Shadows of Identity

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The living room was a battlefield of files—pages sprawled across the floor, photos taped to the wall, red string connecting people and places like a conspiracy board born out of nightmares. The pen drive had finished decoding, and the storeroom files were finally sorted by Junior and Mark, though Mark had crumpled up into a ball on the couch from exhaustion.

Nani sat cross-legged on the floor with the others around him—Sky on his left, Tee and Dew leaning over a set of notes to his right, and Junior tapping rapidly at his laptop in the center.

A silence lingered—heavy, like the air before lightning strikes.

Then Junior spoke.
“I have confirmation. All the pieces match.”

Everyone stilled.

“The pen drive, the old photos, the erased lab reports, and the names found in the storeroom—they all point to one thing: Nani’s parents were part of an unauthorized black-ops research unit under a now-defunct government sector.” He looked up. “They weren’t just researchers. They created something… horrifying.”

For a long moment, the entire team stood frozen as the screen displayed rows of encrypted files, video footage, and top-secret government reports—each stamped with a name that sent chills down their spines:

PROJECT NYX.

The hum of the projector was the only sound in the room. Nani’s hands tightened into fists by his sides, the air around him tense and still.

Sky stood behind him, his eyes scanning the screen rapidly. “That’s their handwriting,” Nani murmured quietly, almost to himself. “These are real. Your parents were part of something huge.”

“They were part of a hidden government research unit,” Junior said, flipping through a stack of printed documents. “And not just any unit. Human weaponization. Experimental biology. Secret trials.”

“They weren't just scientists,” Dew added softly, eyes narrowing. “They were working on creating something dangerous. Something powerful.”

A sharp breath escaped Nani’s lips. “Then why didn’t they ever tell us? Why keep it a secret?”

“To protect you,” Mark replied gently from the side, eyes cast down toward the video fragments on screen.

The room dimmed again as one of the decrypted videos loaded. A low-quality security feed. Two adults in lab coats rushed through a corridor, holding the hands of two small children—barely four or five years old. The alarm lights blared behind them.

“That’s them,” Nani whispered. “That’s... us.”

Tee leaned against Dew’s shoulder, eyes wide. “They were trying to escape.”

Sky took a slow breath. “This was never just an accident. Someone wanted them gone. And now... they know about you.”

Nani didn’t reply. He just stood there, staring, like if he blinked, the images would disappear. His fingers trembled slightly.

Sky didn’t say anything either. He didn’t rush to hold him like he usually would. Instead, he stood a little closer, just enough for their arms to brush. Quiet comfort. Nani leaned slightly into the warmth.

Then the screen blinked again—a voice recording this time. Female. Frantic.

> “We’ve hidden the data. If anything happens, don’t look for it. Nyx must stay buried.”

> “We’ve hidden the drive. If anything happens to us… they must never find out. Don’t let them know. Keep the children safe. Project Nyx must end here.”

Tee’s breath caught. “She meant you two. You and Mj.”

“And now that Mj’s been digging,” Junior said, his voice lower, “they’ve realized you exist too.”

The room was silent for a beat too long.

A sharp buzz interrupted it. A new massage in MJ’s phone —distorted, shadowed.

> “We know what you found. Return the files or we’ll make you regret it.”

No face. No name. But the threat was real.

Nani’s knees almost buckled, and Sky’s hand instinctively brushed his—just lightly, just enough to say I’m here without words.

On the couch, Mark had gone quiet. Junior shifted slightly closer, resting an arm casually behind him. Mark leaned into it, just enough for their shoulders to touch.

Tee looked at Dew, eyes filled with quiet confusion. “What do we even do with all this?”

“We keep moving forward,” Dew said, brushing his thumb gently over Tee’s wrist. “Together.”

The weight of the truth was crushing. Their parents had lived a double life. Hid their children. Protected them from enemies they never knew existed.

Now those enemies were watching. And waiting.

And even though the team was tired, scared, and barely hanging on—none of them moved away from each other.

Sky didn’t let Nani walk alone that night, staying close, brushing his knuckles against Nani’s hand while they walked to the kitchen to get water.

Junior lingered near Mark, always one step behind or ahead, wordlessly keeping watch.

Dew cooked quietly next to Tee, exchanging small glances and tired half-smiles as they tried to make sense of their new reality.

There weren’t big declarations or desperate embraces.

But in the tension of the storm, the silence between them said everything.

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