THE SOUL INSIDE

They locked her away thinking she’d disappear—forgetting the world doesn’t get to choose who survives, and some cages build storms the world isn’t ready for.

Serena Quill knew she wasn't supposed to be running.

Not when her lungs were already aching and her legs felt like they were stitched together with lead.

But the train was coming. And if she missed it, everything she'd risked would be for nothing.

The wind fought against her, sharp and frigid and wild like it had something to prove. Her honey-brown waves snapped against her cheeks as she bolted down the slippery steps toward the subway entrance, heart pounding hard enough to drown out the noise of the world.

One glance over her shoulder.

No shadows.

Yet.

Still, she didn't slow down.

She dodged a cracked tile. Leapt over a rusted railing. Ignored the familiar tightness in her chest that always came with this station.

Five years ago, she'd arrived at these tracks in the backseat of a black-windowed car. A man with silver cufflinks and too many secrets had walked her through the gates of the asylum like he was delivering a parcel. "The world doesn't need another broken thing," he'd said before leaving her behind.

She never saw him again.

Now, she was running in the opposite direction-and every step away from those walls felt like stealing back a piece of herself.

She hit the platform just as the train roared in, the screech of metal on metal slicing through the night. The doors hissed open. She jumped inside.

And froze.

Someone was staring at her.

He sat near the back-lean, sharp-eyed, a hoodie shadowing most of his face. But it wasn't the hoodie that caught her attention. It was the silver streak in his dark hair. A streak that shimmered oddly under the fluorescent lights.

Like it didn't belong in this world.

Serena looked away, heart stuttering for a completely different reason now. She slumped into the nearest seat, hugging her coat tighter, trying to shrink into invisibility.

The train jerked forward.

And that's when it happened.

A sharp snap bloomed behind her eyes-like the cracking of old glass-and suddenly her head was swimming. Images she didn't recognize surged through her brain like a tidal wave: blue lightning, a mirrored room, voices echoing in a language she didn't know.

The train around her faded into white static.

She wasn't sitting anymore.

She was standing in a circle of silver pillars.

And someone-some thing-was watching her.

Just before the illusion shattered, she heard it:

"The broken souls will shatter the sky."

Then the floor slammed back into place, and she gasped, clutching the seat, blinking hard.

The subway was still there. The boy with the silver streak hadn't moved.

But she knew.

Something had changed.

When the train finally screeched to a stop, Serena stumbled out, her knees still shaky. Her eyes darted up and down the unfamiliar street. Buildings towered around her, their windows glowing against the night.

She needed to hide. Just for a moment. Just long enough to breathe.

A narrow shop on the corner glowed softly from inside-brick walls, warm lights, the scent of something sweet spilling into the air. A café. The first she'd ever seen in real life.

Her feet moved before her thoughts could catch up.

The bell above the door jingled as she stepped inside.

And then she saw him again.

The boy from the train.

He was behind the counter now, sliding a tray of mugs into the sink like he belonged there. His hoodie was gone, replaced by a dark t-shirt dusted with flour. But the silver streak in his hair still shimmered beneath the café lights.

Before she could react, the floor tilted-

💫 Author's Note: The Soul Inside 💫

🌪️ Chapter 1:

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