Episode 1 — Running into The Light
It was a rainy day—nothing like the ordinary drizzles of the British countryside.
Thunder cracked with brutal precision, and the wind tore through the trees, bending branches and whipping the undergrowth like wild beasts.
Above the storm-darkened ground, two figures ran—not racing, but fleeing for their lives.
“Get them!” voices shouted behind them.
Flashlights flickered like scattered stars; footsteps pounded against the wet earth, and ragged breaths tore through the night air. But no one dared to stop.
A hidden branch snapped underfoot, tripping the girl. She crashed to the cold, muddy ground.
The boy spun around instantly, eyes wide with fear, and lunged to lift her—refusing to let go even for a heartbeat.
“Zayne… I can’t keep up… I’m sorry,” the girl gasped, pain lacing her voice.
“No… don’t apologize. It’s not your fault,” he replied firmly, pulling her to her feet. They stumbled forward again, ducking into the dense brush.
The pursuers followed with relentless ferocity.
“They went this way!” a man shouted, his voice slicing through the storm.
“Bring them back—dead or alive,” ordered a woman’s cold voice from behind.
She sat in the backseat of a black SUV—a striking young woman in a red chiffon dress. Her bright lipstick and sharp almond eyes gleamed like blood under the dim light. Her name was Chaterine, and her beauty was as lethal as her intent.
Zayne and Elyn hid behind a thick pile of bushes, hearts racing as the pursuers thundered past.
Zayne tore a handkerchief from his pocket and pressed it against the gash on Elyn’s leg. Blood seeped through, warm against the cold rain, staining his hands.
When the noise faded, they rose quietly, moving in the opposite direction. But fate wasn’t kind.
A twig snapped under Elyn’s shoe—a sharp crack that shattered the fragile silence.
“There!” another man shouted, and the chase resumed.
One of the men was fast—too fast. He closed the distance with terrifying speed.
The blood from Zayne’s hands, loosened by the wind and rain, spattered against the silver bracelet around his wrist. It gleamed faintly—something ancient awakening beneath its surface.
Zayne grabbed Elyn’s arm and ran harder. Seeing the man almost upon them, he made a desperate choice—lifting her in his arms and sprinting through the storm like a man possessed.
Then, ahead of them, a light appeared—impossible and unreal.
A swirling orb of color hovered in midair, glowing with shifting hues that painted the rain in strange brilliance.
Elyn gasped. “Zayne… what is that?”
Zayne stared at it, chest heaving. “Elyn… do you trust me?”
Her eyes widened, but she nodded. “Yes.”
His voice trembled, soft but sure. “No matter what happens after this—no matter where we end up… or if we die—know that I love you.”
Elyn clung to him, whispering, “I trust you with my life.”
Far off, in the SUV, Chaterine typed furiously on her phone, long red nails gleaming.
“They will be dead tonight,” she murmured, pressing send. A low ping followed, and her phone rang almost immediately.
“You’d better not fail,” a man’s voice growled through the receiver.
She smirked, twirling a strand of her dark hair. “Trust me. They won’t live past midnight.”
Meanwhile, back in the storm, the man chasing Zayne reached out—fingers brushing Zayne’s jacket—just as the colorful orb expanded and swallowed them both.
A blinding flash filled the forest.
The man screamed in agony as light seared across his face. When the glow faded, he fell to the mud, clutching his burnt skin, writhing in pain. His name—Zao—would one day be remembered for the scar that defined him.
The remaining pursuers froze, terrified. None dared move closer to the fading shimmer where the teens had vanished.
When they returned to Chaterine’s SUV, rain-soaked and shaking, one finally spoke, voice trembling.
“Ma’am… they’re gone. A light—just swallowed them.”
Chaterine’s expression cracked. Her lips parted slowly.
“They… disappeared? What… do you mean… a magical light took them?!”
Her scream sliced through the storm, echoing across the forest—sharp enough to scatter the birds into the night.
