Slower than required. My body does not respond at optimal speed. Too much damage. Too much blood loss.
I take a step—then stop.
He is closer. Within engagement range. Within threat assessment distance. Within—recognition.
Clear. No distortion. No corruption. It is him. It is him.
The word does not form. Everything fractures around it.
The desert disappears. The hunter disappears. The team disappears. Only him—standing there. Alive. Impossible.
Pictures. Images. Memories. The internal structure destabilizes. Command hierarchy fails to resolve.
Target classification: unknown hostile, ally, error, conflict. Resolve—cannot resolve.
He turns. He faces me.
His eyes widen. His mouth opens. Wings flap. Recognition. Not possible.
I am not—I am— The thought collapses.
Rebuild. Force structure. He was not there. He did not come. He did not— The memory forces through. Uninvited. Uncontrolled.
Hands pulling me back. Gripping hard.
A body between me and impact. They are coming. Too many. No hope. No escape.
A voice?—
‘Run.’
Mine. My voice. Then—nothing. Nothing at all.
Abandoned.
He left. Conclusion reached. Threat classification updates: hostile.
My body follows. I step forward—not toward the hunter. Toward him.
I flex my wings, tightening my grip into fists. Target acquisition narrows. Eliminate the threat.
“No.”
The word cuts across the system. Not external. Internal. Her. Only her.
The signal anchors. It disrupts. I hold position. My focus fractures again. Dragged between two points. Pulled apart.
Him. Her.
Conflict escalates. Unstable. Unacceptable.
He speaks. I hear it. I do not process it fully. The tone registers. Everything about this is wrong. He should not be here. He should not be alive. He should not be?—
The memory shifts. It is different. Wrong. Altered.
‘Run.’
My voice. Him. He yells. Something. No sound. No clarity.
