Introduction
Did we really make it? Everything we went through wasn’t for nothing. The pain and suffering. The waiting and despair. That was the price of hope. Our last chance - and somehow, it had paid off. They really do still exist. The Fireflies.
Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath. Or at least, I tried to. My lungs felt heavy, as though they were filled with water. The air caught in my throat, squeezing it tightly. My battered body had stopped obeying me. The very same body that had once been my greatest weapon. My armor, which I had worked so hard to build, training every muscle relentlessly for years. Now, it was nothing but a shadow - a useless reflection and a reminder of everything I had been through. I sat on a couch with a blanket draped over my shoulders, one that was supposed to keep me warm. But I couldn’t feel its warmth. Even an ordinary blanket was an unbearable weight on my now-fragile shoulders, pressing down on me even more.
- Abby, right?
The man’s voice pulled my thoughts back to reality. Though still dazed and barely able to make sense of my surroundings, I tried to piece everything together. Me and Lev had actually managed to reach Santa Catalina Island, where we had been met on the shore by people. Not just people - the Fireflies. I didn’t remembered how many of them there were, whether they had weapons, what they had said, what they had asked, or if they had asked anything at all. I didn’t know how I had found the strength to make it from the shore to their base, or how long the journey had taken. But now I was here. Sitting on a couch in one of their offices.
Slowly opening my tired eyes, I saw a cup being held out to me.
- Yes. Thank you.
My voice was hoarse, unusually quiet. The corners of my lips lifted into the faintest of smiles, while my gaze remained fixed on the cup, steam rising from it.
- My name is Ryan, - the man introduced himself. - I’m the leader of the Fireflies. Or, more precisely, what’s left of them.
I nodded. I recognized Ryan’s voice. He was the one I’d spoken to over the radio in Santa Barbara.The leader of the Fireflies,I repeated silently, trying to comprehend the weight of those two words. Finally, my gaze shifted toward Ryan. He didn’t seem much older than me.Chestnut curls, dark eyes, no scars or freckles,I automatically noted, analyzing his appearance.
- I don’t remember seeing you in Salt Lake City.
Carefully, I took the cup from his hands. The hot ceramic should have burned my palms, but I felt nothing. Still staring at the rising steam, I couldn’t bring myself to take a sip.
- Because I wasn’t there. My division was based in Los Angeles. We were devastated by what happened at the hospital that day...
At the mere mention of that day, something tightened between my ribs. I tried to take another deep breath, but to no avail. Ryan silently watched me. His elbows rested on his knees, his body leaning forward and shortening the distance between us.
- And what happened to you? Why did your journey from Santa Barbara take so long?
We were captured.My left hand instinctively reached for the back of my head. My short hair tickled skin unpleasantly, making my body shudder.The Rattlers,flashed through my mind. And then came everything they had done to me.
- I thought we were going to die there, on that beach... But we were rescued.
- Rescued? By whom?
- A girl.
I cut the answer short. There wasn’t enough time in the world to tell him everything. And it would hurt. Too much.
- Is that your son?
Ryan nodded toward Lev.
Lev was resting on my lap. Exhausted, he had fallen asleep as soon as we had been brought to the base. Just like me, he had changed beyond recognition. Only the scars beneath his cheekbones remained unchanged. Adjusting the blanket covering him, I gently squeezed his shoulder. At my touch, the tense muscles in Lev’s body relaxed slightly.
I’m so glad he’s with me.That he’s okay.
- No. Not exactly. We’re not related. But... I don’t have anyone else but him, - I answered softly. - His name is Lev.
- Family isn’t always about blood. It’s about caring. Because in this life, the most important thing is having someone to care for.
Those words, coming from Ryan, didn’t sound like a meaningless cliché. His voice was filled with confidence and deep sincerity. Like the first rays of morning sunlight piercing through impenetrable darkness, he radiated a sense of calm that seemed to consume the space around him.
And me with it.
- Abby, - he broke the silence. - I can only imagine what you’ve been through. But know this - you can stay here for as long as you want. You don’t have to run anymore. You’re safe now. The Fireflies don’t abandon their own.
With every word Ryan spoke, the tightness in my chest began to loosen. The relentless anxiety that had already become an inseparable part of me began to lose its grip. Slowly inhaling, I felt the air gradually sink deeper, filling my lungs, my ribs rising - this time without pain.Why does this stranger have such an effect on me?No matter how hard I tried to understand it, to analyze everything, my body reacted faster than my mind. With a deep exhale, tears rolled down my cheeks. Bitter and hot, they touched my lips, which I pressed tightly together in an attempt to suppress a sob.Stop. Don’t be weak.I repeated the words silently, over and over, until suddenly I felt Ryan’s palm against mine. Warm. Steady. Reliable. Just like the look in his eyes, as if it were saying: I’ll take care of you. I promise.
I no longer had the strength to hold myself together. To keep fighting. To protect myself and Lev. I had no choice left. I allowed myself to trust him. Because somewhere deep inside me, something had broken.
Something that could never be healed again.
