Kai slumped against a stack of rusted hubcaps in Beatty's junkyard. The Nevada night was thick with dust and metal. His hoodie was torn. His knuckles were scabbed from a bar fight in Amargosa. Three nights ago, a rift had cracked open near a gas station. It spit goblins he crushed with a purple whip and a plasma burst. The rift sealed itself after. The attendant's #PurpleLightning post on Connect blew up. Kai had to skip town. His threads hummed. They were restless. Running was grinding him down. Stopping meant Veilwatch's leash.
His phone buzzed. A Connect DM from "StarMapper" read: Supply run in Beatty. Junkyard, midnight. Don't ghost me. L
Lena. Kai's chest tightened. Her I believe you from weeks ago was a stubborn spark he couldn't douse. She'd risked everything at the I-15 diner. He'd ditched her to face Mara's squad. He owed her this meet. Her "super rift" talk felt like a cage.
"Fine, StarMapper," he muttered. He tucked his mother's telescope into his duffel bag. "One shot. Then I'm gone."
The junkyard was a maze of gutted cars. A thin moon lit the scene. Kai arrived early. His threads prickled. He was ready to bolt. At midnight, Lena slipped through the gate. Her cap was low. Her laptop bag was clutched tight. Her eyes were sharp in the dark. They pinned him.
"You're late," Kai said. He stepped from a shadow and forced a smirk.
"You're here," Lena said. Her voice was steady but urgent. "That's something."
They ducked behind a stripped van. The air was heavy with rust and tension. Lena's whisper cut through. "Veilwatch is closing in, Kai. Mara's teams swept Pahrump, Amargosa, now Beatty. Your #PurpleLightning posts are a beacon."
"Rifts aren't my choice," Kai snapped. His threads flickered. "They open. People scream. I deal. Then I run. That's it."
Lena's gaze locked on him. "It's more than that. The 100-teraton surge is tied to you. Your threads match my maps. They align with Andromeda's halo surges. You're the only one I've seen using these powers multiple ways. The Awakened at the base are stuck with one or two tricks. Mara doesn't just want you. She covets your power. She wants to possess it and bend it to her will."
Kai's threads pulsed. They felt Mara's hunger. He scoffed. His voice was sharp. "Tied to me? How do you know the surge is caused by me? What about rifts popping up when I'm nowhere near? I was in Nevada when Tulsa got hit. You saying I'm causing that from hundreds of miles away?"
Lena's eyes didn't waver. "My data shows your thread activations spike surge energy. This happens even across states. You're a catalyst, Kai. You amplify rifts in the region. I have not told Mara what I know but she's not stupid. That's why she's obsessed with you."
Kai's jaw tightened. His gaze dropped to the scar he received on his forearm when he first encountered the goblins. His life had been a beatdown from the start. Dad bailed at six. He left bruises and a mom too frail to fight. School was a warzone. Thrift-store clothes and busted shoes earned him "trash" and fists. Mom's cancer took her slow. It left just her telescope. He'd called his threads another scar. They were good only for breaking things. Now, staring at the wound, a memory flickered. Biology class, junior year. The fourth stage of healing involved tissue remodeling. Collagen reorganized to smooth scars.
He closed his eyes. He pictured it. Fibers realigned. Skin knitted whole. His threads stirred. They were warm, not the usual burn of plasma or whip. A soft hum grew in his arm. It felt like a pulse of starlight. He opened his eyes. A faint purple mist curled around the scar. The jagged line faded. It vanished. Smooth skin remained. Kai's breath caught. These powers aren't a curse. They're not just for killing and destroying.
Lena watched. Her eyes widened. "Kai, what did you do?"
He flexed his arm. His voice was low. "Figured out I'm not just a weapon. Doesn't change anything. I'm still nobody."
Lena didn't flinch. "So why keep saving people?"
Kai's voice cracked. Nihilism spilled out. "What's the point? Rifts, Veilwatch, surges. It's all a shit. I save someone. Another rift opens. I run. They hunt. Nothing lasts. Sometimes I think I should just let Mara have me. At least I'd stop this nonsense."
His threads dimmed. They were a faint glow in the dark. Lena grabbed his wrist. Her grip was fierce. "You're wrong, Kai. You're not suffering for nothing. Every person you save, every rift you face. That's you pushing back. You're not trash. No matter who beat that into you. Mara wants your power because it's unmatched. She can't replicate it. You're her prize, not her pawn."
Kai yanked his arm free. His chest was tight. "You sound like Mom. She'd point that telescope at the stars. She'd say they had a plan. They're just lights, Lena. They don't care. Your surge doesn't either."
Lena's jaw set. "I care. Mara's got a new weapon. Riley, the spellweaver from Ohio. She's loyal. She's close, not Tulsa. Mara's playing you, Kai. She's sending Riley to Nevada. Keep running. They'll cage you. Help me stop the surge. Not for the world. For you."
"Riley's here?" Her name lifted Kai's somber mood.
Kai's threads flickered. His mother's telescope was a quiet anchor. Lena's words and the warmth of his healed arm cracked his despair. Trust was a dodge he'd mastered. His powers, heals not just destroys, hinted at something more. "You're asking me to stop running," he said. His voice was low. "I don't know how."
"Start small," Lena said. She pressed a burner phone into his hand. "Keep this. Answer my DMs. Let me help."
A low hum broke the silence. Veilwatch drones. Their lights grazed the horizon. Kai's threads flared. They screamed run. Lena's eyes held him. They were fierce and believing. "Don't ghost me, HiddenTroll," she said. A half-smile broke through.
Kai's lip twitched. A spark of defiance flickered. "No promises, StarMapper."
He melted into the shadows. His threads hummed with a fragile shift. It wasn't hope, but a possibility. Lena's belief and his own discovery were a tether. They pulled him from the void. He wasn't ready to grab it. He couldn't cut it loose.
Fifty miles away, Riley sat in a Veilwatch van. Her thread-woven gauntlets glowed faintly. Mara's orders burned in her mind. Capture the anomaly in Beatty. Her loyalty held firm. A memory flickered. Kai's threads in Ohio, saving her. She clenched her fists. She buried the doubt. "For the Veil," she whispered. The van sped toward the junkyard's silent pulse.