The Truth Untold

The sound of sirens pierced the darkness, rising louder until the flashing red and blue lights transformed the dirty alley into a crime scene disco. Tires screamed to a halt, and the ambulance doors flung open.

Brenda and Carlos, the paramedics, hurried toward them, moving with the efficiency of someone who had done this way to many times before.

"What do we got?" Brenda inquired, immediately kneeling beside Alex, her sharp gaze scanning him like a human MRI.

"Stab wound, lower abdomen," Elias explained, still clutching the makeshift bandage. His hands were stable, but his brain? Not so much. His mind kept returning to what he'd just witnessed—Leo's brilliant glow, the unbelievable healing.

"He was bleeding out, but, uh…it's slowed down," he tried to answer casually.

Carlos paused mid-glove snap, his brow raising with surgical precision. "Slowed down?" He bent to examine the wound, frowning. "How?"

Elias opened his mouth. Then closed. Then opened again.

Crap. How do you describe magical first aid?

"I... uh... used pressure points," he muttered, wincing at how plausible it sounded. "It seemed to… help."

Brenda and Carlos exchanged glances—the universal paramedic look for sure, buddy. But, as professionals, they didn't have time to dispute the nonsense spewing from his tongue.

"Alright, let's get him loaded," Brenda murmured, shaking her head as they helped Alex onto the stretcher.

Carlos chuckled as he fastened the straps. "Hey, Doc, if this whole surgeon thing doesn't work out, maybe you can open up a pressure point healing clinic."

Elias laughed softly and rubbed the back of his neck. Yeah. Sure. Right next to the unicorn rehabilitation centre.

Elias exhaled as the ambulance doors slammed shut and drove off into the night. He'd just witnessed something unthinkable. And now? He had to figure out what it meant.

Not a second later, two police cars came to a halt, their blue and red lights piercing the darkness. The doors sprang open, and uniformed officers streamed out, their hands hovering near their holsters, their faces set in that familiar not this again grimace.

Elias stood beside Leo, his pulse pounding against his ribcage.

"Stay close," Leo said quietly, his amber eyes fixed on the approaching officers like a cat on a very huge, very armed dog.

A gruff-looking officer walked toward them, his gaze skimming over them with the sharp efficiency of a guy who would not stand for nonsense. "You two see what happened here?" he asked, his tone tight and serious.

Elias opened his mouth, only for Leo to take a smooth step forward, exuding the kind of effortless confidence that made people instantly want to trust him.

"We heard a commotion," Leo replied, his voice firm, as if he could persuade a bouncer to let him into a VIP club where he had no business. "We came to see if we could help. We arrived to see the young man already down. We did not see the attacker."

The officer squinted, as if he was comparing Leo's statements to a mental checklist of Is This Guy Lying? For a brief period, distrust hung in the air. Then, as if by magic, his shoulders relaxed, his jaw unclenched, and Elias swears the tension in the air had decreased by at least 20%.

"You a doctor, son?" The officer turned to Elias, his tone less I'm-going-to-arrest-you and more mildly-curious-uncle.

"Uh... yeah," Elias answered, still catching up on how Leo had just Jedi mind-controlled the guy into relaxing. "I tried to stop the bleeding..."

"Did what you could," the officer said with a firm nod, as if Elias had just passed a secret cop test. "Alright. Thank you for your help. We'll take it from here."

Behind him, other officers were already putting up crime scene tape and directing passersby away with the standard Move along, nothing to see here routine—which, of course, only made the onlookers crane their necks more.

Leo clapped a hand on Elias' shoulder. "See? That wasn't too bad."

Elias walked out of the alley, his mind still reeling and his pulse racing. He cast a peek at Leo, who continued walking beside him as if nothing bizzare had occurred.

Finally, Elias said, "What the hell was that?" His voice was low but filled with incredulity. "Back there, with the cops and Alex, you did something. You—" He waved his hand vaguely, unable to comprehend the correct words. "Nudged the entire scenario. It's as if reality swung in your favor. And there's another thing—"

Leo smiled, completely unbothered. "I helped."

"Helped?" Elias repeated, throwing up his hands. "Leo, you Jedi mind-tricked a cop and used the fast-forward button on Alex's stab wound! That's not 'helpful'; that's terrifying!!"

Leo's smile twitched, and amusement danced in his eyes.

Elias raked his hand through his hair, his brain frantically searching for a logical answer and failing badly. "I mean, people don't do that. Normal people don't do that. That isn't how reality works! So I will ask again: who are you?What are you?"

Leo inclined his head, examining Elias with a knowing yet annoyingly calm expression. "I told you," he murmured softly, almost amused. "I'm a friend."

Elias laughed incredulously. "A friend? Friends don't just alter physics, Leo! Friends don't use Jedi powers to avoid cops and heal people instantly!"

Leo raised an eyebrow. "Don't they?"

Then he turned and began walking away, as if the entire conversation had been a casual talk about the weather.

Elias stared after him, his frustration boiling over. "Wait—WAIT! You can't simply do things like that and then walk away! What was that glow? How did you do that? What is going on?!"

Leo did not break stride. "You ask a lot of questions, doc," he said over his shoulder. "Good thing I like that about you."

Elias dashed after Leo, his pulse pounding in his ears and frustration twisting up in his chest. Leo, for his part, walked ahead like they were on a leisurely evening walk, hands in his pockets, stance relaxed—as if he hadn't just thrown Elias' world into disarray.

"Would you stop walking away?" Elias snapped, his voice echoing over the virtually deserted walkway. "Speak to me! Explain yourself."

Leo finally came to a halt, turning just enough for the streetlights to illuminate his face. His demeanor was unreadable—calm, perhaps even regretful—but there was something in his eyes, something deep and distant, like a guy looking at the rubble of a house he used to live in.

"I wish I could explain everything, Elias," he murmured, his voice somber and heavy with something Elias couldn't identify. "But you won't believe me. Not yet."

"Try me," Elias challenged, his jaw tense enough to break a tooth. His hands clinched at his sides, and nails dug into his palms. "I've seen things tonight… things that shouldn't be possible."

His thoughts turned to Tommy, to the dream that felt too real, and the crimson sparkle in the attacker's eyes. It wasn't a coincidence. He knew it was not.

Across from him, Leo exhaled as if he were pondering whether to deliver a truth bomb or simply walk away and let Elias figure it out for himself.

"Some truths are too big to take all at once," he finally muttered, stroking his palm down his cheek. "Some doors, once opened, can't be closed again."

Elias narrowed his eyes. "What is that supposed to mean? Are you threatening me?"

Leo raised his hands like a guy confronting an angry, very caffeinated grizzly. "No! gods forbid." He made a vague gesture at Elias, as if he were waving at an agitated customer about to fight a barista. "I'm trying to protect you."

Elias let out a sharp, humorless laugh. "Protect me? From what? The truth?"

Leo hesitated. "Among other things…"

Elias crossed his arms. "That's not ominous at all."

Leo approached, his golden eyes gleaming like molten metal in the low light. "The truth can be dangerous, Elias," he said quietly, his voice bearing the weight of something certain. "Especially when it challenges everything you think you know."

Elias folded his arms. "I'm a doctor," he shot back. "I deal with the truth. In facts. In things that are real."

Leo arched his brow, a slow, knowing smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth. "Are you sure about that?" he inquired, tilting his head slightly. "Or are you just dealing in what you perceive to be real?"

Elias opened his mouth to argue, then quickly shut it. His mind raced like an overworked MRI scanner. Perceive to be real? What exactly was that supposed to mean?

His entire profession was based on reality—on biology, on things that could be verified, measured, and demonstrated. And now, standing here, face-to-face with a guy whose eyes literally glowed like a sentient lava lamp, he felt as if the foundation had been pulled out from under him.

Before Elias could respond, the night split up with a harsh cry of sirens, piercing the tense silence between them. Three police cars drove by, their flashing red and blue lights painting the buildings in frenetic colors. An ambulance followed closely behind, its haste clear.

The typical New York apathy waned. Pedestrians on the sidewalk slowed, their heads swiveling like spectators at a wild sporting event. Conversations came to a halt, giving way to murmurs of curiosity.

"Another shooting?" someone muttered.

"Must be that gang fight in Harlem," another speculated, as if reading from a police report.

"What is happening to this city?" An elderly woman sighed and clutched her purse as if it contained all the answers.

Elias exhaled and rubbed his temple. The violence was no longer only an ER issue; it was seeping into every street corner, transforming the city into one gigantic, never-ending trauma ward. Forget Gotham; New York was just five bad nights away from needing its own superhero.

Leo watched as the emergency vehicles sped past. His jaw was clenched, and his fingers drummed nervously on his arm. He looked like a man watching rain clouds sweep in, resigned to getting soaked.

Then, with a heavy sigh, he turned to Elias, his expression something between I told you so and we're all done.

"It's starting," he whispered, his voice barely audible above the distant sound of the sirens. "Sooner than I expected."

Elias' eyes narrowed. "What's starting?" His pulse accelerated. "Leo, tell me what you know. And why do you have that expression—like a guy who just discovered he left the oven on and realized it was too late to turn it off?"

Leo shook his head, his gaze moving past Elias as if he were watching ghosts parade across the room. "Too much," he whispered. "And not enough."

Elias groaned, raising his hands. "Great. You've become a mysterious fortune cookie. Again." He took a step closer, jabbing his finger at Leo. "How about just once, you say something that makes sense? What did you mean when you said 'It's starting'?"

Leo's lips formed a thin, unmoving line. His eyes, dark with what appeared to be sorrow, shifted to the side—away from Elias, away from the moment. The weight he was carrying sank into his posture, forcing his shoulders down as if the universe had personally picked him as its reluctant pack mule.

Elias exhaled sharply, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Look, dude. I appreciate the entire mystery sage act, but I just worked a twelve-hour shift and am out of patience."

Leo eventually looked at him, and his expression softened—not with relief, but with a tired comprehension. "I'm a friend, Elias," he responded calmly but firmly. "That's all you need to know for now."

He tilted his head, a faint smirk pulling at the corner of his lips. "And I swear—that is the absolute truth."

Elias opened his mouth, ready to argue or demand explanations, but the words stuck in his throat like peanut butter. Leo's straightforward assertion, That is the absolute truth, was not empty words. It rang like the sound of a gong inside his head, heavy and absolute. His brain searched for a logical foothold, but everything about this moment was like performing surgery in the dark while wearing oven mitts.

The truth? What really is the truth? Was it the kind that made sense, or the kind that made you doubt your very existence? Because right now, Elias felt like a man who had been told that gravity was optional.

A wave of disorientation crashed over him, tipping the world sideways. His knees wobbled like uncooked noodles. He reached out blindly and grabbed the nearest solid object—Leo's arm.

Leo didn't move much. "Easy there, Doc," he replied, his grip firm but unexpectedly kind, as if he was used to catching individuals in the midst of an existential crisis.

Just as Elias regained his bearings, something made the hairs on his neck stand on end. A girl stood across the street, at the edge of Carl Schurz Park, watching him in the flickering glow of a streetlamp.

She couldn't have been older than fifteen, yet something about her made Elias feel like he was the child in this setting.

She was dressed in a dark gray jacket, the same color as the sky before a storm ruins everyone's picnic, with the hood thrown back to reveal a long, raven-black braid. Her faded jeans and scuffed boots gave her the impression of any other city teenager—except she was too still, too composed, like a statue waiting for someone to blink first.

Then there were her eyes. A stunning, electric blue, crackling with something sharp—as if she had seen too much and didn't like what she discovered.

A stray cat approached her, its tail flickering as it slipped out of the shadows. After a single glance, it stiffened and fled as though it had just offended God and realized its mistake.

The girl did not flinch. Did not react. She merely kept watching, unconcerned, as if scaring stray animals was part of her nightly ritual.

The shift in Leo was instant, like flipping a switch. The weariness that had weighted on his shoulders? Gone. The peaceful sadness in his eyes? Vanished.

Instead, a sly, malicious grin grew across his face, and he was suddenly someone else—someone with trouble written all over him. The golden light in his eyes flickered again, not in a blinding display of unexplained power, but in a way that made Elias feel like he was about to witness something extremely irritating.

Leo shot him a sideways glance that said, Oh, you're going to love this. Then he turned to face the girl across the street, crossing with a casual, almost languid gait, as though he had encountered an old acquaintance instead of—as Elias had suspected—potential problems.

Elias stayed put, watching, completely bewildered. He felt like he had stumbled into the set of a play in the middle of a scene, with everyone else reciting their lines flawlessly while he stood there like an understudy who had clearly not rehearsed.

Leo let out a chuckle, the kind that bubbled up like he'd just remembered the best joke in the world. He stopped in front of the girl, hands in his pockets, eyes twinkling with pure, unfiltered amusement.

"Well, well," he said, tilting his head. "Look what the cat dragged in." He smirked, extending his arms in fake greeting. "To what do I owe the pleasure, sis?"

Elias blinked. Sis?

The girl's look remained cut from ice, her electric-blue eyes fixed on Leo with a frost that could have flash-frozen boiling water. There was no amusement, no flicker of interest—just that harsh, dissecting glance that indicated she found him about as amusing as a tax audit.

If anything, her gaze sharpened, like a blade being honed. Then, with the accuracy of a sniper, she focused on Elias, mentally categorizing him as helpful or a dead weight. The verdict wasn't looking good.

"The others need you," she said, her tone tight and each word sharp enough to break glass. "And you're here… chatting." She spoke the final phrase with a bitter tone, her lips curving slightly in disdain.

Leo, unconcerned as ever, smiled wider, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "Well, in my defense, nobody told me."

He reached into his pocket and drew out a sleek, futuristic-looking phone, flipping it over in his palms like a magician about to perform a trick. He squinted at the screen before letting out a low whistle.

"Huh. Would you look at that?" He turned the phone toward them, his smirk deepening. "3,268 missed calls. Weird. Must've had Do Not Disturb on."

He scrolled leisurely, nodding as if truly interested. "All of these messages seem to be quite important. 'URGENT.' 'Where are you?!' 'WE ARE GOING TO DIE' Man, people get so worked up about trivial matters."

Elias sighed, already feeling the migraine forming.

The girl didn't sigh, though. She simply exhaled—long and slow, as if she was recalculating the amount of effort required to toss Leo into the nearest wall.

Leo turned his gaze back to Elias, and his entire demeanor changed in a single millisecond. The lighthearted smirk evaporated, replaced by a severity so sharp it might sever steel. Elias blinked, his thoughts racing to catch up with the unexpected change.

"I have to go," Leo whispered, his voice dropping to a low, anxious tone. The golden light in his eyes flared—not the playful sparkle from before, but something deeper, pulsing with barely containable strength.

Elias took a step forward, alarms going off in his mind. "Wait! You can't just throw all this weirdness at me and go! Not now. Not without explaining..."

Leo raised his hand, cutting him off like a teacher shutting down an especially troublesome kid.

"Next time, Elias," he murmured, his tone curiously kind yet authoritative, making Elias feel like an important but misinformed pawn in a much larger game. "The next time we meet, I'll tell you everything. The whole truth."

He hesitated, his gaze locking onto Elias like he was trying to download a secret message directly into his brain. Nope. Still not psychic.

"But until then," Leo went on, dropping his voice to almost a whisper, "I need you to do something for me."

Elias let out a breath. "Of course you do."

"Open your eyes, Elias. Open your mind."

Elias frowned. "Pretty sure both are already open—"

"And listen," Leo said, ignoring him. "Listen to the city. Listen to what it's trying to tell you. Be open to all possibilities, no matter how implausible they appear."

Before Elias could respond, Leo reached into his pocket and took out a sleek black car fob. He pushed a button.

Beep-beep.

Elias swiveled his head toward the sound, which led to a shining, outrageously brilliant red Bentley Continental GT parked close by. He blinked. A Bentley? this guy?

Leo grinned like a man who knew exactly how absurd this looked. "Coming, sis?" he asked, turning to the girl.

She didn't bother using words. She sneered, her bright blue eyes practically blazing with hatred. Then, with the kind of effortless grace that made Elias believe she was floating rather than walking, she turned and disappeared into the park. There are no footsteps. No sound. Just a tiny rustle, as if the trees were whispering a secret. The air remained perfectly still. Okay, that is not normal.

Leo chuckled as he watched her leave, then returned his gaze to Elias with a casual shrug. "See you around, Doc."

With that, he slid into the Bentley, the engine growling to life—smooth, deep, and entirely too smug. Elias could feel the vibrations in his chest; it seemed like the car itself was flexing on him.

Then, with a leisurely nod, Leo pulled away, his red taillights shining like twin smirks as they drove down the street.