It's been a week. Kai's absence worried her parents. On the day of reporting Kai was missing, her father, James, intervened in the investigation and conducted his own search. He felt in his gut that the police wouldn't take the matter as seriously as he and his wife would. He had called Deshawn to come as quickly as possible, but the farthest he got was voicemail.
It took Deshawn about a week and a half to arrive after hearing the voicemail, but he was almost unrecognizable when he did. He had just finished an undercover mission, his cover still intact, and his appearance was carefully crafted to reflect his new identity. Gone was his weathered face, ashy skin, and untamed hair—Deshawn now stood clean-shaven, dressed in crisp business attire that screamed "corporate." His bald head gleamed under the sun. Deshawn always took precautions to change his appearance when visiting James. The only one who didn't know was Kai, who thought he was homeless. Deshawn still worked in the Marines; for him, it wasn't just a job but a way of life. He knew that a visit from someone with his background could bring trouble, and he didn't want that for Kai.
On the other hand, James had long since retired from the Marines, trading in his tactical gear for the stability of civilian life. He had a wife now and a young daughter, Kai, who meant the world to him. So, they made up the story that Deshawn was homeless and retired for Kai's safety. But that life, which James had hoped would bring peace, had been shattered when his daughter went missing.
Since he found out Kai was missing, James has pulled out every stop he can, but his extensive network has become limited without keeping in touch.
As soon as Deshawn entered the front door, his eyes locked with James', who was pacing near the window, waiting for the man he trusted more than anyone else. James had only one thing on his mind: getting his daughter back.
"Deshawn," James said quietly, stepping forward to shake his hand, his voice trembling with gratitude and urgency. "Kai… she's gone."
Deshawn nodded. He didn't need any more words—he could see the pain in his best friend's eyes. Without hesitation, Deshawn slapped James back with a heavy hand, comforting his friend with a smile and saying, "Let's get you out of retirement."
James immediately began moving everything, clearing the space with an urgency that Deshawn recognized all too well. It was as if James had never left the service; his training kicked in automatically. He moved swiftly and efficiently, like a seasoned operative, his mind already racing through the possible scenarios, calculating his next moves, akin to his daughter.
Deshawn began bringing equipment from his truck and setting it in the living room. A chaos of paperwork, family photos, and maps was spread out in a haphazard attempt to organize the search. The space that was once a place of comfort now felt like a command center under siege.
With that, Deshawn opened the first suitcase. Inside were gadgets and technology that James had never seen before, the cutting-edge tools of modern warfare and high-tech operations. Deshawn didn't just have the skills; he had the resources to back them up. There were drones, communication systems, encrypted devices, and more—all designed to track and locate a person in any situation, no matter how remote or dangerous.
James raised an eyebrow as Deshawn pulled out a sleek drone. Its compact size betrayed the effective sensors and cameras embedded within it.
"This is what I've been working on. Cutting-edge stuff," Deshawn explained, setting the drone on the coffee table. "We'll get eyes in the sky. No place is too hidden with thermal cameras, and the range of this baby is far, I mean, the next city far. I've also got a team—people loyal only to me. I won't bring them in person, but they'll be watching. They'll know what's going on before anyone else does."
James was silent for a moment, absorbing the information. It was like slipping back into a life he had left behind, but this was different. The stakes were personal now.
Deshawn's eyes hardened as he continued, "You're not alone in this, James. We're going to use everything we've got."
Deshawn and James worked seamlessly together as the hours passed, their old military partnership instantly reigniting. Deshawn briefed James on the tech he'd brought—a suite of advanced tools and resources to help locate Kai. A satellite feed was established and linked to Deshawn's team in real-time. Every detail of the investigation, from social media posts to police reports, was reviewed under the scrutiny of Deshawn's digital forensics team.
A drone specialist, part of Deshawn's trusted crew, was already tracking patterns in the area surrounding the last known location of Kai's abduction. Deshawn had eyes everywhere—he'd learned to work in the shadows, gathering intel and moving undetected, and now that expertise was being used for a single, personal mission. Every moment counted. James didn't waste time questioning the methods. He knew that his friend was one of the best at finding people.
Hours had blurred into a day, then another. Kai had been missing for nearly a month. No matter how hard they worked, James felt like they were randomly mapping out the area. He grew tired and impatient. His will was too much to hold in and was on the edge of shattering.
"Deshawn…" James's voice cracked as he stared out the window, eyes fixed on the darkening sky. "Everyone thinks our family's perfect, but the truth is, things were falling apart right before she disappeared." His fists clenched at his sides. "She found out she was adopted," He said, turning to look Deshawn in the eye before dropping his head. "Some idiot I invited to my home told her and put it in her head that we're trying for a baby to replace her."
He started pacing, becoming increasingly frustrated as the words in his head struggled to find their way out of his mouth. "I...I never even talked to her about it. We just... let it go and acted like it would fix itself. What was I supposed to say? Of course, we're not trying to replace her! And the truth about her adoption? The whole thing sounds insane, and I was there."
He kicked a nearby chair, sending it crashing against the wall. Immediately, Sarah ran to the living room to see what was happening. "Over the years, weird things kept happening with her; all we did was cover it up," James said, looking at Sarah. "Fix it before she or anyone else notices. Her hair, dyed to make it look normal. Her height, her strength... hell, when she was ten, she kept up with me on training runs, and I gave it all I got. I had to stop her early just to protect her from herself. 'Don't hurt yourself,' I'd say. But she'd always insist she could keep going."
He shook his head, hands trembling. "I stopped training with her after she hit a hundred and fifty push-ups at eleven, Deshawn. Sweet, innocent little girl, she didn't even question it. She just accepted it. I thought, maybe if I left her be, she'd be more fragile like a... normal girl. She started sticking close to her mother, acting normal. But even if she doesn't recognize it, I know she's strong. Stronger than most. And that scares the hell out of me."
James's breathing hitched. "What if she finds out she's even more different than she already knows? Finding out you're adopted is a huge emotional and psychological blow, even leading to self-harm for some. Then you find out what? You're a...a freak?!
"James!" Sarah yelled.
"I don't know any other way to say it!" His voice broke completely. "I just know she's my baby, and I can't lose her, Deshawn. Sixteen years. She's never been out of our sight. This house feels wrong without her. Everything's wrong without her."
Deshawn's expression softened momentarily, a rare break from his otherwise stoic demeanor. "Come here, buddy," he said, embracing James. "You too, Sarah. God, if this is what a girl's dad looks like, you can keep it," he laughed. You say she is strong. I see why you passed your balls down when you had her." Deshawn squeezed them tight and slapped them on the back with his heavy hands. "You won't lose her, James. We'll get her back. Then we'll show the one responsible how to really make someone disappear."
Little did the Sheriff realize that the Marine duo was now searching, but that his miraculous healer was now confined to sickness. Kai, the girl who had never known a day of illness, found herself succumbing to an unseen malady, her fevered condition shrouded in uncertainty. Her once-vibrant face now bore the weariness of the mental battle fought within. The spark in her eyes had dulled, now weighed by the heavy purple bags beneath them. Her dry, cracked lips whispered silent pleas for relief. Each shallow breath seemed like trouble, evident in the rise and fall of her chest, and a feverish heat radiated from her entire body.
"Father, she will die if we don't get help. At least do something. This can put an end to our income. There is no telling what those men have done to her or given her. We need a way to monitor what's happening in that room. I have told you that before," Taylor said."
"Experiment, Monster, Angel, or whatever she is, can heal people, but can't heal herself. Ha, the irony is just pure unfortunate for her. If we take her to a hospital, that will be the end of our income. If it's that bad, get her some medicine on your way back from school tomorrow. Maybe something for the fever, and I told you before. Keep her room clean! It's a bad look when people come in."
His careless attitude was quite the gamble at the time. The Sheriff misjudged just how sick she was. He didn't keep a log of what people had or what they needed to be cured. As long as the price was right, he would let anyone come in and out. Only stopping them if one refused to remove their hood or mask, then he may give them a hard time.
Kai grew hotter and hotter that night. The sheets clung to her sweat-soaked skin as she tossed and turned, her pulse pounding in her ears. The room spun, twisting until she couldn't tell if her eyes were open or closed. Her mouth moved independently, mumbling incoherent words as if trying to speak through a fever dream. And then she saw her for the second time. The lady in black, sitting in the darkest corner of the room, her presence cold. Kai's breath hitched, her mind struggling to separate nightmare from reality. "Who's there… get away from me…" she mumbled, her voice trembling and weak.
The Lady in Black respected Kai's wish even if she didn't know what she said. But before fading away, she spoke her peace: "I thought your freedom meant something, but you continue to make me doubt my own thoughts and actions. You're bound by duty like the rest of us, aren't you? And if I may say, yours seems the worst."
The following day, before heading to school, Taylor stopped by Kai's room to change the cold towel on her head. He planned to be in and out so he wouldn't be late, but a horrific smell hit his nose before his eyes caught sight of the room. His face twisted with disgust as he fully opened the door, only to see a flow of droplets falling before him. Confused, Taylor's gaze lifted to the ceiling, which was moist and dripping water as if there had been a leak. Though he knew it wasn't. The ceiling was just fine last night; it hadn't rained in weeks, and hadn't anyone else come in this morning.
Turning to leave and fetch some towels, Kai's low moan stopped him in his tracks. His eyes snapped to her, only to catch sight of her hand, free and resting on her stomach. The ropes still hung from the bed rails, tied perfectly, and bruises were absent around her wrist as if she'd never been restrained at all. His mind raced, trying to make sense of what he was seeing.
Then he noticed the sheets, stained with black residue and other filth that hadn't been there before, the leading source of the smell. Kai's hair… it wasn't just black anymore. It was mixed with unnatural colors like someone had forced a wig over her head or washed the dye cleanout. His breath hitched, confusion morphing into panic as the pieces refused to fit together.
"Did one of the men do this? What the hell are these stains?" he thought. Taylor was done warning his father about how they should have something in the room to monitor.
In a swift response to the unsettling turn of events, Taylor sprang into action. The first thing was her restraints, next the sheets were changed, the room was cleaned, and Kai's clothes were swiftly replaced. Before moving to the next thing on his mind, again, he checked the ropes on her wrist, ensuring her confinement remained secure. Whatever happened seemed to take a lot of energy from her; by the way, she slept through the entire change. Lastly, Taylor took it upon himself to head home to find an old security camera and placed it in the confines of the room. A silent sentinel capturing every nuance of Kai's mysterious episode and whatever extra the men inside may be doing. Also, Taylor kept this from his father, seeing that he was against it in the first place.
Notified that the room was good to go, the Sheriff, driven by an insatiable hunger for wealth, wasted no time reopening the makeshift healing sanctuary. As the door to this establishment swung open, Taylor, conquered by his curiosity, pulled out his phone at school to watch as if it were his shift on a security job.
Another week passed, and Kai ended up getting sick once more. However, this time, Taylor witnessed something he had been chasing since he installed the camera last Monday. While in class, his phone vibrated, the alert notifying him of movement in the room. It was probably just Kai tossing and turning again, he thought, but something urged him to check.
As he glanced at the screen, his eyes widened. In a moment when the sickness clung to Kai once more, something unexplainable began to unfold. Wisps of steam rose from her skin, curling and twisting into the air as if her body evaporated. Her clothes slowly lowered to the bed as her frame slowly faded away. When she was completely gone, left behind was her clothing and those more stains—impurities drawn from her, the remnants of sickness and disease left behind by those who came for her services.
Taylor's heart raced. "Is she curing herself of Sickness and STDs? Is that what those stains were? What exactly am I looking at?" He thought.
After about ten seconds, a cloud began to form near the ceiling of the empty room. As it slowly descended, the thick and puffy mist started to shape, molding itself into Kai's body. The realization hit Taylor like a punch to the gut, and he fumbled to conceal his phone, his mind pointing out something during the unexplainable phenomenon unfolding before his eyes. The ceiling, an unexpected barrier, seemed to be the only thing preventing Kai's foggy form from slipping away. And this was the second time it had happened!
As he looked back at the camera, this time zooming in closer. Taylor watched as Kai's skin became flawless and glistened once again, and the purple bags under her eyes were erased. Her illness was wholly cured, but no, it was more than that. Just as Taylor had questioned, Kai's entire well-being seemed rejuvenated, as if it had been restarted fresh. But before he could fully process what he was seeing, Kai's body suddenly dropped back down onto the bed, the impact jolting her awake. To her surprise, her hands were free from restraints; she was naked but free. The shock of it all left Taylor scrambling. He bolted out of his seat, the teacher repeatedly calling his name as he rushed to the door. His fingers fumbled as he urgently tried to call his father.
Fortunately for Kai, Taylor couldn't get in contact; every call went unanswered. There was nothing Taylor could do, and he was ways from the cabin hidden deep in the woods. And after finally catching up to him in the halls, the teacher snatched his phone, demanding he return to the classroom or face being reported to the principal.
Unfortunately for Kai, the Sheriff was already arriving at the cabin, unbeknownst to the forthcoming situation. A stranger, claiming to have heard of Kai's miraculous abilities, arrived unannounced. The stranger didn't decide to call the number on the internet post until he found out the door to the cabin was locked. The stranger was also the reason the Sheriff couldn't answer Taylor's call; they were too busy arguing because who shows up unannounced to walk straight through the door anyway? Recognizing the potential risks, the Sheriff swiftly seized the upper hand once he arrived, asking the stranger for his I.D as he unlocked the cabin door.
Kai, who was creeping to the front door, heard voices and the keys jingle outside the door. Quickly, she retreated back to the room and lay in position with her arm pretending to still be tied. Once inside, the Sheriff had the stranger wait until he finished running a background check on the strange visitor's I.D. before revealing any secrets that could be leveraged in the uncertainty between deception and revelation.
Upon gaining clearance, the mysterious stranger, having paid for his rationed time with Kai, entered the room with expectations that swiftly crumbled into disappointment. Once fixed on the lonesome girl, his initial gaze shifted toward the heartbreaking reality that enveloped the space. Stains of varying colors adorned the sheets, remnants of impurities left behind during Kai's supernatural cleansing. Not to mention, the bed, soaked and tainted, added more evidence of the unusual acts that unfolded within its confines. Above, the ceiling still leaks, another cause of Kai, and as the stranger looked down, the thought of walking further into the room became uncomfortable. The horrid state of the floors induced a nauseating discomfort with every step.
The room, a dreadful despair, revealed a grim reality. Pills lay scattered, mingling with other drug substances. Colostomy bags, traces of blood, and unforgettable stains adorned the floor, each telling a story of the terrors that desired comfort within this sanctuary. The sight was amplified by the presence of different-sized condoms, stamina packs, and liquor, a sight that showed not everyone came just for healing. Lastly, a smell engulfed the room: a mix of questionable human health, colostomy bags, physical manifestations of disease, and more. The stranger's sympathetic gaze shifted to Kai, covered with a sheet and an unwanted witness to the harsh life she had unwittingly become a part of. His mind then recoiled in horror, unable to fathom the depths of degradation that had transpired within these walls. He couldn't begin to imagine the various conditions that those seeking Kai's healing brought with them.
Turning his gaze back to the Sheriff, the stranger's eyes shared a mixture of disgust and discontent, dissatisfied with the sight that greeted him. Their unspoken exchange hinted at the weight of moral compromise, leaving both parties to confront the uneasy truths within Kai's living quarters.
Everyone was oblivious to her presence in the darkest corner of the ceiling in Kai's room. The lady in black—unseen by human eyes but ever watchful—a whisper brushed through the air like a melody. Her ethereal voice uttered words that hung in the air before fading into the shadows. "If it isn't a ray of light coming to pierce your darkness, little one. It seems like your story resumes sooner than expected."