𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝟴. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧

It was hot. Too hot.

Erin felt the sweat crawl down her sides in slow, trembling lines. Her skin burned as if she were lying beneath a sun she couldn't see. Her vision swam, shapes melting, reforming and under it all pulsed a feeling she wished she could tear out of herself.

Something was inside her.

Not a pain. Not an illness. A presence. Crawling beneath her ribs, coiled behind her eyes, burrowing deep where she could not reach. Her breath hitched. Her heartbeat fluttered in strange, uneven patterns. She didn't understand what was happening.

And she was terrified.

Blinding lights flickered above her, sterile and merciless. The air smelled too clean, too sharp. She was lying on a bed, thin sheets, rough fabric and she realized this was a hospital room. White. Empty. Clinical. Like a place designed for people who were not supposed to leave.

Her limbs trembled. Her fingers twitched against the mattress, acting before she could command them. Panic surged up her throat, thick and suffocating. And somewhere under that fear... something darker. Shame. Guilt she didn't recognize.

"I'm— I'm sorry."

The words slipped from her mouth before she could swallow them back. Her voice shook. Except it wasn't her voice.

It was lower. A boy's voice trembling through her vocal cords as though her body were nothing but a borrowed instrument.

A shape leaned into view, soft edges, blurred by the haze. A woman. Concern carved into every line of her face.

"What? What do you mean, sweetie?"

"He made me do it."

The boy's voice again. Echoing from her throat.

The woman straightened, worry sharpening into fear. Her hands cupped Erin's face.

"Who? Who made you do what?"

"I told you," the voice trembled, cracking like thin ice. "They upset him. They shouldn't have done that."

The lights dimmed. No, her vision dimmed. Darkness poured across the room like thick smoke, swallowing the walls, the woman, the bed. Her hearing stretched thin, the sounds drifting away as though someone were dragging the world backward.

And then another voice, male, urgent, rising in pani, echoed through her skull.

The spy. The spy!

It screamed, violent and terrified, and the terror slammed into Erin like a physical blow. Her entire body convulsed.

She gasped and shot upright in her own bed.

Her room. Her sheets. The cold air of night pressing against her sweat-soaked skin.

It was just a dream. Another one she couldn't control. The kind that felt too real to be imagined. The kind that didn't feel like hers at all.

Erin closed her eyes and tried to steady her breathing. It was just a dream. Just breathe.

A shaky exhale escaped her, and she ran a hand over her face, trying to wash away the remnants of panic. Slowly, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood. 

How long had she been asleep? The dim light through the warehouse window told her more time had passed than she realized, the sun had set, and the night had swallowed the sky.

Pulling her jacket over her shoulders, she pushed open the outer door. Voices drifted through the cool evening air, muffled but alive, coming from the alley outside. Axel, Mick, Funshine, and Dottie were gathered around a burning barrel, flames licking the air.

"Well, well... look who's awake," Axel teased, his voice dripping with mockery.

"Shut up," Erin muttered, brushing past him and taking a place near Funshine, who smiled warmly in greeting.

Axel, relentless, shot another barb. "Someone's mad, on your period maybe?"

Erin's eyes narrowed. "You should try stand-up, Axel. There's a spot a few blocks away." Her sarcasm hit the group, and a few laughs rose, but Erin's attention immediately snapped toward the far end of the yard. 

Her expression hardened.

"Someone's here," she said.

"What?" Dottie's voice cut through the night, and the group tensed, scanning the shadows. A figure emerged.

A girl, about Erin's age. Short, curly hair, a leather travel bag slung across her shoulder, an oversized shirt hanging off her frame. Lost.

"Hello?" The girl stepped closer, hesitating.

"Well, well... what do we have here?" Axel smirked, amusement still in his tone.

Dottie scoffed. "What is she wearing?"

Mick raised an eyebrow. "Are those... overalls?"

Dottie chuckled darkly. "There aren't any cows to milk here, kid. Go back to the farm."

Funshine glanced at Erin, noticing her lingering in the background. "Is she alone?"

Erin's eyes stayed locked on the girl. Something in her chest twisted, a faint echo of recognition, a shiver that ran down her spine. She nodded subtly. Alone. Just her.

Dottie, Axel, and Mick closed in, circling the stranger.

"I'm looking for my sister," the girl said simply.

Axel rolled his eyes, his tone cutting. "Aw... Shirley Temple lost her sister. So sad."

"I saw her," the girl insisted, reaching toward her bag. 

Funshine moved first. "Hand out of pocket. Slow."

The girl obeyed, pulling out a single sheet of paper. On it, a photograph.

"Give me that," Axel demanded, snatching the paper from her. 

For a tense heartbeat, nobody spoke. Mick stepped forward, taking the sheet and holding it toward Erin.

"Is that... Kali?"

Erin's breath caught. She froze as her eyes scanned the image. The girl in the photo, young, maybe barely a few years old was unmistakably her sister.

"It's her... How—?" Erin started, only to be cut off by the stranger.

"Kali?"

Axel stepped forward, now aggressively defensive. "How did you find us? Who else knows you're here?"

"No one," the girl replied.

"Yeah, right. So what, poof! You just appear with that picture?" Axel advanced, looming. "Erin, dig into that little brain of hers. Tell us what she knows."

Mick intervened. "Slow down, Axel. She's just a kid."

The girl's gaze finally met Erin's. A chill ran through her, a déjà vu she couldn't place.

"A kid who could get all of us killed," Axel sneered. "Erin, I won't ask again. Do your thing, or Shirley here starts losing things, starting with those pretty little locks."

He pulled a knife from his pocket, pointing it at the girl. 

Erin stepped forward, voice firm. "Axel! Stop being a jerk! She hasn't done anything yet. Put it down!"

"HOW did you find us?!" Axel demanded.

"I saw her," the girl said simply.

"Not an answer!" Axel shouted, grabbing her arm but then froze, staring at his own hand holding the knife. 

His body shook violently, and in a sudden flinch of fear, he threw the blade to the ground, yelling and panicking.

"You're a terrible dancer, Axel," a familiar female voice said behind Erin. 

Kali.

"I told you, stay out of my head!" Axel barked, flustered.

"So, threatening little girls now, are we?" Kali stepped forward, her gaze hard. She turned to Erin. "You could have acted sooner."

Erin exhaled slowly, her mind racing. "She knew about you..." And her attention shifted to the stranger, the girl who had appeared out of nowhere.

Mick handed the photograph to Kali. "She had this."

Kali scanned the image, then looked up at the girl. "Where did you get this?"

"Mama," came the quiet reply.

Erin frowned, confusion twisting in her stomach.

"Your mother gave this to you?" Kali asked.

"In her dream circle," the girl answered.

Axel laughed, disbelief and mockery dripping from his tone. "Sounds like a schizo to me."

But Erin and Kali exchanged a glance, heavy with unspoken understanding.

"She's looking for her sister," Mick said.

Axel smirked. "Yeah... schizo."

As he bent to pick up the knife, it flew into the girl's hands. She folded it neatly, calm and precise. Silence fell over everyone.

"I saw you, in the Rainbow Room," the girl said to Kali, holding out the knife.

Impossible. Erin stumbled back, a knot tightening in her stomach.

Kali's eyes softened. "What's your name?"

"Jane," the girl whispered.

Kali gently took her left hand, rolling up her sleeve. Erin's breath hitched, etched on Jane's wrist: 011.

She's like them. Erin's hand rose instinctively to her own wrist, a defensive reflex.

Kali revealed her own marking: 008.

Jane's face brightened; Kali's softened.

"Sisters," Jane whispered.

"Sisters," Kali repeated, pulling her into an embrace.

The group remained frozen in silence. Erin felt their eyes on her, heavy, measuring. She caught Kali holding Jane close, and suddenly, anxiety surged through her like ice.

Without warning, she fled, sprinting up the stairs to the room that had become her sanctuary. Slamming the door behind her, she collapsed against it, chest heaving, heart hammering.

This couldn't be happening. 

It wasn't real. 

The laboratory, the experiments, him... the memories that should have been buried, they were alive again, clawing their way back into her life.

- ⏳-

Erin had refused to leave her room for the past hour, barricading herself inside. Not even Kali could coax her to open the door. Memories swirled around her mind like a violent tide, each one threatening to pull her under, drowning her in a haze of fear and regret.

She only stepped out when her heartbeat slowed just enough to remind her she was still alive.

When she finally emerged, the room was empty. Kali and Jane were gone, and somehow, that absence brought a measure of relief. 

Erin descended to the main room, where the rest of the group was gathered, laughing and playing cards. Their heads lifted as she entered. Dottie was the first to speak, teasing.

"Little bird's out. Your sisters are upstairs," she said, the word sisters lingering with a playful weight.

Erin drew a shaky breath. "She's not... forget it." 

She had neither the energy nor the will to engage in that argument now. As if her unspoken plea had been answered, Kali returned at that moment, cutting the conversation short.

Axel couldn't resist, his voice dripping with mockery. 

"How's your white-hick sister? Tuck her in real tight?"

Dottie chimed in, grinning. "Yeah, did you sing her a lullaby too?"

The small group laughed, though Kali and Erin remained silent, their expressions tight.

Kali moved forward and laid a piece of paper on the table. "She found me with only this."

It was the portrait of Kali as a child.

Mick shrugged. "What does that mean?"

"She can find people without moving, just from pictures," Kali explained, her voice quiet but steady.

Axel's skepticism was sharp, almost absurd. "You're telling me Shirley's a human radar detector or some shit?"

"Or some shit, yeah," Kali replied firmly.

Axel scoffed. "Come on. No way. Even Erin can't do that."

Erin crossed her arms tightly over her chest. Of course she couldn't. Finding someone she'd never met in real life, just through a photo? It was impossible, even for her.

"We'll find out soon enough," Kali said, determination lacing her tone. "I want to try it. Tomorrow."

Axel blinked in disbelief. "Are you serious, Kal?"

Mick raised a hand, wiping sweat from her brow. "We're way too hot right now. It's the middle of the day."

Erin straightened, incredulous. Kali couldn't be serious. This was reckless, foolish.

"We can't," Erin said firmly.

"She's in pain. She needs this," Kali said, her gaze locking on Erin's. "You, more than anyone, should understand that."

Erin rolled her eyes. "You've met her five minutes ago. How the hell could you know what she needs?"

Kali's look darkened, sharp as a blade. Without another word, she snatched the photo from the table.

"It's not up for discussion. We go out, tomorrow."

Before Erin could react, Kali turned and left.

Erin stood there, frozen, disbelief knotting her stomach. 

Unconscious of the danger, ready to risk their lives for what? A girl they had just found on the street?

The room seemed suddenly colder, emptier. Erin sank into a chair, her thoughts spiraling. 

Tomorrow. And there would be no turning back.

Thank you so much for reading this far! 🎡

Here's Erin, not at her best right now, but bear with her. I promise, she's just a kind girl carrying some trauma...

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