The wind across the plain carried the faint, acrid bite of distant smoke, but it was cooler now, almost merciful. We had found a shallow depression ringed by wind-sculpted boulders,natural cover from the endless black sky and whatever winged horrors still circled the ruins of Lira's town. The ground was hard-packed dirt, dusted with ash that clung to our clothes like gray snow.
Xeno lay on a folded blanket the twins had produced from their packs, his breathing finally steady. The injector Amie had used still glinted in her medical kit, a thin syringe of clear fluid that had pulled him back from the edge. His face was no longer flushed crimson, but pale, almost translucent in the dim light. The blindfold remained soaked, dark strands of hair plastered to his forehead.
I sat close, knees drawn to my chest, watching his chest rise and fall. Relief warred with exhaustion inside me; every muscle trembled, and my hands still smelled faintly of ichor no matter how hard I scrubbed them on my new pants.
Lira stood apart, staring north, arms folded tight across her chest. Grief had carved new lines around her eyes, but her posture was rigid, as if she could hold the world together through sheer will. Kael sat with his back against a rock, cradling his splinted hand, face drawn with pain he refused to voice.
The twins—Kai and Amie—moved with quiet efficiency, unpacking supplies that looked impossibly luxurious in this wasteland: sealed water pouches, vacuum-packed protein bars, even a small portable stove that hissed softly as Kai set it up.
Amie knelt beside Xeno again, checking his pulse with practiced fingers. "Stable. The fever's broken for now. He'll wake soon."
Kai handed me a bar,real chocolate layered with nuts. The wrapper crinkled like music. "Eat, little one. You look like you haven't seen proper food in months."
I tore it open, the scent hitting me like a memory of before. My mouth watered so hard it hurt. "Thank you," I whispered, then devoured half in two bites.
Kael accepted a pouch of water, drinking slowly. "You two… how did you end up out here? This close to the fire."
Kai glanced at Amie. She nodded once, permission granted.
"We were tracking a migration pattern," Kai said, settling cross-legged on the ground. His braids clinked softly with the metal beads. "Xenophore movement's been shifting north for weeks. We followed a group of travelers—big caravan, well-armed, lots of gear. Thought they might have intel."
Amie's voice was quieter, but carried the same calm authority. "We found them three days ago. Dead. Slaughtered on the path. Gear scattered, packs torn open. We traced the trail back…" She looked at Lira. "To your town. Or what was left of it."
Lira's shoulders stiffened, but she didn't turn.
"We took what we could carry," Kai continued. "Food, medicine, clothes. Didn't feel right leaving it for scavengers or worse."
Kael exhaled slowly. "You salvaged from the dead."
"We honored them," Amie corrected gently. "Buried what we could. Said words. The world takes everything eventually. Better their supplies help the living."
I swallowed the last of the chocolate, the sweetness lingering like a dream. "You… study Xenophores?"
Kai grinned, but it was softer now, tempered by respect. "Guilty. Doctors by training, researchers by obsession. We've been mapping strains, behaviors, evolution patterns since before the sky went dark."
Amie pulled a small, battered notebook from her coat,pages filled with sketches, notes, blood samples pressed between glass slides. "We take samples when we can. Blood, tissue, chitin fragments. Trying to understand what they are. How they change."
Kael leaned forward, pain forgotten for a moment. "And?"
Kai's grin faded. "We found something. In the blood,something that binds to human cells. Enhances strength, speed, healing. We isolated it. Created a serum."
Amie's voice was flat. "Tested on animals first. Rats. Dogs. Results were… dramatic. Strength tripled. Wounds closed in minutes. But then…" She trailed off.
Kai picked up the thread, voice low. "They changed. Grew plating. Extra limbs. Eyes multiplied. Became something worse than the originals. We destroyed the samples. Burned the lab. The serum works, but it doesn't make superhumans. It makes monsters."
Silence settled, heavy as the ash on our clothes.
I stared at my hands, remembering the warmth of the pond water, the way the stones had hummed and taken something from us. "Is that… what's happening to people? The ones who get too close?"
Amie met my eyes. "Maybe. We don't know yet. But the blood calls to blood."
Kai forced a lighter tone. "Anyway, that's why we're out here poking monsters with sticks instead of living safe behind walls."
I looked at them,really looked. They were young, barely older than teenagers, but their eyes held weight far beyond their years. Yet they smiled. Laughed. Teased each other like the world hadn't ended.
"How?" I asked, voice small. "How can you be so… happy? In this place?"
The twins exchanged a glance, something deep and wordless passing between them.
Kai leaned back on his elbows, braids clinking. "We weren't born happy, little one. We were born in the slums, before everything fell. Dad ran off after putting Mom in debt she couldn't pay. Collectors came,human ones. She couldn't pay. They killed her. Left us in the gutter."
Amie's voice was soft, steady. "We were eight. Lived on scraps, slept in alleys. Every week the city dumped garbage into our district. We'd dig through it,looking for food, clothes, anything. Found books instead. Old science textbooks, medical journals, tossed out like trash."
Kai's grin returned, softer now. "We taught ourselves. Read by streetlight. Practiced stitches on rags. Dreamed of being doctors,of getting out. Hell was already our home. When the sky went black and the monsters came… it was just a different kind of hell."
Amie pulled a small, worn Bible from her coat, pages soft from years of handling. From her neck hung a simple cross chain, silver glinting faintly. Kai wore a matching one.
"We found God in the garbage too," Kai said quietly. "Or He found us. We pray every night,for protection, strength, forgiveness for whatever sins we commit to survive. This world can't take that from us."
He reached into his pack and pulled out several more cross chains,simple, hand-made from scavenged metal and cord.
"One for each of you," he said, offering them.
Kael took one without hesitation, slipping it over his head. Lira accepted hers silently, fingers tracing the cross before tucking it beneath her shirt.
I took mine, the metal cool against my skin. It felt like weight and comfort at once.
Kai held the last one out to Xeno, who had begun to stir, eyes fluttering beneath the blindfold.
Xeno's hand rose slowly, pushing the chain away. "I have one," he said, voice hoarse from fever and disuse. "My mom gave it to me."
That was all.
He didn't elaborate. Didn't meet anyone's eyes. Just touched the place beneath his jacket where something hung hidden, and his expression turned distant, sad in a way that made my chest ache.
Amie didn't push. She simply tucked the spare chain away.
Xeno sat up slowly, wincing, sweat still beading on his skin. The medicine had worked miracles, but he looked drained, hollow.
Amie handed him fresh clothes from the scavenged supplies. "You're soaked through. Change. The sweat will chill you."
Xeno's hand tightened on his jacket. "No."
Kai raised an eyebrow. "Come on, man. You smell like a week-old corpse."
"I'm fine," Xeno said, voice flat, final.
The refusal hung heavy. No one argued.
Lira stood abruptly. "We need to move. The Collectors—"
Amie cut her off gently. "You need rest. All of you. Pushing on without a plan will get you killed. One night. Proper food. Proper sleep. Then we move with clear heads."
Kai nodded. "We've got watches. Safe spot here. Let us take first shift."
Lira looked like she wanted to argue, but exhaustion won. She nodded once.
We ate in silence at first—real food, hot from the portable stove. Stew from rehydrated packets, bread that was only slightly stale. It tasted like heaven.
As bellies filled, words came easier.
Kai and Amie told stories,light ones, about pre-fall mischief, about patients they'd treated in hidden clinics, about the time Kai accidentally set a lab on fire trying to synthesize caffeine. Laughter came, small and fragile, but real.
I watched Xeno. He ate slowly, eyes distant behind the blindfold. The sadness from mentioning his mother lingered like a shadow.
When the meal ended, Amie suggested prayer.
We formed a loose circle. Kai pulled out their Bible again, worn and cherished. Amie led, voice soft but sure.
"Heavenly Father, in this darkness we seek Your light…"
The words washed over me, unfamiliar but comforting. I closed my eyes, letting them settle.
Then I felt it.
A warmth beneath me, faint at first, then growing. I opened my eyes.
The ground beneath my crossed legs glowed softly,the eye symbol, same as the arch, the scroll, the marks left in dirt. It pulsed gently, blue-white light spreading in delicate veins through the dirt.
Everyone froze.
The prayer stopped mid-sentence.
Kai's eyes widened. "What in God's name…"
Amie stared, Bible forgotten in her hands.
The symbol brightened, centered perfectly under me, as if the earth itself had drawn it.
Kai whispered, voice hushed with something between awe and fear, "Are you cursed?"
The question hung in the air, unanswered.
The glow pulsed once more, then faded, leaving only the cold dirt and our stunned silence.