- A FACE I

ybe more. Time had turned into a looping blur of brea

is E

ully-but the man's words felt like a hook caught in

otect her... Befor

inside him twisted. Like the sound of a lock

und shelter, the

hat vanished into mist. Traffic hummed faintly from somewhere far away, but here-in this abandoned pock

is hair plastered to his

y s

fear. Not

the

l

center sharp, emotion unmistakable. Every time he closed his eyes, she l

n't kn

he only real thing

dripping from the roof in irregular rhythms. The c

for anything that might ground him. His

lled

paper from the hospital wher

omething shifted inside him. The weight of memor

to see E

t in hi

st in

nto the world in a way h

inct-and he reached for a pen on the bus stop ledge, discarded like s

ply to

lded th

it against

gan to

the moment the curve of a cheek formed-the faintest

he pen

member anything. But his hand moved with a quiet certaint

ve

s. Rain smeared the horizon. But he didn't look up. He didn't blink. H

elegant, so

ark, observ

etermination curved ar

framed her face lik

sn't s

sn't f

lookin

he alw

he sti

vision

oat tig

into him with the force of a wav

, not touching her face-just the corner,

he whi

e cut h

as though the world already knew her. As though

pain behind them rose-not

recog

dd

ol

whel

es-fragments

grabbing

ering urgently:

of burni

tting p

om his, framed by

sc

eyes sna

ke a man who had bee

to the paper. "Wha

with a cold shiv

break through, but the moment he tried to focus, a harsh static

his palms, forcing t

t

he

everything feel clos

sed in th

ano

h

ed onto the long road lea

l

ie

pos

stif

ts windows were deeply tinted, blacker than the night a

ped from Lar

n't br

ar st

le

a predator pacing

s window be

cket, rose from the bench, and bac

ugh that Larry could see the glint

ry. He had seen that gesture before. He had

as bein

pulse

t pounding the wet pavement,

attered t

exploded b

, faster, as the fog

zed the shot was

t the drawing

he pull

pierced Ella

ter of Ella's drawn chest, black ink smudged with the wet smear of rain. His stomac

s time aiming at Larry directly. He didn't wait. He dove into the fog, moving blindly, arms flailing, feet

iber in his body screamed for him to stop, to breathe, to catch his bearings. He had to survive. He had to survive-no

dripping down his face. The drawing was folded in his hand, its torn heart a scar. S

y now, engine low, menacing. Larry strained his ears. Footsteps. Not one-multiple. Co

pile to his right, a narrow exit to the street behind him. Limited options. Limited time. He swallo

thout explanation-surfaced like a flash of

lipping from the shadows-another assailant closing in. He pivoted, using the dumpster as cover, and swung his arm with raw force.

ry

jeans. He had a split-second view of the car-the driver's door now open, the man with the metallic glint emerging. Larry

s. He dodged trash bins, leapt over puddles, ducked beneath a broken street sign. His

he sa

l

something was different. She wasn't just the image in his head; she was real, tangible, and terrifyi

t. Relief, joy, te

ice cutting through the fog

elt like flying, every breath a struggle. As he neared her, a figure emerged from the fog-a ta

slo

showering sparks. He rolled to his feet and tackled the nearest object-a dumpster lid-and used

. "What's going o

ith startling strength. "No time!" she barked

of shadows. His fingers brushed the drawing in his jacket. The torn heart seemed to throb in his pocket. Some

anger was

er figure emerged from the fog, bl

cked in. He grabbed a loose pipe from the ground, swinging it with brute force at the man nearest him. The figure

un with fluid motion, firing twice,

gh a narrow passageway that opened into the edge of an industrial complex. The fog thickened, and t

stacked between two buildings. Ella pushed

smell of oil and rust filled the cramped

are they?" h

un still at the ready, eyes scanning the small gap at the container's co

ce low but firm. "And they'll stop at nothi

llet hole had torn through the chest again, even in his mind's eye.

or a fraction of a second. "

mber anything! I wake up, and all I have is your face! And now

't gone," she said. "It's buried. But it's there. And o

ch sank. "Wha

container wall, then back at

. "I don't even kno

t through the fog outside the container-a

blood

ly one. But deliberate.

d, pressing herself against hi

ught it might break through his ribs. The fog pressed against the cont

led. A shadow fell across the

s puls

peering in. Hands reaching. Breat

ed. Steady. Con

ng, Ella's face staring up at him, her eye

th

hispered directly against th

in there. And this tim

ently, a metallic groan echoi

ed. His chest tight

d no

wea

p

burned brigh

to su

r