Santiago didn't wait for Nikolai to vanish into the crowd. He stood up, his joints popping, and followed the man into the labyrinthine network of storage crates and rusted scrap metal that lined the north perimeter. The air here was heavy with the smell of engine grease and old, wet rot.Nikolai didn't look back until they were shielded from the sight of the work crew. He spun around, slamming a forearm against the metal siding behind Santiago’s head, pinning him with effortless precision."You're a reckless kid, you know that?" Nikolai said, his eyes scanning the perimeter. "Showing off like that in the open. You want the scouts to report back to Vane that their 'weakling' is actually a kinetic anomaly?"Santiago didn't flinch. He leaned back, his shoulders relaxed, though his muscles remained coiled, ready to surge with power if needed. "You were the one who made the scene, Nikolai. I was just resting.""Resting," Nikolai scoffed, his lips curling into a cynical grin. "You were vibr

The silence that followed the battle was heavier than the storm that had preceded it. Vane stood over the grotesque remains of the creature, his boots crunching on wet, pulverized chitin. He didn't look like a commander anymore; he looked like a predator who had just realized there was something in his cage that could tear him apart."Explain this," Vane said, his voice barely a rasp as he poked at the shredded meat with the toe of his boot. He didn't look at me. He was staring at the wall, at the deep, cavitation-pockmarked metal where the creature’s upper half had been vaporized.I leaned against the rusted corrugated siding, forcing my limbs to shake with an exaggerated, palsy-like tremor. My skin felt like it was screaming. Holding back the kinetic pressure after such a precise strike was like trying to swallow a live coal. "I... I told you, Commander. It just fell. I didn't see anything. I was just hiding, like you said."Vane slowly turned his head. His eyes were bloodshot, rimm

The dawn didn’t bring light to the settlement so much as it stripped away the mercy of darkness, revealing the grime on the walls and the hollowed-out eyes of the laborers. Santiago sat on the edge of his cot, the cold metal biting into his thighs. Across the aisle, Nikolai was already folding his threadbare blanket, his movements precise and devoid of wasted effort."The air is changing," Nikolai whispered, his voice barely audible over the collective groan of men waking up to another day of misery."I can feel it," Santiago replied, his focus centered on the hum of the facility’s ventilation. "He’s here already, isn't he?"Nikolai gave a short, sharp nod. "The Overseer. He landed an hour ago at the North Pad. Vane is currently undergoing the ritual of frantic boot-licking. He’s going to be looking for a way to prove his sector is productive. We’re on the menu."Santiago stood, testing his weight. He could feel the power coiled in his stomach, a dormant, volatile beast. "So, we just

The shadows of the fuel tanks provided a thin, oily veil of protection, but Santiago could feel the heat radiating off the metal. His chest felt tight, the kinetic energy inside him coiling like a serpent disturbed in its nest. He looked at Nikolai, who was currently busy dismantling the casing of a wall-mounted junction box with a set of makeshift tools."Did they see you leave the suite?" Nikolai asked, his eyes never straying from the delicate copper wires he was twisting together."No," Santiago replied, his voice barely a breath. "The Overseer went to the washroom. Vane had already left. I was invisible, just like you taught me."Nikolai looked up, his brow furrowed. "And you’re sure about the order? They didn't just mention a transfer?""I heard the Overseer say it," Santiago said, his knuckles white as he gripped his belt. "He called you a nuisance. He told Vane to make sure you didn't make it to the transport. He said the boy is the asset, and the handler is obsolete."Nikolai

The heavy vibration of the metal door finally stopped, leaving a ringing silence that felt louder than the crash itself. Santiago stood over the mangled heap of the guard he’d just thrown, his chest rising and falling in sharp, jagged hitches. The internal pressure was still humming, a low-frequency buzz that made the very air in the barracks feel thick and humid."Hey," Nikolai’s voice cut through the haze, low and urgent. "Kid. Look at me. Snap out of it."Santiago turned his head slowly. "I didn't mean to hit him that hard. I just... I flicked him.""Yeah, well, your 'flick' just turned a reinforced security door into a piece of abstract art," Nikolai said, gesturing to the deep, body-shaped indentation in the steel. "We don't have time for a crisis of conscience. We’ve got three bodies and about four minutes before the next patrol cycles through this corridor. Help me get this one up.""Where are we putting them?" Santiago asked, his voice shaking as the adrenaline began to sour i