Hours ago, I saw Dad, and he has fought hard to regain his senses. But now, he doesn't recognize me.

Could it be that they've pumped a more powerful serum into his blood and made him go berserk?

Unlike Zarius, they also injected Dad with the nanobots much earlier, which means there are more drugs in his system. Now that things have gone awry, it just confirms one thing.

The military has lost their control over Dad.

He's now on the loose, ready to kill anyone he sees.

I take the next elevator, pressing the button for ground level, because that's where he has alighted earlier. Wherever he's going, it will not end well. He has attacked several soldiers earlier who were armed with guns, so I'm worried that he has gotten hurt.

I hope he's okay. Zarius told me that Dad has incredible healing powers, so I'm counting on that to keep him alive.

However, I'm not so sure about the rest of the humans who have crossed paths with him.

I reach up to my ear, realizing that I've lost the earpod that Max has given me somewhere during the fight. Something must have gone wrong with him, because he hasn't gotten back to me about Mom's location at our stipulated timing.

When the emergency alarm blared earlier, he must have been caught up with his duties.

The elevator opens up to the ground floor with a giant black sign that greets me–The Lounge. Terrified screams add to the chaos that's happening around the area. People are running back to their rooms. A couple of bodies lie dead, killed, as everybody avoids them like the plague. A fire has ignited from a broken cleaning robot.

My guts sink, and remorse gnaws at me.

Come back to me, Dad.

The only way to find him is to go against the direction of the crowd. As I push past the herd of people, my shoulder slams into somebody and he grabs hold of my arm.

"Sorry, are you alright–" My words break off when I see it's Max. "Max? What happened? I was waiting for your word."

He shoots me an apologetic look. "I tried to get to your Mom, but security was really tight. I called you and there wasn't a response, so I went to look for you. But then I got caught up."

Max glances behind him and I finally notice his brother–the last person I want to see right now. He's propped up against a pillar with his leg bleeding.

Matteo looks at me, yelps and inches away from me while clutching his bandaged arm. His face has lost its colors, as if he has seen a ghost or met the devil. Do I scare him that much? Or is it because he's afraid of Zarius and knows I'm well associated with him?

I frown at Max. "What happened to him?"

"One of the guards got caught by that merfolk and accidentally fired a couple of shots," he explains. "Mat got hit in the thigh."

Matteo winces at the blood oozing out of his wound, just murmuring words about a crazy monster on the loose. Seeing him like this, I've got no sympathy for him. Just like how Max told me he has shot Charles in the leg just to save himself, Matteo is now receiving the same treatment.

How you treat a person is like a boomerang; it returns in the same way as you throw it.

And people like him won't survive in the long run.

Max steers me forward and presses his gun into my hand. "You should go to The Common Ground," he urges. "There's an uncontrollable merfolk roaming this place. I think he's going for your mom and the lieutenant is planning to use her to shut him down. Too much damage has been done to this place, so they're giving up on him."

Of course. Dad was looking for her. Even in his subconscious state, all he thinks about is his beloved–his mate. Marked or not. What he wants is Mom and to keep her safe.

I take a step forward, but pause. This is the last time I'll probably ever see him again. "Thanks for everything, Max."

His eyes crinkle into a sad smile. "Stay alive."

I break into a full sprint, heading towards the direction where Max has pointed out to me–The Common Ground. There are sign boards providing directions everywhere, so I know I won't be lost. It's the next section of this underground city, the building where normal civilians live.

The closer I get to it, the more confident I am that Dad's really there. The passage is spilling with screaming people who are running away from the fight. As I squeeze my way through, The Common Ground emerges into my sight. It's like a main assembly of the quarters, while the rest of the floors go in a circle.

And there's a shadow leaping across the floors.

Soldiers are yelling and taking aim at the moving creature–Dad. In his arms, I see Mom being carried. In his delirious state of mind, he has gone to save her, but now everybody has their eyes and weapons pointed at them.

I hold my breath in fear.

On the third floor, Lieutenant Johan raises his gun and shoots. He almost hit Mom, but Dad takes the bullet for her. They slip off the railings of the second floor, crashing to the ground.

My heart screams in pain.

"No!"

Just as Lieutenant Johan attempts to shoot again, I lift my gun and fire at him, using up all the bullets as I move closer to my parents' bodies. I see Mom stirring and pushing herself up, but Dad isn't moving.

I stand in front of them like a shield. "Mom! Get up and move Dad!"

"Delia? What are you–"

With a deep inhale, I gather my anger. From seeing how my parents got injured, to Zarius getting controlled and my friends dying, I'm too hurt to think of somebody else dying.

Lieutenant Johan grips the railings, leaning his face over at me incredulously. "You. You're both a human and a merfolk?" He throws back his head and laughs. "I should have known."

I reach for the knot, knowing it's there. My emotions are getting too turbulent, too heavy to control, and it needs to be set free, like unraveling a knot. Whatever this is, I know it's going to cause a lot of damage.

Please. Let me just save my parents.

And I exhale through my mouth. I shove out a powerful wave of energy towards Lieutenant Johan and his group of guards, throwing them backwards. Electrocuting them to their deaths on the spot. More screams echo through the room as my hands send out more sparks.

"Delia!" I hear Mom's warning scream nearby. "You've got to stop it, baby. You're losing control."

But I can't. I'm still too power-charged. It feels like my body is about to combust into flames.

Like Mom has said, I'm going out of control.

Suddenly, I feel a hand slip into mine. I jerk away, thinking it's Mom and I don't want to hurt her, but Zarius's voice whispers into my ear. Gentle and encouraging.

"Delia. It's too much. Give it to me."

Panic rises within me, and I'm on the verge of tears. "But I don't know how."

"Delia," he coaxes me. "Take deep breaths. Focus on our connection like a thread. Just hold on to it."

I do as he says and close my eyes. Reaching out for the thread that I imagine links us both. I wrap my hands around it, feeling the rush of energy flowing out like a river.

"That's right. You're doing good."

The tingles in my arms cease to a stop and the heat in my body fades, but my energy is draining quickly. I'm barely hearing Zarius, because my consciousness is slipping away.

"Delia."

His velvet voice envelops me like a warm cocoon. I'm so tired that all I just want to do is to sleep in his arms.

"Stay with me. Don't go."

I want to, but my strength is dissipating. My hands slip away from the thread, unable to cling onto it any long.

And I fall into darkness.

***

"Delia, wake up." Someone shakes me awake–a voice that I welcome happily. Mom. "Delia?"

Water skims across my skin, and memories flash through my mind. My eyelids shoot open immediately as I look around us. We're no longer in The Common Ground. We're outside, in the waters. I'm piggybacking on Zarius's back as he glides through it smoothly, his tail sweeping out.

"Where's Dad? Is he alive?"

"He's fine. He's right here."

Mom is sitting on top of a humpback whale—the same friendly creature who gave me a ride to the island earlier. Dad's head is lying on her lap, unconscious and alive. Merfolks that Zarius has saved earlier swim along with us, offering their protection against the mutated creatures lurking in the depths of the ocean. A couple of them study me curiously, tilting their heads, but I don't sense any hostility coming from them.

I look back, only to find the island a speck of green in the distance. The military isn't chasing after us.

We're free.

In this world, the threat is constantly present. We will never be completely out of danger, but together, we exist stronger.

Zarius asks. "Where do we go now?"

"Home," I smile. "We'll build one. Together."

Even though we're riding off into an unpredictable future, we still have each other's backs. Together, we can figure out our next step and build a new life. A family plants the roots of a society, builds the foundation before reaching out to others.

And it shall begin with us.

💖