The violet sky pulsed above the ruined plaza, its unnatural glow casting long shadows across the shattered statues and cracked cobblestones. Tylor's chest heaved as he crouched behind the toppled fountain, Amaira pressed against him, her small frame trembling. Kayla knelt beside Lila, tying a makeshift bandage around the scavenger's bloodied leg, her hands steady despite the distant hum of enforcer drones. The journal page, clutched in Amaira's hand, felt like a lifeline and a curse—its list of Chronos Collective names and mention of "The Hub" their only clue to stopping the Chronarch.
"We can't stay here," Lila whispered, wincing as she tested her weight on her injured leg. Her rifle lay propped against the fountain, its barrel scratched but ready. "Drones'll pin us in minutes."
Tylor nodded, his hazel eyes scanning the plaza. The memory of Amaira's disappearance two years ago—her tiny form vanishing after a red balloon—surged, twisting his gut. He wouldn't lose her again. "Which way?" he asked, his voice low but urgent.
Elias, crouched nearby, pointed to a narrow street choked with rubble. "That leads to the old library. It's defensible, maybe safe enough to regroup." His grazed arm oozed blood, but his eyes were sharp, fixed on the journal page. "That list—your mother's work—it's our shot at the Hub. The Chronarch's power comes from there."
Kayla flipped open the journal, her fingers tracing a diagram of the temporal stabilizer—a glowing orb meant to close fractures, not control them like the Chronarch did. "This says the stabilizer can fix the fractures," she said, her voice tight, "but it needs a power source, something massive. And if we use it wrong…" She trailed off, her green eyes haunted by dreams of this very sky, this broken city, and a face that looked too much like Tylor's.
Amaira's small voice cut through. "What happens if it's wrong?" Her pigtails were dusted with ash, her eyes wide but steady as she held the journal page.
Kayla hesitated, then met her gaze. "It could erase everything. Us, this timeline, our home." Her voice softened. "But we won't let that happen, Mai."
Tylor's throat tightened. Kayla's dreams had been right about this place—the violet sky, the ruins. What else were they right about? The Chronarch's face, her words echoed in his mind: It's like looking at you. He pushed the thought down, focusing on Amaira's warmth against him.
A sharp crack split the air—a drone's beam slicing through a nearby statue, stone exploding into dust. "Move!" Elias shouted, sprinting for the street. Tylor lifted Amaira, her arms wrapping around his neck as they ran, Kayla and Lila close behind. The library loomed ahead, its domed roof collapsed, windows like empty eyes. They slipped inside, the air thick with the musty scent of forgotten books.
Inside, Kayla opened the journal again, her hands shaking as she found a passage tucked between diagrams. "Listen," she said, her voice urgent. "'The stabilizer requires a temporal anchor to close fractures. Misuse risks total collapse.' It mentions the Hub as the anchor point." Her eyes flicked to Tylor, then widened. "My dreams… they started when we moved here, right after we found the machine. What if they're not just dreams?"
Tylor frowned, his heart racing. "What do you mean?"
Kayla swallowed, her voice barely above a whisper. "My mom—she was a scientist, too. I found her name in the journal, on the Collective's list. Sarah Vey. What if I'm connected to the fractures, like she was?"
Before Tylor could respond, a low hum filled the library, the violet sky's light pulsing through the broken roof. A fracture—a shimmering tear in the air—opened near the shelves, leaking a faint echo of laughter, a glimpse of green grass. Tylor's breath caught; it was their yard, two years ago, Amaira chasing her balloon. "Mai," he whispered, his voice breaking.
Amaira stepped toward the fracture, her eyes wide. "It's me," she said, her voice trembling with awe. "Before…" She reached out, but Tylor grabbed her wrist, fear clawing at him.
"Don't," he said, his voice sharp. "It's not safe."
But the drones found them. A beam tore through the wall, books exploding into flames. "Run!" Lila shouted, firing at the drones, her injured leg slowing her. In the chaos, Amaira slipped from Tylor's grasp, darting toward a side exit to escape the fire. "Mai, no!" he yelled, lunging after her, but a collapsing shelf blocked his path, dust and smoke choking the air.
Kayla pulled him back, her eyes wild. "We'll find her!" she promised, dragging him toward another exit as Elias and Lila fought off the drones. Tylor's heart pounded, the memory of Amaira's disappearance crashing over him like a wave. The fracture flickered behind them, its light fading, but Kayla's words echoed: Connected to the fractures. As they stumbled into the street, the violet sky glaring above, Tylor clung to one thought: he'd tear time itself apart to bring Amaira back.