He was a ghost when she found him.
Lia was twelve, scouting the remains of a supply route Ada used back in the day. She wasn't supposed to be alone—but she went anyway. She was stubborn like that.
The boy was hiding in a collapsed tunnel, curled around a satchel of canned food and a broken breathing mask.
He aimed a small, rusty weapon at her.
She didn't flinch.
"Nice try," she said. "But that thing doesn't even have a charge cell."
He blinked, caught off guard.
That was the first moment Kairo Valen saw Lia Wong—and she disarmed him with her words before she ever raised a hand.
They sat across from each other for an hour. She shared her protein bar; he gave her half his fire-starting kit.
He didn't tell her his last name. Just that he'd escaped from a facility. That he didn't remember much. That he was different.
So was she.
It was silent when they realized they weren't alone anymore.
Genesis was still hunting. But now—they weren't running alone.