Kestrel wasn’t sure if Nicole and her group had safely reached the next shelter, but she realized that she and Ren wouldn’t arrive there on time.

The sky lit up almost at once, as the dawn-dusk line, which took lives as it moved, sped towards them, covering everything on the ground.

Kestrel and Ren looked at each other. He had just finished an intense fight and was still breathing heavily, with fresh blood mixing with sweat on his forehead.

They locked eyes for only a second.

"There’s a space under the ground," Kestrel informed him.

This mutant had come out from a fissure in the ground, and it was so big that even if the ground fell apart, there would still be a hollow space left underneath.

While Ren was busy fighting, Kestrel’s tendrils had explored beneath the ground, tuning into the thoughts of small creatures like rodents and worms, and discovering a large enough underground area where both of them could take shelter.

If Ren could uncover the entrance quickly, they wouldn’t be trapped under the harsh sun.

At this point, Ren didn’t waste any time. Without even giving Kestrel another glance, and without saying anything, he and his orca started digging at the spot Kestrel pointed to.

Unable to assist at this moment, Kestrel took a seat under the nearby Ferris wheel, which had been partially destroyed by the mutant.

She rested against the Ferris wheel’s base, feeling a hint of coolness from the cold stone seat against her back. She recalled their arrival in Mantidale, witnessing the sunrise for the first time, and the tiny mantis that couldn’t find shelter quickly enough doing something similar.

He had hidden at the base of a tall statue, hoping the large shadow of the statue would give him more time. But this only prolonged his agony, making his death even more painful than if he had been burned instantly.

The death-signifying dawn-dusk line approached rapidly. Grass shriveled and curled up, fragile flowers burst into flames. Numerous butterflies and glow-worms emerged from the flower sea, attempting to follow the retreating night and escape in a panic.

But nobody could outrun the light. Numerous sky-dwelling creatures were ensnared by the golden death line, their lives snuffed out, reduced to ashes under the scorching sun.

Kestrel sat leaning against the base of the Ferris wheel, the crackling sound of burning grass and flowers echoing behind her. A wave of intense heat was getting closer, and she hunched further into the shadow to avoid it.

Although she knew it wasn’t the time to be distracted, she couldn’t help but feel that this moment mirrored one from her past— the surroundings were equally blindingly bright, fires erupted all around, the acrid smell of burning filled her nose, and she was tucked away, huddled in a corner just like before.

"I’m not the same scared child I was back then," Kestrel sternly reminded herself.

The flickering red flames grew more aggressive, the sound of crackling fires amplified. Kestrel’s vision began to shake involuntarily. Before her lay a flower meadow and the giant corpse of the beast, but in her mind’s eye, she saw wooden floors, a tiny toy house, and the legs of adults rushing towards her.

The heat was unbearable, as if everything was melting away.

"Kestrel..."

"Kestrel... Mommy and Daddy..." the phantom voices chimed in the illusion.

Summoning a shred of her waning consciousness, Kestrel attempted to rise, but her limbs felt heavy and unresponsive.

"Do you know my biggest regret?" the image of Kaworu suddenly asked. "Not sharing my true feelings with her."

"Yes, I can’t lose focus now," Kestrel urged herself, realizing she still had unspoken words and sentiments to convey to Ren.

With effort, Kestrel managed to steady herself and regain full awareness. Just then, the searing dawn-dusk line skimmed past her, filling her surroundings with blinding white light. The Ferris wheel behind her cast a protective shadow over her, granting her a few more precious moments of life.

The heat was oppressive, causing sweat to drench her eyelashes. Through her unclear vision, she noticed Ren emerging from the underground, soaring towards her.

He made a slight curve in his trajectory, managing to dart into the small patch of shadow just before the sunlight could catch him, and embraced Kestrel tightly.

The relentless dawn-dusk line moved on, leaving the ground scorching hot. The Ferris wheel’s large frame cast a shadow, creating a small haven in the stark white landscape. This sanctuary was quickly diminishing, leaving them with no room to move.

Swiftly, Ren removed his alpha suit and placed it over Kestrel’s head. These suits, standard issue for the Empire’s alphas, were built to endure the harsh conditions of battle, boasting flexibility, durability, and heat resistance.

With the jacket shielding Kestrel’s face and head, Ren lifted her up in his arms.

By now, the shadow provided by the Ferris wheel was nearly gone, the surrounding heat nearly scalding their skin. The entrance to their underground refuge was just a few steps away, but in this brutal heat, those few steps felt as challenging as traversing a field of fire.

Suddenly, the shape of an orca appeared in the sky, making a big shadow on the ground that created a safe path between the Ferris wheel and the hole’s entrance.

Ren sprinted in the shadow. Kestrel was safely tucked in the small space between Ren’s chest and his clothing. As she leaned on his strong chest, she heard the whale let out a sad cry, and smelled a burnt smell, reminding her of a time long ago when she was held by her mom while running through a place surrounded by fire. This scary memory from when she was a kid made her whole body shake and her arms and legs feel all weak.

But Kestrel knew she couldn’t just be scared right now. She understood that if Ren couldn’t keep going, she would need to help out right away, like she had done a long time ago, by controlling Ren’s body, making him not feel pain, and guiding him towards the dark entrance of the hole.

She couldn’t let him fall, no way.

It all was happening so fast, with thoughts zooming by really quickly. Kestrel leaned against Ren, able to hear what he was thinking.

"No need," he told her. "You don’t have to. I can do this by myself."

Even though they weren’t far from the hole, and Ren was really fast, to Kestrel, it felt like time was going very slowly. Held tightly in his strong arms, she flew over the really hot ground, in the shadow made by the orca, and they hurried into the deep cave in one go.

They both fell inside, rolling down to the very bottom of the cave. At the bottom, where Ren had made an opening, there was a big open area. Kestrel had guessed right; this place was big and twisted, cool and not too stuffy, a good place to hide.

The sun could only send a few tiny rays of light to the entrance, unable to reach where they were anymore. The two of them got up from the messy ground, and Kestrel, covered by the alpha’s jacket, sat in the dark and cool underground place.

The fire, the running... it all stopped.

Many years ago, when everything stopped, a young Kestrel got out from the snow, trying to wake up the person who had carried her all the way there. But no matter how much she tried, she couldn’t wake up the burnt figure lying in the snow.

"Mommy, please wake up..." little Kestrel said in the freezing snowy place, but her mom wouldn’t wake up, no matter how much she called.

Kestrel opened her eyes. Now, there was still a big fire and they had run really fast, but she was sitting in the cool cave, and the alpha next to her took the cloth off her head, and seeing that she was okay, smiled at her.

...

Everything was finally over, the hurtful memories were now just a part of history.

This time, there weren’t any wild fires, scared running, family members who couldn’t wake up, and a little version of herself who felt helpless – only an alpha who would give her a warm smile. His smile was so nice that, somehow, it made her heart race.

Ren took off his coat, looking her over to see if Kestrel was hurt in any way. When he saw that Kestrel was just dirty but not hurt, he let himself smile a little. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

He looked really messy, his gloves were all melted and looked like old rags, there were burn marks on his face and body, and what was worse were the strong pains he felt because his psychic incarnation was hurt – but it was okay as long as Kestrel wasn’t hurt. Everything was okay as long as she was fine.

"Finally, there’s a time when I was able to keep her safe," Ren’s finger moved up, as if to gently touch Kestrel’s face. But before touching her, he fell down.

He lay in the cool cave, barely managing to lift his hand, which had a ripped glove on it. Holding her hand softly to reassure her, he told her, "I’m okay, just need to take a break for a bit... that’s all."