The aircraft AI system chimed through the cockpit, its voice smooth yet mechanical. "Approaching designated coordinates. Entering landing sequence. Please ensure your safety."
The engines hummed as the aircraft descended, settling in a clearing some distance from their destination.
The landscape outside was not what they had imagined. Instead of a grand, dreamlike amusement park, all they saw were ruins stretching under the dim sky.
Mira and Caleb stepped out onto the cracked ground, walking toward the remnants of the park. The silence was eerie. Twisted metal beams jutted out from the collapsed structures, remnants of a place once full of life. As they approached, the skeletal remains of a hovertrain lay scattered on the ground, a silent testament to the past.
Mira slowed her steps, her gaze locking onto the wreckage. Something inside her mind tugged at her, slowly at first, then increasingly violent.
Chaos. Flashes of movement. Darkness swallowing the lights. The sensation of breathless and desperate. They were here before. They were being hunted. But by what? They thought they no longer had to run. The details slipped through her fingers like sand, leaving only the residual terror behind.
She gasped sharply, stepping back as if the sight burned her irises.
Caleb noticed immediately. "Mira? What's wrong?"
Her entire being screamed at her to leave now. The pressure in her chest constricted, her body rejecting this place with every fiber of her being. She staggered, shaking her head as she gripped the side of her head.
"We need to run!"
Caleb stiffened. The way she said it—the urgency in her tone—triggered something within him. A memory, blurred at the edges. She had said these exact words before... just before they were captured by Othan's forces.
The urgency in her voice sent a jolt through Caleb. No hesitation, no second-guessing. He knew what to do.
Caleb immediately sent a command to the aircraft's system. "Initiate emergency takeoff sequence. Keep the hatch open."
A distant hum signaled the aircraft's engines activating. But before they could reach it, the ruins around them flickered—sudden beams of light illuminating the park as surveillance drones activated.
Caleb's grip tightened around Mira's wrist. "Hold on."
Spinning on his heel, he activated his power. The air around them distorted as gravity bent to his will. With a powerful leap, they left deep cracks in the ground, launching themselves toward the aircraft.
The drones took pursuit, their mechanical limbs unfolding as they shot forward.
Inside the cockpit, the aircraft's AI responded, "Takeoff sequence initiated. Hatch remains open. Standby for immediate departure."
They barely made it inside before Caleb slammed the controls, sealing the hatch. The engines roared to life, propelling them into the sky. But the drones were fast—too fast.
Mira's body seized. The crystal embedded in her exoskeleton flared red, the seizures wracking her frame as her breathing turned erratic.
"Caleb," she gasped, "Can we—warp—somewhere farther? A different planet?"
Caleb's jaw tightened. He knew the ship's limitations. In its current state, a full planetary jump was impossible. But there was one place that might hold the resources they needed to escape completely.
He slammed in new coordinates. "We're going back to Lingshir."
Mira barely processed the words. The pain was worsening, her body shaking against her will. Caleb's chest ached at the sight of her like this—every tremor, every wince. He hated this. Hated that he couldn't take the pain for her.
The aircraft pushed forward at maximum speed, outrunning the drones. Letting the ship take its course, Caleb turned back to her, his resolve hardening. He reached for her hand, his fingers brushing against the transfer ports in her exoskeleton.
Mira's eyes snapped open, wide with alarm. She violently pulled away, shaking her head. "No. No."
Caleb hesitated, but the convulsions weren't stopping. She was breaking apart in front of him, and he refused to let that happen. His hands found her wrists, his grip firm but careful.
"Mira." His voice was steady, but beneath it, there was something else. Desperation. He held her gaze, unwavering. Then, he leaned in, pressing his forehead to hers.
"We'll keep going," he whispered. "We won't get caught this time. This is our last escape. I promise. And this—" He exhaled, fingers tightening slightly. "—this won't take long."
Before she could refuse again, he connected their transfer ports, his grip unyielding. The hum of energy between them surged—sharp, electric, binding.
For a brief moment, everything else disappeared.
For how the wheels of fate refuse to turn the other way.