NOVEL NEXT Chapter 52: Mama
Jace stepped over broken glass and scorched pavement, his eyes scanning every shadow.
Bodies lay scattered, some crushed, some torn apart. The sight didn't make his stomach turn like it should have. That realization alone made him pause.
He shook his head. "Dead bodies don't even faze me anymore. That's… not normal."
The silence pressed in, heavier than the smoke still rising from the ruined cars.
No screams, no sirens, not even the sound of people trying to crawl away. Just the faint hum of a city holding its breath.
"This is oddly quiet," Jace muttered.
[Not just quiet.] Zin's voice cut through the stillness. [I can't sense the second alien. No movement, no kinetic imprint. It's gone.]
Jace frowned, tightening the balaclava over his face as he looked up at the rooftops. "Did it run?"
[Possible. But why?] Zin's tone was edged with suspicion. [These brutes don't retreat. They're bred for war, for destruction. If one of them pulled back, it wasn't because it was afraid.]
Jace narrowed his eyes at the empty street. "So what then?"
[Either it's regrouping… or it was ordered to leave.]
The thought sat heavy in Jace's chest. He exhaled, steady but uneasy. If someone was pulling the strings, then the brute he'd just killed wasn't the real problem, it was just the opening move.
He wiped blood from his lip, glancing once more at the ruined block before turning back toward the alleys. Whatever game this was, it wasn't over. Not by a long shot.
Jace muttered, "If there's nothing else, I should look for Serai…"
He pulled his phone from his pocket and scrolled to the new contact.
Coming here, he'd made sure she had more than just clothes, Zin had arranged for a phone too.
It wasn't much, but it was enough to keep in touch if she wandered.
He pressed call. The dial tone rang, once, twice, three times.
No answer.
His jaw tightened. He hit redial. Again, the ringing dragged on with no reply.
[Well, maybe she doesn't know how to use it,] Zin offered, his tone calm but edged with irony. [Or she forgot it's even in her pocket. Human tech is still clunky to her.]
Jace exhaled through his nose, pacing a few steps. "Or maybe something happened."
[Don't jump to conclusions. She's an alien, not a toddler. If she felt threatened, you'd hear it, trust me. That scream of hers is not something anyone can ignore.]
Jace stopped in the middle of the street, the phone still in his hand. He knew her scream.
"Can you track the new phone?" Jace asked, his voice low.
[Anything that's yours, I can track,] Zin replied without hesitation. [Give me a second.]
There was a faint hum in Jace's head, like static brushing his thoughts.
[Scan complete. She's still in the building.]
Jace froze. His eyes narrowed, scanning the empty street around him. "Still in the building? You mean… back at the mall?"
[Correct. The signal hasn't left the perimeter. Which means either she never ran as far as you thought… or something's keeping her there.]
Jace clenched his jaw. "Dammit. And here I was hoping she actually listened for once."
[You wanted her to blend in with humans, remember? Congratulations. She's acting just like one, ignoring orders and running straight into trouble.]
Jace exhaled through his nose, his fists curling tight. "Then we go back."
Zin's voice pressed into his head as Jace approached the ruined mall.
[She's inside. Northeast corner. Third level bathroom. I'm tagging the signal. Move.]
Jace leapt over broken glass, the balaclava still on, his boots crunching through debris.
He passed scattered corpses, crushed by the alien's rampage.
Survivors huddled where they thought walls would protect them, eyes wide with fear as he strode past.
When he pushed open the bathroom door, the stench of blood and damp tile hit him. The room was packed, at least twenty people squeezed in tight.
Some whimpered, some clutched each other, and all of them froze when he appeared in the doorway, a tall masked figure in torn clothes and streaked blood.
Whispers flared. "Who is he?" "Was he with it?" "Is he one of them?"
Jace could feel their suspicion cutting into him. His instinct was to leave, just vanish. But then he felt Zin press at his thoughts.
[Control the situation. If they panic, they'll turn on you.]
Jace forced his voice deeper, rougher. "You're safe now. The monster's dead. Get out while you can."
The bathroom erupted into movement. People shuffled, some crying, some sprinting.
Serai spotted him immediately, her illusion flickering with relief.
She shoved through the crowd and ran straight to him, clutching his arm and slipping behind him like a shadow.
As the civilians spilled into the hallway, murmurs shifted. Some stopped to gather around the alien corpse, its massive body sprawled in the rubble below. "What is that?" "Is it another one of them?"
Among the chaos, Jace's attention snapped to a sound—small, piercing.
"...Mama? Mama!"
A boy, no older than ten, stumbled out from the dispersing crowd. His glasses slid down his nose as he spun, searching. Tears streaked his dirt-covered face.
He saw Jace. His steps faltered, then carried him closer until he was staring up with wide, broken eyes.
"Where's Mommy?" the boy asked, voice trembling.
Jace froze. His throat went dry under the mask.
"…Zin," he whispered, almost begging. "What do I do?"
[Don't say anything reckless. Keep it short. You don't know if his mother's among the dead.]
But the boy's eyes didn't leave him. Waiting. Hoping.
The words slipped out before Jace could stop them. "She… uh… she went to get help."
The boy blinked, his lip trembling. "R-really?"
Jace's stomach twisted. That wasn't what he meant to say. It wasn't what he should've said. He wasn't sure if it was a lie, a mistake, or both.
He looked away, jaw tight under the balaclava. "...Yeah. She'll find you."
The boy's face crumpled as tears poured harder, clutching at the small hope he'd been given.
Behind Jace, Serai's grip on his sleeve tightened.
[Awkward doesn't begin to cover it,] Zin muttered. [But you've tied yourself to this now. Don't make it worse.]