Chapter Two: Family in the Shadows

Chapter Two: Family in the Shadows ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎

I wasn’t supposed to be there that morning.

But something felt wrong. A shift in her schedule, the subtle tightening of security — it was enough to set off alarms in my gut. So I broke protocol. Disguised as a fly, I slipped through vents and wires, tracing the cold metal maze of the fortress.

That’s when I found them.

Her parents.

Locked in a sealed room deep underground, barely human in the flickering light. Her mother was silent, almost ghost-like. Her father, though — his eyes burned. Scarred and bound, but still full of fight. I recognized the strength in his shoulders: super strength. An ability he'd once used for rebellion, now silenced by steel cuffs and despair.

I stayed hidden, wings trembling.

They were alive.

I wanted to run to her room and scream it — "They're alive, they're here!" — but that would end everything. Instead, I watched. I listened. I pieced together the cruel design: she was being used as leverage. Her father had fought back once. Now he stayed still, because they threatened his daughter. And she had no idea any of this was happening.

Back in her room, she sat on her cot, staring at the blank wall. Her skin was pale. Her hair had lost its shine. The machines were draining her. Each day she gave them visions of tomorrow, and each day she became a little less herself.

I couldn't stay silent anymore.

That night, while the guards changed shifts, I knelt beside her bed. The glow of the moon cut through the barred window, casting shadows across her face. She looked peaceful. Fragile. Like glass that had already cracked.

I whispered, “Your parents are alive. They’re here.”

She opened her eyes. Slowly. Carefully. No fear, no words — just silence. Then a single tear ran down her cheek. She didn’t ask how I knew. Didn’t ask who I really was. But I felt it — she believed me. Or maybe… she wanted to.

We sat in silence for what felt like hours.

The next day, I avoided the cameras and returned to the underground chamber. I spoke to her father — man to man, no disguises.

He didn’t waste time on introductions. He looked me straight in the eye and said, “You love her.”

I nodded.

“She’s dying in there.”

“I know.”

Then we planned.

It wouldn’t be perfect. We’d make mistakes. We’d bleed. But he would cause a diversion. I would shrink her down, sneak her out through the maintenance pipes, and carry her to safety. No technology. No teleportation. Just raw instinct and a little magic.

I returned to her room that night, no longer just her caretaker.

Now I was her only chance.

writer -: thank you to the reader for a like on first chapter and the one( radin) who requested to update it

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