opened my eyes.
The ceiling above me was low and metal, vibrating softly. Yellow light flickered overhead, swaying with each turn of the road. For a disoriented second, I thought I'd been buried alive.
Then the smell hit me.
Oil. Dust. Smoke—old smoke.
A van.
My head rested against the thin padding of a side bench. The floor beneath my boots rattled faintly, every bump echoing through my bones. I tried to move—and failed.
Panic stirred.
Don't… don't panic.
Someone was sitting beside me. Emmeline.
Her jaw was tight, lips pressed into a thin line, hands clenched like she was holding herself back from doing something reckless. A faint sheen of sweat clung to her temple; her breathing was shallow but controlled.
"She shouldn't be restrained like this," Emmeline snapped.
Dreck glanced in the mirror, meeting her gaze through the reflection.
"She can't control it yet," he said. "We cannot afford another lash out in the middle of school grounds."
"And if she does?" Taylor said coolly. "There will be consequences."
"She will understand," Dreck shot back.
"Then talk to her—give her the choice!" Emmeline snapped.
"Cadet Veranwa! I will not accept you questioning me. She is… my friend too, but she could've exploded back there. Students were around. Civilians. And our concealment!" Taylor snapped back, breaking eye contact with me.
In that moment, the weight pressing down on me disappeared. I tried to curl my fingers. I could move.
"What—" I whispered.
"Stop," Emmeline said sharply. "She's awake."
Taylor murmured something under his breath. The language wasn't one I knew. Rough, ancient—like stones grinding together. Every syllable wrapped tighter around me, locking me in place.
"Stop! She's panicking!" Emmeline yelled at him.
"That is exactly why she needs to go back to sleep," Taylor replied calmly.
"I'm sorry, Taty. This is for the greater good. I know you'd understand," he added.
Taylor's focus sharpened, his eyes locking on mine again. His mouth formed the start of another word—then nothing happened.
His brow furrowed.
"No," he murmured.
Emmeline staggered back a step, her face draining of color.
"I—I can't feel the bind," she whispered.
"What is going on back there?!" Dreck asked, annoyed.
"She's… an Unbound," Emmeline said, shock evident in her voice.
The word meant nothing to me—but the way Taylor stiffened told me it should.
"That's impossible," he snapped.
Dreck cursed under his breath.
"Alice!" he called after Emmeline, as if it were a code between them.
Emmeline swayed where she stood, one hand braced against the van's wall, as if the ground had shifted beneath her. Her eyes were wide, unfocused.
"I can't bind her. I—I can't anchor anything."
Dreck stiffened. "Tay—"
Before anyone could move, heat flared against my skin. I gasped.
Light bled through my jacket—thin lines at first, then brighter, sharper. Symbols. Not drawn, not summoned—emerging. They shone through the fabric like molten veins, pulsing with my heartbeat.
The smell of burning cloth filled the van.
"No," Emmeline breathed. "Taty, it's okay. Look at me. I'm right here." She stepped toward me.
Instinct screamed.
"Don't!" I backed away, my shoulder hitting the rear doors. The symbols flared brighter; the jacket hissed as the fabric blackened and curled inward.
"I do not know what is happening, but stay away from me, all of you!" I yelled, eyes locking on each of them.
Emmeline froze mid-step. "Tafukt, you don't understand."
"What is happening to me? What did you do to me? " My vision blurred with tears of disappointment.
Taylor reached out slowly. "Tat, listen to me—"
The symbols reacted instantly. The jacket ignited along one seam. I yanked it off with a cry and threw it to the floor. The glowing markings lingered for a heartbeat longer—burned into my skin—before dimming enough for me to breathe.
Taylor took a step forward. "You need to stay calm."
"I am calm," I lied, my voice shaking. "You're the problem."
The van slowed—not much, but enough. The road shifted under my boots, the engine changing pitch.
"Who are you exactly, and what am I?" I asked calmly.
"Let's talk when we are somewhere safe. I will tell you everything," Alice assured.
Taylor exhaled, slow and even.
"I am sorry. You have such power that we cannot miss. Once we are in the academy, you will understand."
"Academy?"
No. Run.
The voice whispered again.
Cool. Now I had to choose—trust my old friends, or the voice in my head.
I made my choice.
"Taty?" Alice tried to reach me.
I placed my palm against the door—as if my power guided my hand. The surge came instantly. The door exploded outward, metal ripping free with a deafening crack. Cold air slammed into me, shocking and sharp, like the night itself was trying to smother the fire inside me. Darkness stretched beyond the wrecked van, broken only by the road lights fading behind us.
How long have I been out?
I jumped. The moving ground hit me hard. My knees slammed into dirt and gravel, pain flaring white-hot—but there was no time to feel it.
I had to move.
I plunged into the forest, weaving between trunks, ducking under branches the way my father had taught me.
Always use the nature around you to your advantage.
My lungs burned as I ran.
I had to get home. Call the police. But… tell them what? That I had powers? That a firestorm had erupted from my heart? That my own friends had kidnapped me? Even my parents wouldn't believe it.
I slowed, stopping mid-forest, chest heaving. Dreck and Emm—Alice—knew where I lived. What if they went to my parents? What if they used them to force me back? My blood ran cold.
Hide
The voice whispered again.
"Taty!" Alice called from behind. Too close.
I bolted again, angling away from the path, choosing the rougher route—thorns tearing my skin, roots grabbing my boots, branches snapping loudly.
Pain didn't matter. Only distance.
The forest thickened. The ground sloped downward into shadow. Pine needles muffled my footsteps, but every snapped branch felt loud enough to give me away.
Hide
The voice whispered again—firmer now.
I slowed, forcing my breathing to calm. Don't run blind. Think.
Behind me, a shape flickered through the trees. Then another. They were spreading out.
"Taty!" Alice's voice cut through the night.
My foot slipped on loose soil, and I barely caught myself before sliding into a shallow ravine. Water trickled faintly below, steady and constant.
An idea sparked. Use nature.
I slid the rest of the way down, landing painfully but quietly in the narrow stream bed. The cold bit my skin, stealing the lingering heat from my body. Fire dimmed. Good.
I crouched, wading upstream, letting the water erase my trail. Overhead, twisted roots formed a weak tunnel of shadow.
Hide
Shouts broke out above.
"She went this way—"
"No, her trail vanishes—"
A surge of light flashed between the trees. Someone was using power.
Fear tightened my chest. The symbols pulsed in response. I pressed my arms tight to my body, willing them quiet.
I reached a fallen tree half-submerged in the stream and slipped beneath it, pressing my back to the cold earth. Knees tucked close, mud soaking through my clothes, icy and grounding.
Footsteps crunched nearby. A silhouette stopped on the bank above me. My heart hammered.
"Taty," Dreck called softer. "You're hurt. You won't last out here—this forest is dangerous at night."
For a horrifying second, I almost answered. Then the voice inside me hissed, sharp and urgent: Stay.
The figure moved on.
Minutes passed. The forest grew quiet—too quiet. I stayed hidden long after the danger faded, shaking, cold, and very much awake.
When I finally crawled out, hands numb, clothes soaked, the symbols were still—dormant, like embers buried deep beneath ash.
I stared toward the faint glow of distant town lights. Home wasn't safe. Police wouldn't help. And even my phone was missing. I stayed hidden long after the forest went quiet.
Curled beneath the roots of a fallen tree, I barely breathed, counting heartbeats, listening for footsteps that never came.
Eventually, another sound pushed through the silence. Strong. Constant. Waves?
I waited. Then waited longer. Nothing followed and then slowly, carefully, I crawled out and crept toward the sound. The trees thinned. Roots gave way to smooth stones slick with moisture.
A river.
Moonlight caught its surface, fractured and trembling. I knelt to rinse the dirt from my hands. The cold bit sharply, and I welcomed it. Fire retreated and My thoughts cleared—just enough.
Follow it, I decided. Water always leads somewhere.
I walked along the bank, keeping to the shadows, letting the river guide me along with the waves sound. My boots sank into mud, then sandier ground. The air changed—cooler, heavier, faintly tasting of salt.
That's when I felt it. Not a sound. A presence. The hair on my arms lifted. My steps slowed, then stopped.
Someone stood across the river, half-hidden by trees. Watching.
My breath caught. Moonlight brushed their outline—broad shoulders, stillness deliberate.
Taylor? Or Dreck? I couldn't tell—and that terrified me more than knowing.
The figure shifted. That was enough.
I bolted. Feet tore through the underbrush, no longer caring about noise or direction. Branches whipped my arms, but I didn't slow.
The river widened. The sound grew deeper, vast. Waves.
Trees broke apart, spilling me forward onto open ground. Sand gave way beneath my boots. Forest replaced by open sky and endless black water.
I skidded to a stop at the edge of the beach, chest heaving. The ocean roared before me.
Behind me, the forest loomed—dark, watching, full of secrets.
I spun around. No one stood there. Only trees.