The late morning sun cast a golden glow through the windows of the Sunrife Café. A faint hum of old jazz played over the speakers while the trio sat huddled in a corner booth, their plates nearly cleared. Steam curled from their half-drunk juices, untouched since the tension settled in.
Zero finally broke the silence, his voice low and steady. "Alright. Listen carefully. From now on… don't call me Zero."
Jonathan raised an eyebrow. Nancy tilted her head. "Why not?"
Zero leaned back in his seat, eyes flicking around cautiously before returning to them. "I can't afford anyone connecting the dots. If word spreads that a boy with no past and a code name is tagging along with you guys, it won't take long before someone from that place starts looking."
"You think they will find you?" Jonathan asked, leaning forward, voice barely above a whisper.
Zero's jaw tightened. "Yeah. I do."
Nancy frowned. "Okay, so what do we call you then?"
He took a deep breath and muttered to himself, lips twitching with names. "Razor… Storm… Muffin—no, that's terrible. Maybe—Blade? Nah, too dramatic…"
Nancy raised her hand, exasperated. "Okay, stop. Let me think."
There was a pause. She tapped her fingers on the table thoughtfully. "How about Dray? Dray… Evernight."
Jonathan looked impressed. "That actually sounds… cool."
Zero—now Dray—smiled faintly, the name rolling off his tongue like something almost familiar. "Dray Evernight it is."
"Why Evernight?" Jonathan asked.
"Sounds like someone who's been through hell and walked out the other side," Nancy replied softly, looking at Dray.
He nodded. "From now on, only call me Dray. Not Zero. Got it?"
"Got it," they echoed.
Dray leaned forward, expression turning serious. "Now, about your friend and your brother… If we want to find out where they are inside the Gate, we're going to need help. We can't just keep wandering around inside. That's suicide."
Nancy frowned. "Help from who?"
Dray hesitated. His eyes dropped to the table for a second, his thoughts drifting—I could track down the saved kids… but if they're out and safe, I don't want to pull them back into this. They deserve peace. And we don't have time.
Jonathan noticed the faraway look in Dray's eyes and gently shook his shoulder. "Hey. What are you thinking?"
Dray blinked and cleared his throat. "Nothing. It's just… we need to find a kid named Eleven."
There was a beat of silence. Nancy stared at him. "A what?"
Dray raised a hand. "Just hear me out."
They didn't interrupt. He continued, "There's a doctor. Dr. Brenner. White hair, cold smile, always smelled like antiseptic and lies. He ran experiments on around twenty kids, including me."
Dray gave a dry chuckle—humorless, bitter.
"He took us. Lured us in with sweet talk, chocolate, and the kind of hugs that felt like a business transaction. Made you think he cared about us.
Nancy's expression turned cold. "You were kidnapped?"
He nodded. "We were all taken, one by one. Then… the experiments began."
"What kind of experiments?" Jonathan asked quietly.
Dray looked at Nancy. "Yesterday, you asked why I looked… different. That's because all of us had abilities. Real ones. Telepathy. Telekinesis. Memory reading. Each kid had a different gift."
Nancy was frozen. Jonathan's jaw clenched.
"And yours?" she asked softly.
He hesitated for a moment. Then nodded.
"Illusions," he said simply.
That's what they all believed—the lab, the doctors, the others. Even now, Nancy and Jonathan. No one ever knew the truth. Not about Absolute Hypnosis. And that's how it had to stay.
He said aloud, "I wasn't the strongest. Not the weakest either. Just… somewhere in the middle. Useful enough to be kept alive."
They were silent for a moment. Then Jonathan asked, "So we go back to the lab to find this kid?"
Dray shook his head. "No. We don't need to go there."
"Then how—?" Nancy began.
"Four years ago," Dray said, his eyes narrowing, "there was… an accident. I can't tell you everything. But only two of us made it out. Me… and another kid."
Nancy's brows furrowed. "That same kid?"
Dray nodded slowly. "A girl. Eleven. She survived. I know she did."
He didn't mention 001. Not here. That was his business—and even he didn't know if 001 was alive.
Nancy leaned forward. "Wait—so you think this kid escaped the lab when the Gate opened again?"
"Exactly," Dray said. "If it opened, there will be chaos. My gut tells me she got out."
"But there's a chance she didn't," Jonathan pointed out.
"There is," Dray admitted. "But I have to believe she made it. If she's out there, we can find her."
Nancy tapped her fingers again. "So, how do we track her down?"
Dray's eyes lit up. "Everyone needs food. Especially kids with abilities—they burn through energy fast. I've been there. So we start checking nearby grocery stores, corner stalls, anywhere a scared kid might try to get food."
Jonathan nodded. "That's smart. People might've seen her."
Nancy looked uncertain. "What about the creature? The one from the Gate?"
"If we find that kid," Dray said, "she'll help us defeat it. Believe me she's powerful. More than you can imagine."
They exchanged another glance.
"And if we don't?" Nancy asked carefully.
Dray's eyes darkened. "Then I've got a planB.
"But let's pray it doesn't come to that."