finds Trinity before then?"
The question isn't born from fear. It comes from responsibility.
Kai has spent so long carrying everyone else's safety on his shoulders that he no longer knows how to put the burden down.
"They'll call if anything happens," I reply. "Noah made sure every security system was reinforced before we left. If anyone can make that place impossible to find, it's him."
Kai looks away towards the lake.
He wants to believe me. I can see that much. But belief doesn't come easily after everything we've survived.
Truthfully...I worry too.
Every quiet moment here always brings the temptation to search again.
Another vision.
Another possibility.
Another future.
I've learned the hard way that constantly chasing tomorrow came with a price. Every glimpse blurred the line between what has happened and what might happen. Faces lingered long after the visions ends. Deaths repeat themselves until I couldn't remember which ones were real.
Still...
I can't stop completely. Not while the people I care about are out there.
"I've been looking," I admit after a moment.
Kai frowned.
"For danger."
His eyes searched mine.
"I check every day."
It wasn't entirely true, some days I check twice. Some nights I don't sleep because every time I closed my eyes another possibility finds me first.
"I haven't seen GeneX reach Trinity. Not anytime soon"
Kai's shoulders slowly ease. Not completely, but just enough for me to notice.
He lets out a long breath that seems to carry days' worth of tension with it.
"Okay," he murmurs. "One more week."
A small smile escapes before I can stop it. I lean forward and press a gentle kiss against his cheek.
His ears turns faintly pink.
Worth it.
"Kai!" Noah's voice echos from somewhere inside the house. "Can you give me a hand for a second?"
Kai glances towards the door before looking back at me, torn between staying and going.
I give his hand another squeeze before letting it slip from mine.
"Go on," I say with a smile.
"They'll probably dismantle the kitchen if you leave Noah unsupervised."
Kai laughs properly this time. The sound is warm and real. One I'll gladly listen to a thousand more times.
He steps closer, wrapping his arms around me and pulls me against his chest. He kisses the top of my head, lingering there for a second before reluctantly letting go.
"I'll be right back."
"I know."
I watch him disappear inside the house, his laughter joining Noah's almost immediately.
I lean against the wooden fence, slowly sipping my drink as I look out across the frozen lake. Wisps of steam rise from the mug, disappearing into the crisp winter air. Snow blankets the ground in every direction, untouched except for the winding trail of footprints leading back to the cabin.
It's peaceful here.
Peace has always felt like something that belongs to other people.
Maybe... when this is all over, it could belong to us too.
I let myself imagine it.
Noah, Edmund and Thomas would spend weeks arguing over blueprints, each convinced they know the best way to improve the cabins. Finn would pretend not to listen before quietly building whichever design Noah settled on, while Kai would somehow end up doing most of the heavy lifting despite everyone's protests.
Miriam would always be in the kitchen, filling the house with the smell of fresh bread and warm meals. Jack would follow her around endlessly, talking about whatever happened to cross his mind until she threatened to throw him out, though neither of them would ever mean it.
Daniel and Tessa would claim the spot closest to the campfire every evening. I can almost picture them wrapped beneath the same blanket, laughing at something only they find funny. Maybe, one day, there'd be a little one running around their feet, chasing snowflakes with mitten-covered hands while everyone else pretended not to spoil them.
For the first time in a long time...
The future doesn't feel frightening.
It feels possible.
A small smile finds its way onto my face, then suddenly movement catches my eye.
I blink, my thoughts returning to the frozen lake. Near the centre, something is scrambling across the ice. At first, I can't make out what it is. A dark shape stumbles, slips, then struggles back onto unsteady legs.
My smile fades.
Thin cracks spread beneath it like veins through glass.
"No..."
The word escapes under my breath.
I set my mug down on the fence so quickly that some of the hot chocolate splashes over the rim, forgotten almost immediately as I break into a run.
The cold air burns my lungs. With every step the shape becomes clearer, it's a wolf pup.
Its white fur blends almost perfectly with the snow, making it look like a small ghost against the ice. It's young, far too young to be out there alone.
Across the lake, an adult wolf races back and forth along the shoreline.
It never steps onto the ice. It can't. It knows better.
The panic in its movements twists something inside my chest.
It reminds me of Kai.
Always trying to protect someone. Always helpless whenever they're just beyond his reach.
The pup manages to stand for only a heartbeat before its paws slide beneath it again. Tiny claws scrape desperately against the frozen surface.
Crack.
The sound echoes across the lake.
Another crack branches outward. Then another as the ice gives way.
Then the pup disappears beneath the freezing water.
A second later it bursts back to the surface, gasping, desperately clawing at the jagged edge. Every attempt only breaks away more ice, leaving it with less to hold onto.
Its frightened cries carry across the lake. The adult wolf answers immediately, pacing faster, whining helplessly from the shore.
It can't reach its pup.
Before I even realise what I'm doing, my boots are already crunching across the frozen lake.
Each careful step sends a dull groan through the ice beneath me.
I slow my breathing, keeping my weight evenly spread as I move closer.
The pup spots me. Its terrified eyes lock onto mine.
"Easy..." I whisper, more to calm myself than the frightened animal.
"I'm coming."
My eyes flash blue as I look into the future.
The world around me fractures into countless possibilities. Every movement, every shift in my weight, every choice creates another path. I see the ice breaking beneath me, the water swallowing me, the pup slipping beneath the surface before I can reach it.
Most futures end the same way.
Failure.
I force myself to ignore them.
Looking too far ahead has always been dangerous. Too many possibilities become noise, and noise becomes hesitation. I don't need to see every ending. I only need to find one where the wolf survives.
Among the endless fragments, I find it.
A narrow path. A future where the ice holds just long enough.
I follow it.
Slowly, carefully, I move across the frozen lake, placing each step exactly where I saw it. The ice groans beneath my feet, the sound making my entire body tense, but I keep moving.
The wolf pup watches me with terrified eyes, its small body trembling as it fights against the freezing water. Behind it, the older wolf continues pacing along the shore, unable to reach its child.
The pup tries to pull itself up again, its claws scraping against the ice. The fragile surface cracks beneath its weight, and I know I don't have much time.
I move faster.
The future shifts around me.
A thousand different outcomes flash through my mind, but I stay focused on the one in front of me.
Then the ice gives way and the pup disappears beneath the surface. I drop down onto the ice and reach forward, plunging my arm into the freezing water.
The cold hits instantly.
It feels like my entire arm has been swallowed by ice. My breath catches as the freezing water burns through my clothes and numbs my skin.
For a moment, I can't feel anything.
Then my fingers find fur and I tighten my grip.
"I've got you" I whisper.
The pup struggles beneath the surface, terrified, but I hold on and pull with everything I have. My shoulder aches as I drag it upward, using the edge of the ice to help lift its body out of the water.
Finally, the wolf scrambles onto the ice.
I pull myself back, breathing heavily as I watch it collapse onto the frozen surface.
That is when I hear it.
"Ethan!"
My head snaps up as Kai's voice carries across the lake. He is running towards me from the house, his expression filled with panic. Finn and Noah are close behind him, both moving quickly but stopping at the edge of the lake.
"Kai..."
"What are you doing?" he shouts, his voice echoing across the frozen water. "Ethan, what are you doing?!"
I don't answer immediately because I know that look.
The fear.
The anger.
The worry he tries so hard to hide.
"I couldn't leave it," I finally call back.
His expression changes slightly because he knows I couldn't.
The pup shakes violently beside me, sending droplets of water flying from its white fur. It manages to push itself upright and immediately bares its teeth, a small warning growl escaping from its throat.
I slowly raise my hands.
"Hey, it's okay."
I take a careful step backwards.
"I'm not going to hurt you."
The pup watches me closely, its body tense and ready to run.
Then I move my foot. A sharp crack echoes beneath me. I freez and so does the pup as we both look down.
A thin fracture spreads beneath my boot, travelling across the ice like a spiderweb.
The wolf takes a hesitant step backwards.
"No..."
Another crack sounds.
Louder.
The ice beneath us begins to shift.
The future floods my mind again. Too many possibilities. Too many endings. I search desperately for another path, but they disappear faster than I can reach them.
The pup moves again, frightened by the sound. The ice cannot support us both and the cracks spread further, surrounding us.
"Kai!" I shout
The surface breaks without warning. One second I am standing on the ice, the next, I am falling.
The freezing water crashes over me, stealing my breath instantly as darkness surrounds me.
My body locks from the shock of the cold. Above me, the broken circle of sky grows smaller as I sink.
I can hear voices.
Distant.
Muffled.
The last thing I hear isn't the cracking ice. It isn't the water rushing around me.
It's Kai screaming my name like he can pull me back through the darkness by force alone.
And then the cold pulls me deeper.