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2.

The world swirled into a chaotic haze as I opened my eyes, and the disorientation hit like a punch to the gut.I was in my teenage room. Posters of bands and my favorite singers stuck on the wall proudly with dark blue wall staring at me. I was never a girly girl.

And then I saw it.

A transparent screen blinked to life in front of me, hovering mid-air, shimmering faintly. My heart lurched as words began to form on the screen, glowing in an ominous white light:

“FIND: ACE CALLAHAN.”

“What the hell?” I muttered, stepping back, my hands clenching into fists.

As if in response, a voice—not quite human but eerily calm and cold—rang in my ears.

“Find the person, Ace Callahan.”

I whipped around, but there was no one else in the room. The voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once.

“No,” I spat, shaking my head. “I’m not doing this. I don’t even know what’s going on!”

The screen blinked, the command repeating itself:

“FIND: ACE CALLAHAN.”

“I said no!” I shouted, swiping my hand through the screen in frustration. It rippled like water but didn’t disappear.

The voice returned, this time sharper, colder. “Refusal is not an option.”

Before I could respond, the world around me dissolved into a blinding white light. My scream echoed into nothingness as I felt my body being yanked through what felt like an endless void.

When the light faded, I was no longer in my bedroom. The air was sterile, the walls a stark white, humming with energy that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I was strapped to a metal chair, my wrists bound tightly, and my breath hitched as panic set in.

“Where am I?!” I demanded, struggling against the restraints.

A figure stepped forward—faceless, shrouded in shadows. The voice returned, this time laced with a cruel edge. “You were given a task, Zephyr. You refused. Consequences must follow.”

“I don’t know who you are or what you want!” I screamed, my voice cracking. “I’m not doing anything for you!”

“Oh, you will,” the voice said, almost amused. “Because if you don’t, you’ll lose what you hold most dear.”

Before I could process the words, a screen appeared in front of me again. This time, it wasn’t blank. My heart stopped.

It was my son.

Eight years old, with the same sandy-brown hair and mischievous smile he always had. He was playing in the yard, kicking a soccer ball, oblivious to the danger lurking just beyond the frame.

“Liam,” I whispered, tears streaming down my face. “No, no, no…”

The figure stepped closer, and a cold hand rested on my shoulder. “You have a beautiful son. It would be such a shame if something were to happen to him.”

My blood ran cold. “You stay away from him,” I growled, my voice trembling with rage and fear.

“Then do as we ask,” the voice replied smoothly. “Find Ace Callahan. Bring him to us.”

“I don’t even know who that is!” I yelled.

“You do,” the voice insisted. “You’ve met him before. He is the boy you once loved. The father of your child.”

My world tilted as the words sank in. “What are you talking about? Ace… he’s…”

“Alien,” the voice finished for me. “He looks human, yes, but his blood tells a different story. Blue, not red. His kind is a threat to us, and you will help eliminate him.”

“No,” I choked out, shaking my head. “You’re lying. Ace… he’s just a guy. He—he couldn’t be…”

The screen changed, showing a grainy video of Ace standing in a dark alley. A blade slashed across his arm, and instead of crimson, bright blue blood oozed from the wound.

My stomach turned, bile rising in my throat. “This… this can’t be real.”

“It is,” the voice said. “We need you to take him from the past. And if you don’t cooperate, your son will pay the price.”

I slumped in the chair, the fight draining out of me. “Why me? Why not just take him yourselves?”

The figure chuckled darkly. “Because he trusts you. And because, whether you like it or not, your lives are intertwined.”

My chest tightened, my breaths coming in shallow gasps. “And if I don’t?”

The screen changed again, this time showing Liam asleep in his bed. A shadowy figure loomed over him, a knife glinting in the moonlight.

“No!” I screamed, thrashing against the restraints. “Please, don’t hurt him!”

“Then do as we say,” the voice commanded.

Tears streamed down my face as I nodded, defeated. “I’ll do it. I’ll find Ace. Just don’t hurt my son.”

The restraints clicked open, and I crumpled to the floor, sobbing.

"But how do I take him to you when I'm in the past?" I asked, my mind whirling in a total mess.

"You just need to say the word 'I found him' when you see him. We will take care of the rest. You have seven days,” the voice said before everything dissolved into darkness.

When I woke up, I was back in my childhood room, drenched in sweat and shaking uncontrollably. My mind raced with the implications of what I’d just experienced. Ace. My son. The Blue blood.

I had no choice. For Liam’s sake, I had to find Ace Callahan.

My eyes roamed around my room and got stuck on the digital wall clock. May 26 2015, the day that had changed my life entirely.

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