The silence in his destroyed apartment was broken by the muffled sound of his phone ringing. The ringtone was distant, coming from somewhere beneath the chaos.
Kínitos set down his empty cereal bowl on the armrest of his slashed couch and looked around. Where the hell was his phone?
The ringing continued, echoing strangely in the wreckage. He got up and started moving debris around, following the sound. It seemed to be coming from near the couch.
As he knelt down and looked underneath, the memory hit him like a punch to the gut.
Suris. On top of him right here in this room. The weight of the killer pressing down on him, that surgical scalpel inches from his throat. The struggle. His phone flying out of his hand as he fought for his life, skittering across the floor and disappearing under the couch.
His hand found the phone just as the memory made his skin crawl. He pulled it out, the screen cracked but still working.
The caller ID made his heart skip: Sara.
He stared at her name flashing on the broken screen. After everything that had happened—the hospital, the powers, Para D, his apartment being destroyed, losing his job—Sara was calling him.
His finger hovered over the answer button, then pressed decline.
He couldn't deal with this right now. He couldn't deal with anything right now.
Kínitos walked to his kitchen, stepping over broken glass, and grabbed what was left of his stash from behind the microwave. The joint felt familiar between his fingers—something normal in a world gone insane.
He lit it and took a long drag, letting the smoke fill his lungs. The purple energy smoke mixed with the weed smoke, creating strange swirls in the air. He didn't care anymore.
Collapsing onto his destroyed couch, he smoked until his eyelids felt heavy. The chaos around him faded as exhaustion finally took over.
Hours later, his phone's shrill ringtone jolted him awake.
Kínitos groaned, his neck stiff from sleeping on the broken couch. The apartment was dark now, streetlights casting eerie shadows through his damaged blinds.
Sara flashed on the screen again.
This time he noticed the notification numbers. Seven missed calls. Twelve text messages.
His stomach dropped as he opened the messages:
"Kín, please call me back"
"Something's wrong"
"I don't feel safe"
"There's someone watching my house"
"Please, I need help"
"Where are you??"
"I'm scared"
[Scene Switch]
Jade sat behind his desk, fingers steepled as he studied the reports spread before him. The soft hum of the facility's ventilation system was the only sound until Jes burst through the door.
"Any word from him?" she asked, not bothering with pleasantries.
"Nothing," Jade replied without looking up. "It's been six hours since he left."
Vex leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "He's probably sitting in his apartment trying to pretend none of this happened."
"Can you blame him?" Jes dropped into the chair across from Jade's desk. "His whole world just got turned upside down."
"Everyone's world gets turned upside down when they manifest," Vex said. "Question is whether they adapt or break."
Jade finally looked up from his papers. "What's your assessment?"
"Of Kínitos?" Vex tilted her head, considering. "He's stronger than he thinks. But he's also more scared than he wants to admit."
"And Monti?"
"Worried sick," Jes answered immediately. "He keeps asking when we're going to check on him. I think he feels guilty for staying when his friend left."
Jade nodded slowly. "Axe thinks Kínitos will be back."
"Axe thinks everyone's one of his kids," Vex smirked. "But in this case, he might be right. He doesn't really have anywhere else to go."
"You know he's older than you, right?" Jes said suddenly, looking at Vex. "Like a whole decade."
Vex paused, then shrugged. "Age doesn't mean anything when you're dealing with powers for the first time. I've seen forty-year-olds cry like babies when they manifest."
Jade leaned back in his chair, his expression turning serious. "Now let's stop the chatting. We're here to talk about the train yard killing. And how there's more than just Suris. We don't think it's him."