Kael didn't resist.
Not when they handcuffed him again.
Not when they pushed him into a reinforced elevator.
Not even as they descended to the deepest level of the facility.
"Do you know where you are?" one of the guards asked, just to break the silence.
Kael didn't answer. His eyes were vacant, fixed on some invisible point ahead. He had barely slept the night before. Not out of fear. But because he knew—his life, as he knew it, was over.
The elevator stopped.
Steel doors hissed open. Two soldiers guided him into a white room lit by harsh fluorescent tubes. There was a single metal chair in the center. No windows. Just cameras.
"Sit down."
Kael obeyed without a word.
A scientist entered. Young. Gray suit. Tablet in hand.
"My name is Elian. I'll be overseeing the tests. I know you have no reason to trust us. But let me be clear: we're not here to torture you. We just need to understand."
"Understand what?"
"How you're still alive after sustaining fatal injuries. How your body regenerates. What kind of anomaly you are."
Kael looked away.
The doctor sighed.
"We need you to avoid using that ability during the tests. For your safety—and ours."
Kael lowered his head.
"I'll try."
Elian nodded and left. Two technicians came in, wearing rubber gloves and carrying metal trays.
One leaned close.
"This might hurt a little."
Kael didn't move. He didn't scream. Didn't complain.
Not when they took tissue samples.
Not when needles pierced beneath his skin to measure muscular response.
Not even when one of the sensors burned out on contact with his chest.
Elian noted everything.
"Automatic regeneration of micro-damage. Even without conscious activation… his body responds on its own. Fascinating."
But Kael wasn't listening.
He was there—but he wasn't.
His mind was still with Sara.
⋆⭒✧༺༻✧⭒⋆
"Full name?" the officer asked, seated across from Sara.
"Sara Elowen," she replied, her voice steady despite her racing heart.
She sat in a less intimidating interrogation room. Two government officials on the other side of the table. One questioning, the other silently observing.
"Your relationship with Kael Grayson?"
Sara hesitated. Then answered:
"Close friend. Since childhood."
"Were you aware he was involved in the governor's death?"
Sara pressed her lips together. Her hands trembled beneath the table, but she refused to appear weak.
"No. Not until after it happened."
"Did you know he possessed anomalous abilities?"
Silence.
"Sara?"
"Yes. I found out when he did."
The agent raised an eyebrow.
"And you didn't think to alert the authorities?"
"What for? So you could lock him up—like you're doing now?"
Tension filled the room. The observer typed something on their tablet.
"Does he trust you?"
"More than anyone."
"And do you trust him?"
Sara didn't hesitate.
"With my life."
The agent fell silent for a moment.
"Do you believe he'll cooperate with us?"
"If he thinks it will help someone—yes. But if you force him… you'll lose him."
⋆⭒✧༺༻✧⭒⋆
"You alright?"
Dr. Elian's voice was different this time. Less clinical. More human.
Kael's head rested against the wall. His body was drenched in sweat, veins bulging, chest marked with small wounds—half-healed.
"I've been worse," he muttered without opening his eyes.
"Why did you agree to this?" she asked, still writing. "Fear? For her?"
"For her," he said without thinking.
Elian stared at him for a moment, trying to see beyond the patient.
She put her tablet away. Said nothing. And walked out.
⋆⭒✧༺༻✧⭒⋆
Sara leaned her forehead against the metal table. Her breathing was unsteady. The interrogation was over, but no one had told her what would happen next.
The door opened.
A young woman walked in. Different from the previous agents. Kinder—or at least trying to be.
"Did they bring you anything to eat?"
Sara shook her head.
"Can I talk to you?" the woman asked. "Not as an interrogator… just as a person."
Sara looked at her, wary.
"To convince me Kael's a monster?"
"No. To understand why you keep defending him."
Sara went quiet for a few seconds.
"Because I know what he's been through. And because if I don't defend him… no one will."
The woman sighed and sat across from her.
"We don't want to hurt him."
"Then stop treating him like an animal."
"Did you know he could be the key to curing diseases, regenerating tissue, saving thousands of lives?"
"At what cost? Destroying him?"
The woman said nothing.
Sara rubbed her face with her hands, exhausted.
"You don't need to break him. Just listen."
"And if he doesn't want to talk?"
"Then wait. Because if you push him, you'll only make things worse."
⋆⭒✧༺༻✧⭒⋆
Kael leaned back again.
Broken needles lay scattered across the floor. Some had been forced out by his skin—not by choice, but instinct. As if his body no longer fully belonged to him.
The head of security entered the room.
"We've got what we need for today. More tests tomorrow. Until then… rest."
Kael looked at him.
"And her?"
"She's stable. Cooperating."
"Are you interrogating her?"
"Yes."
"Don't hurt her."
The man stared at him.
"She matters to you?"
Kael didn't answer.
"Then do what we ask. And she'll be fine."
Kael closed his eyes.
He said nothing else.
⋆⭒✧༺༻✧⭒⋆
Sara had no idea how long she'd been locked up.
The lights never changed. The air felt heavy.
The silence hurt more than any scream.
The same woman returned, this time with a tray of food.
"It's not much, but… it should help."
Sara didn't look at her.
"Can I see him?"
"That's not possible."
"Is he okay?"
"He's… stable. Cooperating."
"Are you forcing him?"
"No," the woman said. "He's doing it for you. Because you matter."
Sara looked down, trembling as she inhaled.
"Can I write him something?"
The woman studied her carefully.
"What kind of message?"
"Nothing dangerous. Just… something personal."
The woman hesitated. Then nodded.
Sara grabbed a paper napkin and scribbled with the edge of a bent spoon. Just one sentence:
"I'm still here. Don't lose yourself."
The woman took the napkin. Said nothing. And left.
⋆⭒✧༺༻✧⭒⋆
That night, Kael didn't sleep.
The cell was different. Cleaner. No chains. But constant surveillance.
Dr. Elian returned, her expression softer.
"They told me you were calm today."
Kael didn't respond.
"Someone asked me to give you this," she said, handing him the napkin.
Kael took it. Looked at it. Recognized the handwriting instantly.
I'm still here.
Don't lose yourself.
He clenched the napkin tightly, as if it could anchor him more than his own body.
"Thank you," he said softly.
The doctor looked at him, surprised.
"Why are you doing this?"
"Because as long as she's alive… I can't fall apart."
⋆⭒✧༺༻✧⭒⋆
Meanwhile, Sara closed her eyes in her small cell. She didn't know if her message had reached him.
But for the first time in hours, she could breathe—just a little easier.
He's fighting.
And so will I.