The alarm woke Leo at 5. He slapped the snooze button, rolled over, and pulled the blanket higher. For thirty seconds he lay still, eyes closed, trying to sink back into sleep. Then guilt hit him hard. He had broken his routine again. Yesterday he had skipped every scheduled session—weights, sprints, core work. The thought sat in his stomach like a stone.
He forced his legs over the side of the bed and stood. His bare feet met the cold floor. "Move," he whispered, throat dry. "Just move."
The restlessness from yesterday still clung to him. His shoulders felt heavy. His mind kept drifting. Leo pulled on the same grey running shirt and shorts he always wore, tied his shoes with quick, angry knots, and walked out the front door. He wheeled his bike from the garage, swung a leg over, and pedaled down the quiet street toward the high-school track.
Inside the kitchen, Elena stood holding a cup of water, watching him leave through the window. A small smile appeared on her face. There was pride in her eyes as she saw him push himself out the door despite his reluctance.
She turned away and placed the glass down.
Leo reached the track within minutes. The air was cool, and the sky was just beginning to lighten. This was usually his favorite time of day.
He started running.
Within seconds, something felt wrong.
His steps were uneven. His breathing was off. The rhythm he had built over months of training was missing. Each stride felt forced. His lungs tightened earlier than usual. He increased his pace, trying to correct it.
It did not work.
By the time he reached the first sprint marker, his legs were already tired. He pushed himself harder, forcing speed, forcing control.
Halfway through the sprint, his body gave up. His knees weakened, and he stumbled forward, barely catching himself before falling. He stopped and bent over, hands on his thighs, trying to breathe.
His chest rose and fell rapidly. Then, for a brief moment, he smelled something. Burnt. Sharp. Unfamiliar, yet somehow known. It was gone as quickly as it came. Leo straightened up and shook his head.
"No," he muttered. "Not again."
He stayed there for a while before slowly jogging back. The run had not gone the way he expected. It felt like his body was not responding the way it should.
Leo parked the bicycle in the driveway, his muscles heavy and unresponsive. When he pushed through the front door, the sight in the living room made him pause.
The furniture had been shoved against the walls to clear the floor. Elena was in the center of the room, mid-workout. But it wasn't her usual calm, focused yoga routine. Her movements were sharp, precise, and almost aggressive. Her breathing was perfectly steady, her posture rigid, and a strange, intense energy radiated from her that made Leo uneasy.
She caught his reflection in the glass door and stopped, a bright, tight smile stretching across her face. She picked up a towel and dabbed the sweat from her neck.
"You look like you trained hard today, honey," Elena said, her tone unnervingly light.
Leo leaned against the doorframe, his chest still heaving. He wiped a hand across his pale face. "I couldn't run properly. Everything feels slow. Like my body isn't responding."
Elena stepped closer. There was an unnatural brightness in her eyes, a sharp contrast to his own exhaustion. "You need rest," she said smoothly. "Take a week off. Let your body recover. Give it time. Breakfast is in ten minutes."
He nodded slowly, but the knot of wrongness in his stomach only tightened.
The breakfast table looked perfect: eggs, toast, and fancy orange juice. Elena wore an elegant white cover-up.
"I spoke to Grandma last night," Elena said lightly. "Miranda is coming over this morning. She'll stay for a few days."
Leo looked up, surprised. "Miranda? Why? She usually hates coming here. She says the suburbs are boring."
"She misses us," Elena replied, keeping her smile fixed. "And with your father away and Chloe at her retreat, I thought we can enjoy some company."
"Right. The retreat," Leo said quietly. He looked at the empty chair where Chloe used to sit. "Does she even have phone service there? I tried to message her. It wouldn't even send."
"Digital detox, Leo," Elena said. "Just eat. You're overthinking things."
At exactly ten o'clock, a white SUV pulled into the driveway. Miranda stepped out.
At fifty-two, Miranda looked amazing, just like Elena, but sharper and tougher.
"Elena, darling!" Miranda called out. The two women hugged. They looked more like sisters than mother and daughter.
"Mom, you look incredible," Elena said.
"And you look... glowing, Elena. Truly," Miranda said. She turned to Leo. "And my little athlete. You look tired, Leo. Is training hard, or are you just sad?"
"A bit of both," Leo said.
She pulled him closer, cradling his face gently in her hands. Wrapping her arms around him, she pulled him nearer to her chest and whispered softly, "Oh, my dear… come here."
Leo felt the warmth instantly and felt some relief.
Miranda walked into the house. She stopped suddenly near the hallway leading to the bedrooms.
"What is that smell?" Miranda asked sharply. "Is that a new candle? It smells like... burnt sugar and electricity."
"New air purifier," she said smoothly. "Come, you should rest."
Miranda looked at her for a moment, then nodded.
The afternoon passed quietly.
They had lunch outside. The sunlight reflected off the glass table. Everything appeared normal.
"You've made this place look amazing, Elena," Miranda said, looking at the perfect lawn.
Elena laughed. "Thanks mom! Elias was the one who took such good care of the lawn."
Miranda looked at Leo. He was slumped over his food, looking sad. "And you, Leo. Usually, you are training hard. Why are you sitting here with two old women?"
"Just taking a rest," Leo mumbled. "My muscles feel tired."
Elena interrupted, her tone shifting the moment she spoke. "I did call Elara and asked her to come over," she said, "but she told me she's currently traveling across the country."
She paused briefly, then added with a faint sigh, "There was a lot of noise in the background too… sounded like she was gaming again."
A small, almost wistful smile crossed her face. "It would've been nice to have her here with us… all three of us together."
Miranda's mouth tightened,"Don't take her name, she is a hell of a daughter, She never followed your example, Could have been married years ago, maybe even had a child like Leo. Instead she bounces from one partner to the next. Fifteen? Seventeen? I stopped counting. Always a new face in her pictures."
"Mom, she's just living her own way," Elena said calmly. "I'm sure she's happy."
"I still can't believe you two are twins. You're nothing alike and I even haven't seen her in years."
Elena let out a dry, almost bitter remark, immediately wondering why the fuck she had even brought her up. Shaking it off, she looked at them and said, "Relax, you two. Anyone want burgers or wine? I'll be back in a second."
Later in the evening. Dinner was happy. Having Miranda there filled the silence. They laughed about stories of Chloe when she was little.
"I remember when Chloe was five," Miranda said. "She didn't want to be a princess; she wanted to build the castle. People always wanted to follow her."
Leo smiled for real this time. "She still has that power. Even if it's just on a screen."
As night fell, Elena felt safe. The empty feeling was gone because her mother was there.
"I'm glad you came, Mom," Elena said.
"I'll always come when the house feels empty," Miranda replied, looking at the dark trees outside. "Because silence is rarely just silence."
The house went to sleep. But hundreds of miles away, in a secret base, everything was awake.
A figure in military gear sat in front of a giant screen blinking red.
On the screen, Thermal imaging tracked movement inside thrones house. Brain activity patterns were being monitored in real time.
Status Report:
Memory Wipe Stability: 98.4%.
Subject Leo: He still has some trauma. The machine increased the signal to keep him calm.
"Everything is under control," the figure said.
"We need to keep an eye on her. Need to check she doesn't disturb the stability."
"Copy that," a voice replied.
The camera zoomed out. The screen was just one of many. There were thousands of screens showing thousands of different families—all sleeping, all being watched, and all completely unaware that they were part of a secret war.
A sound echoed saying "Proceeding to stop the next harvest. The monsters are hungry; we cannot let them take more humans."