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1083 Words
Kaitlyn
We don’t sleep.
There’s no room for it. Not with everything pressing in from all sides. Renna’s warning, the scent trail, the attack on Yuna’s pack. Jax and I just sit side by side, shoulders brushing, breaths matching in quiet rhythm. A fragile moment before the world splits open again.
By morning, Renna has a team assembled.
Five scouts. Two trackers. One witch specialized in anti-binding spells. And us. All familiar faces. I’ve never felt more exposed in my life. there's nothing to hide behind anymore. No disguise. No lies.
I wear my real face now, Kaitlyn’s face, even if it doesn’t quite feel like mine yet. Even if everyone on this team looks at me like I’m the ticking bomb at the center of their mission.
Renna’s voice is clipped as she debriefs us at the edge of the transport field.
“Our priority is recovery and reconnaissance. We don’t know who or what we’re walking into. Assume the worst. Move as one.”
Everyone nods.
Jax squeezes my hand once, quick and silent. I squeeze back.
And then we’re moving.
~~~~
We reach the outer edge of Yuna’s pack territory just after noon.
The trees are too quiet.
I feel the silence under my skin like a chill that won’t go away.
“Stay close,” Jax murmurs, his hand brushing mine.
Renna holds up a fist, signaling us to stop.
The forest opens into the first section of the camp.
Or what used to be one.
The cabins are blackened ruins. Cracked stone. Shattered glass. But it’s not just destruction—it’s intentional. Precise. No blood. No bodies.
A clean sweep.
“They erased them,” I whisper. “Like they were never here.”
The witch beside us hums low, fingers brushing the edges of the dirt. “There’s blood magic still here. its faint and tainted with something old.”
My pulse spikes. “Like a summon?”
“Worse,” she murmurs. “Like a tether.”
My stomach drops.
“They’re still here,” I say.
Everyone freezes.
“What do you mean?” Renna asks.
I point to the ground where shallow divots are barely visible in the dirt. “That’s not just collapse,it’s claw marks. Drag trails. They took them alive.”
“How can you be sure?” one of the scouts asks.
“Because it’s how they operate. Capture. Convert. Break.”
Everyone stares at me.
And I realize I’m not just the girl they’re protecting anymore,I’m the one leading them into this mess.
But I have no other choice
~~~~
We move deeper into the forest, tracing magic the witch can barely sense. Everything is Faint threads. Too clean.
They’re masking their presence on purpose.
but why?
They're no fool to expect me to come alone.
why would they go through the stress to hide?
Every now and then, I catch a flicker of memory. A flash of a hallway. A scream. Chains rattling. Things I wasn’t supposed to remember.
Until now.
“What are they doing with the people they take?” Jax asks, voice low.
I look straight ahead. “Turning them into weapons. Just like they tried with me.”
His hand brushes mine again, but this time it’s a tether. Something grounding.
We make camp that night just beyond the dead zone.
The witch sets up wards around us. A sheet of thick, layered runes glowing faintly in the dirt.
But still, I can’t sleep.
Because something is pulling.
Hard.
Toward the east.
Toward something familiar.
Yuna.
---
Around midnight, I sit up.
I don’t even realize I’ve moved until Jax’s hand catches my wrist. "are you okay?"
I nod. “It’s her.”
“Yuna?”
“Yes. Or... what’s left of her.”
We wake Renna.
She doesn’t argue.
The whole group moves again.
Twenty minutes later, we find the cave.
Low. Hidden. Ward-covered.
But I see through the spell like it’s smoke.
“They’re down there.”
Renna gives a nod. “We breach on your signal.”
I take a breath.
But before I can move—
A sound.
Sharp. Guttural.
A scream.
on instinct I bolt.
They try to hold me back, but it’s too late.
I’m already inside the cave.
The air is thick with rot and magic and something worse
A figure steps into the light ahead.
Not Yuna.
But familiar.
Too familiar.
My feet stop cold.
“…Father?”
He smiles.
But it’s not my father anymore.
His skin is too pale, eyes too sharp, movements too fluid. The thing wearing his face is wrong. Too perfect.
He steps forward. “We’ve been waiting for you, Kaitlyn.”
Behind him, I see her.
Yuna.
She’s bound to a stone altar, magic pulsing around her like chains.
Still breathing.
Barely.
And then the shadows move.
More figures step forward, all mangled, twisted forms of creatures, it's hard to identify their original form. inhuman.
There are dozens of them. I shudder to think how many before them has faced this kind of treatment. how many generations has this happened for.
They stand.
Waiting.
Watching.
My blood runs cold at the sounds pouring from their throats.
They're crying for help.
This isn’t a rescue.
This was always the endgame.
They wanted me to come.
And I walked right in. just like always.
My mind flashes.
This isn't the first time this is happening.
what's happening.
the faces of everyone one around me changes, all twisting into unimaginable shapes, like melted mold.
they're all laughing at me.
even Yuna.
her emancipated form shudders continuously from laughter. Her eyes are crinkled, pupils sparkling with mirth.
"You can't save us. Kaitlyn. it's always the same. we call, you run. we perish. rinse and repeat. how long do you think this cycle has to occur for you to realize... Our live don't matter to you.. How much important do you want to feel just because they chose to keep you and not butcher you like the rest of us... Kaitlyn give up the games, you and I both know you'll end like us.
you're just a little special so wake up."
"Kaitlyn. wake up!"
My eyes split open and I realize I can't breathe. Yuna screams in my face tears in her eyes.
" please Kaitlyn breathe, you're scaring me!"
I will my heart to slow down.
when I finally get enough air and strength I get up.
" Yuna we need to leave. quickly."
- Writer
