Chapter 4The Heart That Witnessed My Death

Vicky raised her boot and brought it down hard on Lila’s leg.

A sickening crack echoed through the alley. Lila screamed, a sound of pure agony, but her fingers remained locked around the silver bracelet.

I screamed in the sky, a silent roar of fury. I threw myself at Vicky, trying to shove her, trying to break her balance, but I was nothing but a ripple in the air.

Lila’s leg was twisted at a grotesque angle. She looked up at the space where I was floating, her eyes shimmering with tears, but her gaze was strangely direct. It was as if she could finally see me.

"Emmett... see? I’m holding it. I didn't let her take it."

My heart—the spirit of it—broke. In a moment of absolute desperation, I did something forbidden. I ignited half of my soul, burning my spiritual essence to create a surge of energy. I focused everything on that mechanical heart miles away.

Just for one second. One pulse.

That was enough.

A moment later, Vicky’s lead guard checked his tablet. "Ma'am! We just picked up a ping from the mechanical heart’s GPS!"

"It’s beating! The signal is coming from right nearby... and it’s moving!"

Vicky looked at the red dot on her screen and let out a triumphant laugh. "I knew it. I knew he was faking. Let’s go. I’ve got you now, Emmett."

As she turned to run to her car, Lila’s voice drifted after her. "Emmett... where are you going?"

Vicky paused. She looked back and saw Lila staring into the empty air, reaching out with a trembling hand as if trying to grab someone’s sleeve.

"Emmett! Emmett! Wait for me!"

Vicky’s face twisted in disgust. "Useless freak. Stop playing games."

She walked back and stomped on Lila’s other leg. Another crack. Another scream.

I collapsed in the air, my vision blurring. Igniting my soul had drained me of everything. My form was fading, becoming translucent, as a strange, cold vacuum began to pull me away.

I don't know how much time passed before Vicky reached the coordinates.

She found herself in a dusty vacant lot where a group of neighborhood kids were kicking something around in the dirt.

Her breath hitched. The red dot on her screen was right on top of her. As she approached the children, the dot stopped moving.

"Hey!" she shouted. "Give me that!"

She grabbed the "ball" from the kids. A light rain began to fall, washing away the grime and mud from the object. Familiar brushed-metal housing emerged.

A cold, sickening dread washed over her.

She pressed the manual override switch on the side of the heart.

This time, there was no pulse. No whirring of gears. Only silence.