He ran a hand through his hair. "Fine. I'll hear you out. One night. Then I decide."
Lila muttered something under her breath that sounded like "waste of time," but Ren didn't react.
Ren nodded once. "That's all we're asking."
They started walking.
Kade took one last look over his shoulder—back toward the alley where everything changed.
Then he followed.
—
The warehouse they led him to was about a ten-minute walk. It was tucked behind a stretch of busted-up buildings that looked like they'd been forgotten decades ago. Rows of empty shops with boarded windows, paint peeling off the walls like dead skin. A couple rusted-out cars sat on blocks nearby, windows shattered, tires long gone.
The warehouse itself wasn't much better. Looked like the kind of place where people vanished. Kade hesitated at the door, half-expecting to get jumped again. But when Ren pushed it open, the inside didn't match the outside.
It wasn't fancy—not even close—but it was... lived in. Mattresses stacked in the corner. A makeshift kitchen with a mini fridge buzzing too loud. A table in the center covered in maps, torn papers, and weird glowing stones that pulsed faintly like heartbeats. The air smelled like old wood, instant coffee, and something metallic.
Kade stood near the entrance, arms crossed tight over his chest. He didn't sit.
Ren motioned toward a crate. "Alright. You wanted answers."
"I'm not here for a tea party," Kade said. "Talk."
Lila rolled her eyes and leaned back against a beam. "He's got attitude now."
Ren ignored her, his focus steady. "We're not just a group. We're a unit formed to stop the resurgence of the Hollowborn—ancient creatures tied to old prophecies, sealed away centuries ago. But the seals are breaking. Fast."
"Supernatural demons, basically," Ava added from her spot on a beat-up stool, cradling a chipped mug.
Nico was sitting cross-legged on a ratty couch, flipping a glowing orb between his fingers like a bored magician. "And they're not exactly playing fair. More of them show up every day. Stronger ones, too."
Kade blinked. "So let me get this straight. You're saying monsters are crawling out of the shadows, and you four fight them? In alleyways? Like some discount Justice League?"
Ren stepped closer. "We each have an artifact. Ancient. Dangerous. They grant us abilities—but they're cursed. There's always a cost."
He lifted his shirt slightly, revealing the mark—dark, branching, like veins of ink crawling beneath his skin.
"Everyone who's chosen gets one," he said.
Ava set her mug down and stood. She pulled her shirt up on one side—her mark was jagged, like lightning burned into her ribs.
Nico pulled down his collar to show a swirling spiral coiled into his shoulder.
Lila didn't move, but the way her jaw clenched said she had one too.
Ren turned to Kade. "When the artifact dropped near you, and when you picked it up, it was meant to mark you. He nodded at Kade. "Check your side. The mark is always there."
Kade hesitated. The room suddenly felt smaller.
He lifted his shirt and ran his hand over his skin.
Nothing. Just flesh.
The others stared. Ava's mouth parted slightly. She looked like she forgot she was holding her breath.
"No mark?" Nico stepped forward, frowning.
"Impossible," Lila said, her voice flat. "He touched it."
"Can't you touch your sides?" Kade asked.
Ren didn't look angry. Just... curious. Almost hopeful. "He's immune..."
Kade let his shirt fall and exhaled slowly. "So what does that mean?"
Ren leaned on the table, his voice low. "It means you were chosen. But different. The curse rejected you."
Lila crossed her arms, eyes sharp. "Or he's just a fluke."
"Either way," Ren said, ignoring her, "the artifact picked you. That means something."
Kade rubbed the back of his neck, jaw clenched. "You said I could stay one night."
Ren nodded. "We'll talk more tomorrow."
—
The night was long.
Kade lay on a spare mattress, staring up at rusted beams, wondering how the hell this became his life. He could hear the others around him—quiet, but there. Ava humming softly, Nico tapping away on a laptop, Lila dragging her blade along a whetstone like she was doing it just loud enough to annoy him.
He closed his eyes, but his brain kept spinning.
Monsters. Curses. Powers. Freaking war.
He thought about that alley. The way Nico almost died. The way Kade just… moved. Like something inside him snapped. No hesitation. No fear.
But now? Now the fear was creeping in.
Because this wasn't just a fight anymore. It was a war.
And people die in wars .
—
Morning came in through the shattered windows in streaks of gray. Light pooled on the floor like someone spilled it there.
Kade sat with the others at the table. There was toast, beans out of a can, and something that might've once been eggs but now smelled like regret.
Ren looked up from his plate. "You ready?"
Kade picked at his toast. "So this is the part where you ask me to join you, right?"
Nico raised an eyebrow. "We're not twisting your arm."
Ava smiled, tired but genuine. "But we do hope you say yes."
Lila didn't bother to look up. "We're not babysitting him forever."
Kade set his toast down. Stood.
The room stilled.
"I've made up my mind," he said, voice clear.
"I get it now. The monsters are real. The war is real. You've got something worth fighting. Maybe even dying for." He looked at each of them, steady. "But I'm not part of this."
He stepped away from the table. "That artifact? Maybe it made a mistake. Maybe I wasn't supposed to be picked. Doesn't matter."
Ren stood slowly. "You're not afraid?"
Kade shook his head. "I'm not stupid. That's different."
He walked toward the warehouse door, stopped with one hand on the rusted frame.
"You all have your reasons. Your powers. Your mission. Me? I just wanted something simple. A job. A way out of the mess I grew up in."
He turned slightly, meeting Ren's eyes.
"I've already watched people I care about get hurt. And yeah, I can't stand that. Still can't. But that doesn't mean I'm willing to die for strangers."
Ren took a step toward him. "You might not get to choose next time, Kade."
Kade's voice dropped. "Then I'll deal with it when it happens."
And just like that, he walked out.
No goodbye. No dramatic exit. Just a kid with no powers, walking away from a war he never asked to be part of.
Leaving the warehouse—and whatever destiny waited inside—behind him.
To be continued…