The explosion wasn't an accident. Aiko knew it from the dry roar, from how the ground shook as if the city's heart had skipped a beat. Burning debris fell onto the tin rooftops, onto the soaked streets, igniting trash bags and old abandoned stores.
Aiko shielded her face with her arm, stepping back instinctively, but the boy was still there. Standing, unmoved, eyes fixed on the sky.
"What the hell was that?" Aiko shouted.
He didn't respond immediately. He just looked at her. A gaze that felt... uncomfortably deep.
"They just wiped out a communication node. Someone is silencing the Abyss," he finally said.
Aiko frowned.
"And how do you know that?"
He raised his wrist. A digital bracelet projected a floating map of the sector. Node 7.2 blinked red—offline.
"Because they were using it to track you," he added. "And it didn't work."
Aiko took a step back. Her hand went straight to the hilt of the knife hidden in her belt. But the boy raised his hands, not moving.
"I'm not your enemy, Aiko. You don't know why you're still alive either, do you?"
"No."
"Then listen to me. Your name appears in a file no one should have access to. One the government buried eighteen years ago. A file that can only be opened with your DNA."
Her breath caught.
"That's not possible."
"How do you think I knew your name?"
Aiko looked at him. There was no mockery in his voice. No fear. No arrogance. Just brutal certainty, like he knew something she couldn't yet understand.
"Who are you?"
He smiled, once more. Though this time, it wasn't kind.
"My name is Kael. And I'm running too. Only difference is—I know why."
The drone siren returned in the distance. More units. They were getting closer.
Kael turned and offered her his hand.
"If you stay here, they'll catch you. They'll break you. And they'll make you just another part of the system. But if you come with me... you'll find out why they've wanted you dead since before you were born."
Aiko hesitated for only a second. But it was enough. Enough to know her world had already changed.
She took his hand.
And they ran.