Caleb Summer's Arc

Chapter 1 of 3

Caleb Summer crouched behind a dumpster with his sister pressed against his chest. Two blocks away, men in gray coats searched doorways with flashlights. They worked for the company that had kept Caleb and Lily in a lab their whole lives. That morning the siblings had run. Now the company wanted them back. "They're close," Lily whispered. Her eyes caught the streetlight, red and purple and blue swirling like a small galaxy. Those eyes were why the company would never stop looking. "Caleb, where do we go?" He had no answer. They had nowhere to hide. Every open street left them exposed, and the men were spreading out fast. A metal crow dropped onto the dumpster lid. Its feathers shone black, and its eyes glowed ruby red. Caleb flinched. The bird tilted its head, hopped once, then flew low toward a dark building. It stopped, waited, and watched them. "It wants us to follow," Lily said. Caleb didn't trust it. But the flashlights were turning their way. He grabbed Lily's hand and ran after the crow. The bird led them to an abandoned library. Boards covered the windows. The door hung loose on one hinge. Inside, tall shelves leaned in the dark, thick with dust. The crow flew up a staircase to the top floor. There, behind a false wall of books, Caleb found a hidden apartment. Clean. Dry. Safe. He pulled Lily inside and bolted the wall shut. For the first time all day, he breathed. But safe wasn't enough. He needed help from someone the company didn't control. He took out an old phone and dialed a number he had kept for years. A cold voice answered. "Who is this?" "It's Caleb." Silence. Then the voice softened just slightly. "Caleb. You're alive." Zyane Sterling had been their friend since childhood. His parents once worked for the company. They had tried to save Caleb and Lily, and the company threw them out for it. Zyane was a doctor now, calm and careful, the only person left who owed the company nothing. "I need you," Caleb said. "Lily's with me. We got out. They're hunting us." "Where are you?" Caleb described the library and the hidden loft. He heard Zyane moving, grabbing keys, already deciding. "Don't open that wall for anyone but me," Zyane said. "I'll be there before dawn. Keep her inside." "You're sure? This puts you in danger." "I know exactly what it does." A pause. "She's worth it. Stay put." The line went dead. Caleb lowered the phone. Across the small room, Lily had already fallen asleep against the wall, trusting him completely. They had a roof now. They had help coming. But the metal crow perched on the windowsill, watching the street with its red eyes. Someone had built that bird. Someone had sent it. And it had known exactly where to lead them.