The quiet hum of the glowstones outside provided a soft backdrop as Kaidan sat cross-legged on the floor, the map spread carefully before him. His violet eyes scanned its surface, his mind already assembling the puzzle pieces. The tunnels and markings sparked possibilities—potential routes, weak points in security, and perhaps even unknown areas that could be exploited.
If everything aligns—timing, preparation, the right distractions—we could be out within the month, he thought, his fingers tracing one of the marked pathways. But it has to be perfect. No room for error.
A soft shuffling behind him broke his concentration. Seraphina had propped her chin on her palm, watching him curiously.
“What are you thinking, Kai-Kai?” she asked her voice light but tinged with curiosity.
Kaidan glanced at her but didn’t respond immediately. Instead, his attention was drawn to faint movements outside the hut. Shadows danced across the dim light filtering through the cracks in the walls. His posture stiffened as his sharp eyes picked out the unmistakable silhouettes of the overseer guards.
“Later,” he murmured to Seraphina, his tone firm but quiet. He rolled up the map and tucked it back into its box, placing it out of sight. “We should get to bed. Now.”
Seraphina’s expression shifted as she followed his gaze to the shadows outside. Her playful demeanor disappeared in an instant, replaced by an understanding nod. “Yeah. Good idea,” she said softly.
The two of them settled onto the worn rug, lying down with their backs to each other. The hut was small enough that the guards outside could likely hear any loud movement, so neither of them spoke as they lay in the darkened space.
Kaidan’s eyes remained open, fixed on the faint glow of the gemstones peeking through the gaps in the wooden walls. The muffled footsteps of the guards grew louder, then softer again as they passed by. His breathing was steady, but his mind was restless. He replayed the details of the map in his mind, committing every pathway and marking to memory.
After several minutes, he whispered, “Sera?”
No response came.
Kaidan turned his head slightly, glancing over his shoulder. Seraphina’s steady breathing and relaxed posture told him she had already fallen asleep. She’s probably exhausted from everything going on with her sisters, he thought, a pang of sympathy flickering in his chest. Can’t blame her.
Rolling onto his back, he retrieved the map once more. His movements were careful to avoid disturbing her as he unfolded it under the faint light. His fingers hovered over a specific segment, his thoughts running wild with plans and contingencies.
This is it, he thought, his anticipation building. If we play this right, this could be the beginning of the end of this place.
The quiet weight of the hut pressed down on him, the contrast between his racing mind and the stillness of the world around him sharpening his focus. As he stared at the map, Kaidan’s resolve solidified.
The faint hum of Seraphina’s soft breathing was a comfort to Kaidan as he lay on his back, staring at the dim glow of the gemstones through the hut’s gaps. His fingers absently traced the edges of the map still clutched in his hands. Thanks, Sera, he thought. You’ve done more for me than I could ask for.
Memories of their time together drifted into his mind unbidden. He could still recall the day they met—he was two, just another child in this artificial nightmare, with no parents and no past to remember. The villagers had told him he had been brought to the village by an overseer, already branded with his mark. He didn’t even know his birthday until an overseer told him as if it were some grim joke to anchor him to an illusion of normalcy.
Then there was Seraphina. She wasn’t like the other children. Her body glitched unpredictably—not wildly or chaotically, but enough to unsettle those around her. Her movements would stutter, her image flickering ever so slightly, as though reality itself struggled to hold her in place. Most of the children avoided her, whispering about how strange and unstable she was. When she occasionally talked aloud to no one, they whispered even more, calling her crazy.
But Kaidan hadn’t been afraid. If anything, her oddities intrigued him.
Her circumstances had been better than his back then—her meals were larger, her sleeping arrangements far warmer. Yet, for some reason, she chose to stick by him. He remembered her words as if they had been spoken yesterday: “You’re the only one who doesn’t look at me like I’m broken.”
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That trust had led her to reveal her greatest secret: she wasn’t just glitching randomly. She could fully change, shifting into someone entirely new. The first time she’d shown him, though accidental Kaidan had been speechless.
Kaidan had gawked, then let out a smug laugh as he teased, “What, you think you're scaring me away that easily?”
From then on, Seraphina had stuck with him. She left her better accommodations behind, sharing his harsh conditions. Kaidan suspected she did it not just because he didn’t fear her, but because he accepted her for who she was. And in return, she gave him the family he never thought he’d have.
He hadn’t known then that she wasn’t alone. The first time he met one of her sisters, had been by accident. He had been talking to Seraphina when, suddenly, her voice shifted, her mannerisms changed, and her presence felt different. The girl in front of him wasn’t Seraphina anymore—she was someone else.
That was how he met Lianne, or Lia, as Seraphina called her. She had been startled to find herself in the village, speaking to someone who wasn’t one of her sisters. But it was that chance encounter that had led Kaidan into their circle.
It wasn’t long before he learned the truth: Seraphina and her sisters shared a natural, unexplainable connection. They could speak to each other across distances, almost as if they were linked by a private network no one else could access. Sometimes, Seraphina would speak aloud to them, prompting the villagers to think she was talking to herself and adding to her eerie reputation. And though their ability to switch forms was voluntary, they rarely showed it to anyone outside their bond. Kaidan was the first—and, as far as he knew, the only—person they had trusted enough to share it with.
He thought of Lianne now, somewhere far from the village. She had told him, through Seraphina, that her testing environment was depressing and isolating. Unlike Seraphina, who had stayed in the village by choice, the others were scattered in different controlled spaces, subjected to experiments and conditions tailored to their unique traits.
Isis—or Queen, as he teasingly called her—was treated like royalty in a desert testing site, though her supposed luxury came with its own horrors. The others endured similar treatment, isolated but connected through their shared link.
Kaidan glanced at Seraphina’s sleeping form, her face peaceful despite everything she endured. You deserve better, Sera. We all do, he thought.
The map in his hands felt heavier as he thought about what it represented. Maybe I can get us out of here, he thought. All of us.
The glowstones outside dimmed even further, signaling the deepest part of the night. Kaidan turned back to the map, his resolve hardening. Soon, he thought, his eyes burning with determination. Soon, we’ll be free.
The muffled voices of the overseer guards seeped through the thin walls of the hut, dragging Kaidan from his thoughts. He froze, instincts kicking in as he carefully closed his eyes and shifted slightly, ensuring his body looked relaxed and convincingly asleep. His heart pounded as he focused on their conversation.
“...Can’t believe I have to patrol this dump,” one guard grumbled. “What’s the point of keeping these failures alive? Useless hybrids. They can’t even fulfill their purpose in life.”
Kaidan’s jaw clenched at the insult, anger simmering beneath his otherwise composed exterior.
“Still better than dealing with the labs,” another guard replied, his tone equally dismissive. “At least down here, we don’t have to clean up after their messes.”
"Yeah, I still remember that wretch that shat herself. Disgusting." the guard scowled.
There was a brief shuffle of movement before one of the voices grew louder, closer.
“Hey, look at this,” the first guard said, peering into the hut through a gap in the wood. Kaidan fought to keep his breathing even.
“What?”
“The Special Subject—why do they let her be here? Shouldn’t she be in one of those fancy containment rooms instead of... this?”
Kaidan felt his chest tighten. They were talking about Seraphina.
“Head overseers’ orders,” the second guard answered with a dismissive grunt. “Some kind of experiment with environment dynamics. Not our problem.”
“Still, look at her. She’s pretty. You don’t see that often with the—”
“Shut it, you idiot,” the second guard snapped, cutting him off. “She’s nine. Are you telling me you're interested in little girls now?”
The first guard stammered, clearly flustered. “I didn’t mean it like that! I just—ugh, whatever. It’s not like it matters anyway. None of them will be around for long.”
Kaidan’s blood ran cold.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” the second guard asked, his voice suddenly cautious.
There was a pause before the first guard answered, his tone lower now, almost conspiratorial. “The higher-ups are done with this place. Heard they’re planning to erase the whole site and start fresh somewhere else.”
Kaidan’s heart skipped a beat. Erase the whole site?
“You serious?” the second guard asked, his voice tinged with disbelief.
“Dead serious. Word is, that the failures are costing more to maintain than they’re worth. They’ll clean it all out—test subjects, infrastructure, everything. Only the Special Subject will be spared.”
The second guard let out a low whistle. “Figures. She’s valuable. When’s it supposed to happen?”
“Tomorrow, maybe the day after. They’ll probably take the girl the same day.”
Kaidan’s blood chilled as he gripped the map tightly in his hand. Tomorrow... or the day after?
“Well,” the second guard said, his tone casual. “Better them than us.”
Their voices began to fade as they walked away, leaving the air thick with tension.
Kaidan lay motionless, his mind racing. If they’re telling the truth, we don’t have any time left. Everyone here—Seraphina, the other children, me—are just waiting to die.
He glanced at Seraphina, her sleeping face peaceful and unaware. And they’ll take her. They’ll take her before they kill the rest of us.
Resolve hardened in his chest, anger and determination blazing in equal measure. I won’t let this happen. If we’re going to escape, it has to be now.