Fragments of Dawn

The alley was narrow and filled with the remnants of a crumbled city. What had once been a thriving marketplace was now nothing more than a maze of ruins, rotting food, overturned carts, and shattered glass. Kai’s boots slapped against the wet concrete as he pulled Ava with him, the weight of urgency driving his every step. The night air was thick with the scent of decay and the distant hum of the city’s collapse. Somewhere far behind them, a flicker of movement caught his eye.

They were being followed.

Ava stumbled slightly, but Kai steadied her with one hand. “Keep moving. We can’t stop.”

Ava didn’t need telling twice. Her training kicked in as she pushed forward, her eyes darting from side to side, scanning every possible escape route. “Who were those people back there?” she asked, her voice sharp but with a hint of curiosity. “They had fragments too, didn’t they?”

Kai’s jaw tightened, the pulse of his own fragment sending a low, vibrating hum through his veins. He knew the answer to her question. Whoever they were, they were not here for survival—they were hunting. And that meant they wanted the fragments. Kai’s fragment.

“I don’t know who they were, but they’re dangerous,” Kai replied, his voice rough. He spared a quick glance over his shoulder, half-expecting to see their pursuers. The shadows seemed to stretch, and the city’s broken skyline loomed above them like jagged teeth, closing in. “We need to find somewhere to hide, regroup, and figure out our next move.”

But Ava wasn’t listening. She’d already spotted an old warehouse up ahead, its roof barely standing but its walls intact. A rusted sign hung crookedly above the entrance, the letters faded but still visible: “Abandoned Storage Facility.”

Without hesitation, she motioned for Kai to follow and ran toward the building. The doors were ajar, creaking with the weight of neglect. Kai didn’t hesitate. He followed her inside, his senses on high alert.

The inside of the warehouse was dark and musty, the air thick with dust and the smell of mildew. Broken crates were scattered across the floor, their contents long since looted or ruined. The only sound was the distant hum of the wind outside and the occasional creak of the metal beams overhead. But something was off. The hairs on the back of Kai’s neck stood up, and he instinctively reached for the fragment embedded in his arm.

“You feel that?” he whispered, eyes scanning the shadows. Ava stopped, her breath catching slightly. She glanced at him, and they shared a brief look of understanding.

A noise echoed in the distance—footsteps. Too close.

“Damn it,” Ava muttered under her breath, pulling Kai further into the shadows at the back of the warehouse. They crouched low behind a stack of old crates.

“We can’t outrun them forever,” Kai said, his voice steady, though a storm of thoughts churned in his mind. “And the fragment…” His voice trailed off. He could feel the familiar hum growing stronger, urging him to act, to use the power.

Ava shot him a sharp look. “You can’t risk it, Kai. Not yet. The more you use that power, the closer you come to breaking it. If you shatter time too much…”

Kai closed his eyes, grinding his teeth. He knew. He had felt the fractures, the way reality bent and wavered under his influence. But what choice did he have? Every second counted. The world was breaking around them, and the powers unleashed by the fragments were tearing it apart.

Before he could answer, the door to the warehouse creaked open, and a figure stepped inside. It was the same man from before—the one with the hooded cloak, his face obscured, the faint glow of the fragment in his hand. His cold eyes scanned the space with practiced precision, and his gaze lingered on the far corner of the room.

Kai held his breath, his heart pounding in his chest. The man’s presence was suffocating, as if he carried a storm with him. Kai could feel it deep within him—the temptation to reach out, to stretch time, to pull the fragments from the air and stop this before it escalated.

But no. Not yet.

The man took a slow step forward, then stopped, his head tilting slightly as if listening for something. Kai’s grip on the fragment tightened, his pulse racing. Ava was silent beside him, her gun in hand, but she didn’t move. She understood.

The stranger’s eyes flicked toward the shadows, where Kai and Ava hid. There was a pause—just long enough for Kai to brace himself.

And then, the man spoke. “I know you’re here. Come out, and I promise we’ll make this quick.”

Kai could feel the fragments, their distant power tugging at him like a gravitational pull. His fingers twitched, and the world seemed to hold its breath. If he moved now, if he used the power…

“Your move, Kai,” the man continued, his voice soft, almost mocking. “You’ll use it, won’t you? I can feel it. The pull of the fragment. You’re not like the rest of them.”

Kai’s heart skipped a beat. The man knew.

Ava’s hand pressed against his arm, the pressure grounding him. “No,” she whispered fiercely. “Don’t.”

But it was too late. The fragment was no longer a whisper—it was a scream in his mind. He could feel it bending time, pulling him toward action, toward the one thing he knew could change the course of everything.

Kai shut his eyes for a brief moment, his breath shallow as he fought against the force. He had to do this. He had to protect Ava. But the cost—it would be more than he could bear. It always was.

Then, the man lunged forward.@@novelbin@@

Kai reacted instantly, his body moving on pure instinct. Time fractured. The world around him slowed. The man’s movements blurred as Kai pulled time back, stretching it, pulling it backward as if it were a piece of elastic. In an instant, the man’s figure halted mid-lunge, suspended in an unnatural pause.

Ava gasped in disbelief as she watched the man freeze. “Kai—what are you—?”

Kai didn’t answer. His hand reached out, fingers trembling, as he stretched time further. The world around him felt warped, the fabric of reality thinning. He was treading dangerously close to the edge, but he couldn’t stop. Not now.

His hand clenched, and the man’s body jerked backward, crashing into a pile of crates. The man’s hood fell back, revealing a sharp, angular face, pale and cold as a corpse. But there was something worse than his appearance—something in the way he moved, something otherworldly. Kai could feel it in his bones, the ripple of power emanating from him like a cold wave.

“You’re making a mistake,” the man growled, rising slowly. He wiped blood from his mouth where he had slammed into the crate, but his eyes glinted with a strange, malevolent force. “You don’t know what you’re dealing with.”

Kai’s heart thundered in his chest as he fought to maintain control. The strain of manipulating time was unbearable, the world around him twisting in response. But there was no going back. He had to end this, here and now.

With a roar, the man surged forward again, but this time, Kai was ready. He reached out, pushing time forward, slamming the man into the wall with the force of a hundred moving objects. The impact was deafening.

Ava stood frozen for a moment, watching the scene unfold. Then, as if waking from a trance, she ran forward, grabbing Kai’s arm. “Enough, Kai! Stop it!”

Kai’s breath came in ragged gasps, the world around him flickering and warping. The man groaned but didn’t rise. His eyes locked onto Kai, and there was a twisted smirk on his face.

“You think this will stop me? You don’t know how far this goes,” the man said, his voice barely audible as he faded into unconsciousness.

Kai stood there, his body trembling with the aftereffects of using the fragment’s power. He felt like he was floating, untethered, as reality snapped back into place. The room stopped spinning, and the darkness that had been creeping into the edges of his vision finally faded.

Ava’s hand on his shoulder brought him back. “Kai, you okay?”

He didn’t answer at first. He couldn’t. His head was spinning. Time had broken. He had used it again, and now the consequences would be even more dire.

They had won, for now. But the chase wasn’t over. It had only just begun.