The motel room was mostly dark, with a little light poking through the covered window. It was also silent, aside from the deep breathing and occasional snore.

Everyone else was asleep, bodies sprawled across the motel beds like survivors of a war, breaths slow and shallow. But not Kai.

He hadn't slept properly. Not really.

He lay there on the cold floor, eyes half-lidded, drenched in sweat, heart thudding like a war drum in his chest. His muscles were tense, coiled tight like a spring. His dreams, if they could even be called that, were soaked in blood again. A crimson tide that dragged him under.

But this time, it wasn't just the usual haze of slaughter and instinct.

This time, faces broke through the fog.

Nyx, smiling, always smiling, his voice like needles in Kai's skull. Seraphina and her hypnotising cold blue eyes. And then… her. The woman from the AMC squad. That cold, sharp glare. Familiar. Unshakably so. Like a memory trying to claw its way to the surface, but failing to pierce through the fog of his stolen past.

'Who the hell is she to me?'

Kai clenched his fists, breath slow and controlled. It was frustrating that he couldn't remember, but something else suddenly caught his attention.

The mattress creaked above him.

A soft shift. Barely a sound.

But it was enough.

Kai's eyes snapped open, glowing faintly red in the shadows. He didn't move. Didn't speak. Just listened. The shuffle of fabric. The slow, practised steps of someone trying not to wake anyone.

Sven.

Kai didn't even need to look. His senses, always sharp, always active, registered the heartbeat, the slight change in air pressure, the faint scent of a woman's perfume and alcohol buried in Sven's jacket.

Nadya was snoring softly, curled protectively around Amina on one of the twin beds. Across the room, Isaac was out cold, his arm dangling off the edge of his mattress. Sven had been beside him just moments ago.

And Kai?

He'd crashed on the floor by the door, the last one in and with the least priority for comfort. Not that he minded. Hard floors didn't bother him. Not when each and every night he would be tormented in his own mind.

There was still no sign of Takeshi, but worrying about him wouldn't help him or them, so they just trusted he was fine.

And right now, Kai's attention was solely on Sven.

The silver-haired mutant was halfway to the door, moving like a ghost. Intentional. Too intentional. Sven didn't care about waking people, he was loud, careless, lazy. Kai knew him. Travelled with him. Lived with him. So if he was creeping out this quietly… it wasn't to be respectful.

It was to hide something.

"Where are you off to?" Kai's voice cut through the quiet like a blade, low and calm, but sharp enough to stop Sven in his tracks.

Sven froze. "Damn it," he hissed under his breath, visibly startled. His eyes flicked toward the sleeping group, then back at Kai, trying to compose himself. "I was just…"

Kai didn't let him finish.

"I'm coming with you."

Simple. Final. No room for argument.

Sven grimaced, scratching the back of his neck. "What, you don't trust me now?"

Kai pushed himself up off the floor in one smooth motion, red eyes glowing faintly in the darkness. "I trust you enough not to ditch us," he said, his tone steady. "But not enough to let you sneak off randomly without a word. Plus, I'm bored and can't sleep."

He didn't shout. Didn't threaten. But Sven knew that tone. Everyone did. Kai's calm was worse than a raised voice, and he was just as stubborn as the rest of them.

Sven sighed, deflating like a balloon. "You're a pain, you know that?"

Kai gave a ghost of a smile. "Absolutely."

There was a long pause. A silent standoff in the dark. Then, with a reluctant shrug, Sven gestured toward the door.

"Fine. Tag along, Bloodweaver. Just don't go full murder-mode on anyone, yeah? I'm trying to keep this casual."

Kai didn't respond. He just smiled and followed.

And just like that, the two of them slipped out of the room and into the cold streets of the city that never really slept.

The others slept soundly, seemingly unaware.

But outside, as the first hints of sunrise crept over the New York skyline, Kai and Sven's adventure began, quiet steps on cracked pavement, deeper into the heart of chaos.

-

Sven moved like a man with purpose, shoulders low, steps light, posture focused. No lazy swagger. No exaggerated yawns or muttered complaints. Just quiet precision.

Kai followed a few paces behind, eyes narrowed, movements fluid. He hadn't planned to tail anyone tonight, but sleep? That had been off the table from the moment his nightmares bled into memories. If he was going to stay awake, he might as well see what the silver-haired mutant was sneaking off to do.

Sven was many things - pervy, reckless, shamelessly flirty - but this wasn't the first time Kai had seen that flicker of seriousness in him. Beneath all the jokes and deflections, there was something buried deep. Something mysterious and dangerous.

The motel door clicked shut behind them with a muted thunk, and silence returned to the dimly lit room.

But not everyone was truly asleep.

Nadya's eyes cracked open first.

She didn't jolt awake, didn't gasp. Her breathing remained steady, as if she were still dreaming. But her gaze tracked the door, watching the shadows that had just left. Across the room, Isaac stirred, shifting under the covers. His eyes fluttered open as well, sharp, alert.

Neither of them spoke.

Instead, they locked eyes in the dark. A shared glance between seasoned survivors. After weeks spent trekking through the twisted wilderness, you learned to pick up on the smallest cues. Changes in the air, subtle sounds, and the surrounding presences - they could sense it all.

Sven and Kai were gone. That much was obvious.

But neither Nadya nor Isaac moved to stop them.

Nadya gave a faint shrug, pulling the blanket tighter around herself, her breath fogging slightly in the cold air of the motel. Isaac just sighed and turned over, burying half his face in the pillow.

They didn't need to speak their thoughts aloud.

'Let's just hope they don't get into trouble.'

They trusted Kai. Trusted Sven, too - at least enough not to assume the worst. But trust didn't mean faith. Between the blood-eyed mutant with a death wish and the flirt who treated danger like a game, it was hard to tell which of them was more likely to stir chaos.

Still, if anyone could keep Sven from doing something monumentally stupid… it was Kai.

And if anyone could keep Kai from slicing someone's head off before breakfast… well, maybe Sven had his uses too.

Nadya exhaled softly, curling around the still-sleeping Amina.

Isaac flopped back into a more comfortable sprawl.

Meanwhile, Sven and Kai were on their way deeper into the city and were about to have quite the eventful day...

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