Hidden Flame

When we got back to Tristan's place, Chessie and Devin were already there, waiting outside the door. Devin stood stiffly against the wall, arms crossed tight against his chest, his posture radiating tension. Chessie stood in front of him, unmoving, her face pale and drawn. Relief washed over me at seeing them unharmed, but their expressions churned my gut. Chessie looked like she might be sick.

"Hey, guys," I said, forcing a smile as we walked up.

Tristan didn't stop. He moved straight to the door, swiping his key card to let us inside. We all knew the unspoken rule—nothing important could be said out here where anyone might overhear. Once we were in, the air felt thicker, the tension in the room palpable.

"Well, you're alive," Devin quipped, trying to break the silence as he closed the door behind us. "Guess that means dinner went... well?"

I let out a hollow laugh, one that barely sounded like me. "As well as it could, I suppose." My eyes darted between them, unable to hold back my urgency. "What about you two? Did you find anything?"

Tristan was just as eager as I was, his entire focus zeroed in on them, waiting.

Devin glanced at Chessie, and they exchanged a silent conversation. After a moment, Chessie nodded, turning her gaze back to me. "We almost got caught," she said, her voice tight. My stomach lurched. "When we first got up there, they were still there. The scientists or... whatever they are. We saw them."

I swallowed hard, a lump forming in my throat. Chessie paused, hesitating like she didn't want to say the words aloud. Her eyes flicked to Devin again, and she shook her head before forcing herself to continue. "We saw them carrying bodies. One of them was Zay."

My chest tightened, and the blood drained from my face. "Zay's dead?" The words came out barely above a whisper, my voice cracking. Tristan went stone still beside me.

"No," Devin said quickly, trying to steady me before I spiraled. "We don't think so. He looked sedated though. They all did."

The explanation barely made it easier to breathe. "What the hell are they doing up there?" I muttered, mostly to myself.

Chessie pushed on. "We stayed hidden, waited for them to clear out. When it finally got quiet, we went digging."

"And?" Tristan asked sharply, leaning forward. His voice mirrored my own desperation.

Chessie hesitated, her face grim. "It was like you said, Liv. Chairs in every room, straps on them. Needles. Vials. Microscopes. And... other stuff we couldn't even begin to understand."

"They say it's for health cures," Tristan cut in. "The kind they use at the medical center." But his expression betrayed him—he didn't believe that. Not fully. Because if it was legitimate, why the secrecy? Why the locks?

"Maybe," Devin added, his tone uncertain. "But we found vials of blood. Dozens of them. Labeled with names. None we recognized." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. "There was a list of names on a desk. It matched the vials. I figured you might recognize someone, so I swiped it." He handed the paper to Tristan.

Tristan unfolded it quickly, scanning the lines. His eyes squinted, and every few seconds, he shook his head. "No," he muttered. "None of these names mean anything to me."

My stomach sank as I slouched against the couch. It felt like we'd hit a wall. If any of us recognized the names, it might've been a lead, but instead, it was just another dead end.

"Dammit," Chessie groaned, frustration bleeding through her voice. "We wanted to search longer, but we heard people. We had to get out of there—I'm sorry, Liv."