Chapter Two First Choice

We ran hard through the alley and out onto a side street.

Cole didn’t look back. He just kept moving like he already knew the route. June stayed close to me, breathing fast. Behind us I heard shouting and the sound of a van engine starting.

“Left,” Cole said.

We cut between two buildings and came out near a small parking lot. An old dark car was waiting with the engine running. Cole opened the back door.

“Get in.”

June hesitated for half a second. I pushed her inside and climbed in after her. Cole got behind the wheel and pulled out fast.

No one spoke until we had put several blocks behind us.

June turned to me, eyes wide. “What just happened? Who are those people? Who is he?”

Cole answered before I could.

“They’re called Wardens. They hunt people like Thea. People who come back.”

June stared at him. “Come back from what?”

I wiped the last of the blood from under my nose. “I died during the blackout. Twelve days from now. Adrian left me on the street and I died. Then I woke up again.”

June’s face went pale. “That’s not possible.”

“I know how it sounds.”

Cole glanced at me in the rearview mirror. “Her visions are already starting. That makes her easy to track. The stronger they get, the louder the signal becomes.”

June looked between us. “And you’re just… what? Helping out of kindness?”

Cole’s voice stayed calm. “I’ve been through this before. I’ve watched people like her get taken. I’m tired of watching.”

I studied his face from the back seat. He didn’t look like someone who said more than he needed to. His hands were steady on the wheel. Everything about him felt controlled.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“Somewhere they can’t track you as easily for a few hours. After that we need a better plan.”

June crossed her arms. “I want to know everything. No more half answers.”

Cole was quiet for a moment. Then he said, “Fair enough. But not while we’re moving. Once we’re off the street.”

We drove in silence for a while. The city still looked normal. People walked on the sidewalks. Cars moved through intersections. It felt wrong after what I had just seen in the vision.

Eventually Cole pulled into the underground parking of an old apartment building. He parked in a far corner and turned off the engine.

“This place belongs to someone who owes me,” he said. “We can stay long enough to talk and clean up.”

We took the stairs to the third floor. The apartment was small and mostly empty — a couch, a table, boarded windows, basic supplies. Cole locked the door behind us with two different bolts.

June sat down hard on the couch. “Start talking.”

I sat beside her. Cole remained standing.

“The blackout isn’t just a power failure,” he said. “When it hits, something thins. People who die in it sometimes come back with memories. Most don’t last long. The ones who do start seeing things — flashes of what’s coming, cracks in places normal people can’t notice. That ability gives off a signal. The Wardens learned how to track it.”

“And they want me because of that,” I said.

“They want to control you. Or remove you if they can’t.”

June rubbed her face. “This is insane.”

“I know,” I said quietly.

Cole looked at me. “You need to learn control fast. Every time a vision hits without warning, you light up for them. The one you had earlier was strong enough that they found you within minutes.”

“Can you teach me?”

“I can try. But it won’t be gentle.”

I met his eyes. “I didn’t come back to be gentle.”

Something shifted in his expression. Not quite a smile. More like recognition.

June watched the two of us carefully. “What about Adrian? He’s still going to look for you.”

“He’s the smallest problem I have now,” I said.

Cole nodded once. “Good. Because the Wardens won’t stop, and neither will whatever looked at you in that vision. You’re marked now. That changes things.”

I touched the spot on my forehead that still felt warm.

“Then we don’t stop either,” I said.

Cole held my gaze for a second longer than necessary.

“Get some rest while you can,” he said. “We move again before night. And Thea…”

“What?”

“Next time the vision starts to take you, you fight it. I’ll show you how. But you have to be willing to hurt for it.”

I didn’t look away.

“I’m willing.”

Outside, somewhere in the city, a black van was still searching.

And for the first time since I woke up, I wasn’t facing it alone.