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It was a quiet night in Istanbul. All was still as the soft city lights illuminated Fade’s face, tracing the edges of her hair as it was tickled by a faint breeze. Her blue and orange eyes emanated a soft glow of their own as she gazed lovingly into her brother’s eyes, then back to the surrounding cityscape. Fade loved the quiet nights spent with her brother as they simply soaked in their surroundings. It certainly beat the dingy warehouse they called home. Fade could have sworn she’d become allergic to the dust that clung to its walls, so a breath of fresh air was certainly welcome. A few ships cruised along the water before the two Radiants. A couple of lights blinked as the cabin glowed a soft yellow. Even the passing vessels seemed calm and quiet. It was a perfect night in Istanbul.
The stars gleamed in a jet-black sky as the full moon cast a light of its own. Fade craned her neck to gaze at the cosmic masterpiece above her. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, her racing mind finally tamed. Tamed, except for Nightmare. The shadowy feline inspected every corner where the Radiants were standing, batting at the occasional cricket and chasing the poor creatures over the edge of the concrete and into the water. Proud of his accomplishments, Nightmare chirped and rolled on his back, curling his gigantic paws close to him. Hayden laughed, putting his arm around Hazal’s shoulder. She leaned in as the corners of her mouth lifted even higher.
“Love ya, sis,” Hayden sighed. “If anything ever happens, just know that I love you more than anything. And no matter how far apart we may be someday, my love and I will always be right here,” He placed a gentle hand over Hazal’s heart and gave her shoulder a gentle rub as he pulled it away again. “Just know I’d do anything to keep you safe. To let you fly and achieve the wonderful things I know you are destined to!”
A lonely tear trickled down Fade’s face as they leaned their head into the crook of Hayden’s neck. She grabbed his other shoulder and turned him to face her in a tight hug as Nightmare trotted over and rubbed against their legs, his tail high in a friendly greeting.
As his Radiants hugged, Nightmare’s ear twitched, following a disruptive and annoying sound. Again, it sounded. Again. Over and over, until the beast was able to discern the source. Footsteps. Out of the shade, Nightmare could trace the shape of several coat-clad humans. Some held boom-sticks, others held yarn snakes, while a few held stabby-cutters. These were not friendly humans. The shadowy fur on Nightmare’s back stood up as his tail puffed out. He let out a low, warning growl and bit down on Hazal’s pants, pulling her out of the hug to face the danger that was attempting to ambush them. Hayden immediately released his sister and took up arms, conjuring a knot of raw fear. His eyes studied the darkness, unsure of what Nightmare had spotted- the beast’s eyes were made for the cover of shadow. Fade drew from Nightmare’s energy and released a prowler to find this threat. A soft, red glow traced the outline of each person, clad in Kingdom-branded lab coats.
“Well, this is less than ideal,” Fade remarked.
“Don’t worry, it’s just a couple of them. We can do this, Hazal.”
“You’re right again, bro,” Fade’s hand became enveloped in ebbing shadows as she raised it in front of her. “Nightmare, take them!” She commanded as the beast sprung to life, first targeting the boom sticks. It knew those couldn’t hurt it, but they certainly could hurt Fade.
Kingdom never sent out under-prepared scouts. While the Radiants were confident and assured of their victory, another scientist, one known for being sly as a fox, managed to slip behind Fade and Hayden. She waved her hand, signaling to her accomplice. The ginger waved another hand, and the pair, without hesitation, grabbed and bound the hands of the Dream Seers. The threat had been mitigated.
Hazal felt her heart race as she fought her captors, lashing this way and that, thrashing around like she’d been taught to. It was no use. With her hands tied, she had lost the usage of her powers. Siktir, I can’t let Kingdom take us. Lord knows what they’ll do to us. She shot a desperate look to Hayden, who seemed to have given in. “Come on! We’ve gotta get out of this!”
“It’s no use,” he replied in a low whisper, “They know how to deal with Radiants like us, Hazal. We have to wait and see where they take us. Sometimes you have to wait for openings, sis.” Fade sighed in defeat as Nightmare burst into a clump of stray shadows and fizzled out, the traces floating back to the Nazar on Fade’s vest zipper.
Fade was cut off by the ginger woman before they could even utter a single word. “You know I can hear you two, yes? Your… chatter is rather obnoxious. So shut up.” She turned her head back to look at the captives, who suddenly found the concrete ground very intriguing. “That’s what I thought.”
After what seemed to be the world’s longest walk, the ginger grabbed Fade as she once again thrashed about, trying to weaponize her bony shoulders with all the strength she had. Hazal had been so distracted that she didn’t even notice the other scientist drag her brother in a separate direction. “Let me go! I’m not some kind of trophy for your labs!”
The scientist tightened her grip on Fade, her nails starting to dig into the Turk’s shoulders. Hazal winced but continued struggling. The ginger smiled. It was always more fun when they fought, thinking they could escape. Autumn always loved a bit of a challenge. She mustered all of her strength and hoisted the Dream Seer into the back of a Kingdom-branded armored van. She stepped into the vehicle, cornering Fade. Never taking her eyes off of her dangerous new captive, she rummaged through the enormous pocket of her lab coat.
“Where are you taking me? Where is my brother?! What did you do with him?!”
“Oh, him? Well, he’s in the other van, sleeping safe and sound. Couldn’t have the both of you scheming for an escape… obviously,” Autumn spoke as her voice dripped with a sinister acidity. She finally pulled out a hypodermic needle filled with a mysterious substance as Fade looked up with fear. “What’s wrong? Scared? Well, this will only get you sleepy like your brother! Nighty night!” She pierced Fade’s neck with the needle as the Radiant winced. Fade’s eyes soon grew heavy, and the outline of Autumn as she left the van, slamming the door on her way out. It wasn’t long before the Dream Seer passed out.
…
Fade’s eyelids opened drowsily. They blinked slowly, drooping like a flower weighed down by a raindrop. Fade shook her head and rubbed the crust from her eyes. She studied her surroundings. Bleak. The room was lit with uncomfortably white and sterile fluorescent lights. Blank tiles lined the floor, and the walls were just as dull, made of those oversized bricks and, again, painted a dull white. There was a door to leave, which was, of course, locked, and it sat next to what seemed to be a large one-way window, which was probably bulletproof. The only other door in this pit of despair was a simple bathroom fitted with the bare minimum when it came to soaps, towels, and other care products, most of which were cheap generic brands. So much for the high-quality care Kingdom supposedly provided. Although, that dull reality didn’t really surprise Hazal. She was disappointed to find no trace of Hayden while scanning her room… or, rather… her cage. She flopped on the bed in the far corner, regretting it immediately. She landed with a light thud and was sure her back would soon acrimoniously complain about the agonizingly firm mattress. Fade groaned as she let Nightmare out and conjured a Fear Knot to keep her hands busy. The beast immediately inspected every square inch of the room. It continued to prowl, hoping to find something to chase or hunt. Unfortunately, the room was devoid of any stray dust bunnies. Feeling defeated, the shadowy feline jumped onto the bed and curled up beside Hazal as her henna-decorated hand dismissed the Knot and gently combed through his fur. What a drag.
While all Fade wanted to do was mope around, the realization of her situation finally dawned on her. Maybe the uncanny sterility of those forsaken lights had finally gotten to her, or maybe she was starting to pick up traces of the fear that emanated from the labs in the facility. From rooms like hers. Maybe it was her own fear. Hazal Eyletmez had only a few fears, and they were all dancing in her mind, taunting and prodding her into doing something she’d most definitely regret. Contrition or not, Fade just couldn’t take her thoughts away from Hayden, not even for a moment. She had to find him. Hazal looked down into Nightmare’s eyes, meeting his silent gaze. “Lord knows what they’ll do to me here… to him.”
Nightmare chirped and tilted his head, seeming to grasp the futility of their predicament. Fade’s nails gently scratched his forehead before recoiling. The shadowy beast rose to its feet and stretched, promptly jumping off of the bed and sniffing at the exit door.
“No use, it’s locked,” Fade mumbled. She rested her face in her hands and massaged her temples. She only looked up when Nightmare pawed at the door as if trying to test its durability. “Nightmare, I told you, the door is locked,” Fade grumbled as the panther-sized creature growled in protest as if it were complaining about Hazal’s refusal to do something about their containment. Now, Fade certainly had something she wanted to do- wring the neck of that damned ginger. She would’ve loved to spill her guts and paint the walls of Kingdom in the scientist’s blood. Yet… she had no clue where the woman disappeared to. She didn’t sound like a native of Türkiye. Her accent was definitely American- the one good thing about tourism was that one grew familiar with different accents. Wow, what a crappy silver lining.
Hazal drew in a deep inhale. She closed her eyes to brainstorm, which would soon prove to be a mistake. Torrents of visceral fear clouded Fade’s judgment as she struggled to think clearly. She could feel it all at once- most of those fears were about Kingdom, the procedures and the scientists, dying, saying goodbye to family, or of needles stabbing into the skin. Occasionally, her own fears mocked her as the others tormented and picked at her brain like a vulture to a freshly slaughtered corpse. There were so many Radiants in this place- and a lot of them were just like her- people trying to live their lives until they were stolen away from their homes to be studied for this supposed “greater good” that Kingdom preached with one hand out, one behind their back, hiding the blood that coated those clawed fingertips of this beast.
As Fade grew more anxious and enraged, Nightmare drew strength from her and started to frenzy along with her. It let out a low growl as it paced back and forth, trying to contain itself from attacking anything that moved. Hazal, though, was dead set on finding her brother and escaping by whatever means necessary. “Whatever it takes, Nightmare. Whatever it takes.” Fade clenched her fists, drawing in shaky breaths. She couldn't take her mind off of him, no matter what she did. Hayden always lingered there, and Hazal couldn't bear it. Her mind stubbornly continued to deny Fade the peace and stillness she needed. Terrible visions of the worst possible outcomes flashed through her mind- where Kingdom had taken him... or what they were doing to him. Eyletmez shuddered, clenched her fists even harder, and screamed. Her agony and fear had reached an unforeseen apex, and it was now so intense it flooded the whole room.
Nightmare circled its Radiant. The beast wasn't entirely sure what to do with this sudden outburst of fear and pain. It didn't know if it wanted to drag Fade back onto the bed to relax, or pounce on her, so it simply traced a circle like a buzzard over fresh carrion.
Fade would never properly recall how exactly the locked door was blown from its hinges, but it did. The heavy slab of metal, on its way down, caught an unfortunate scientist in the wrong place at the wrong time. The man screamed as his voice was cut short by the sound of crunching bones. Fade could feel the short, yet intense burst of fear he put out. It was delightful. Having been trapped in this forsaken room for an unknown time, Fade hadn't been getting any dose of fear that wasn't her own, and it drove her mad. She smelled the air, growing more and more frenzied with each breath of fear. Raw shadow ebbed around Fade as she stepped away from her prison. She didn't run or speed up her gait- that was not needed. She would make them all fear her. Fade conjured a massive Fear Knot, her hand shaking as she pulled a loose string, readying the magic.
Multiple scientists scurried to meet her, like anxious mice trying to escape a monstrous housecat. Some tried to run away, and they were met with shadows that formed from the ground and held them in place. The others held firm. Fade grinned, baring her unusually long canines. She loved it when they played hero.
"Nightmare, take them all! No mercy this time!" Fade yelled. As the words left her lips, she could feel even more fear from these people.
It was a mess, but Fade liked these macabre messes. Something about the blood and torn flesh reminded her of the violent fear that coursed through her prey when Nightmare tore into them. Their lab coats, once a perfect, eerily sterile white, were now almost completely red, as if they were always supposed to be that color. Clumps of wet, sticky hair, still clinging to forlorn chunks of scalp littered the halls. Trails of organs traced Fade and Nightmare's path- the horrors followed them as Fade spared not a single soul. Blood sprayed her face as she stepped on a stray heart. There it was. The rush of her prey's blood splattering on her face. She'd grown accustomed to it- bounty hunting was a dirty job and Fade had grown to love it.
As Fade continued down through the hallways of Kingdom’s Istanbul branch, scattered entrails squelched underneath her feet as she continued to slaughter any employees in sight. But as a scrap of intestine stuck to the bottom of her boot and stubbornly rode with her like a parasite, Fade, trying to remove the stubborn piece of flesh, missed a few scientists fleeing from the approaching danger. The lab-coat-clad, terrified employees did not take even a single glance over their shoulders and only stopped running when they were in their cars to drive away. Fade only looked up from her shoe as she heard the heavy, armored outside door slam after her fleeing prey had flung it open. Fade grimaced, but continued pressing forward. Soon, she found herself in a room filled wall-to-wall with complex machinery, circuitry, and colorful arrays of buttons. There was one that stuck out, however. It was labeled, “open all cells.” She pressed it, hoping it did what she thought it would. She glanced at the array of security monitors that were seated in one corner. On the fuzzy screens, she could see what appeared to be every Radiant housed in the facility. They were running, shocked, confused, and excited.
“I did it, Nightmare,” Fade said softly, in awe of what her eyes had just beheld. “I’ve freed them all. They’re safe now!” Nightmare purred and chirped happily. He sauntered over to Hazal and nuzzled her leg. Fade, after letting her mind clear out, noticed a desktop and a monitor labeled “patient records.” Perhaps she could find Hayden there… if he was even in Istanbul. She scrolled through the records, which, surprisingly, weren’t password-protected. Her eyes scanned each name and location with an intense zeal. She reached the Z’s. Nothing. Siktir! Aye, that damn ginger probably shipped him back to America. Oh, abi, I’ll find you, I promise. This is only the beginning- I’d tear the world apart at its seams to find you, Hayden. Fade growled in frustration as she turned her heel to leave the now completely deserted facility. Kingdom’s Istanbul branch was a ghost town. She sent Nightmare back into the Nazar on her zipper and looked out into the city, cloaked in night as the various lights twinkled like artificial stars. “Whatever it takes.”