Mysteries

After lunch, the rest of the school day felt like trudging through molasses. The clock hands moved with the cruelty of someone enjoying his misery. Kyle sat slumped in his chair during Chemistry, barely registering the teacher's drone about covalent bonds and electron shells.

His mind wasn't on molecules.

It was on gears and wires. On glowing eyes. On a woman in a fitted blazer whose gaze could peel back skin and read the truth beneath.

He tapped his pen against his notebook, unaware that he had only written the word "robot" three times in the margin.

"Mr. Rowan," the teacher called.

Kyle blinked. "Huh?"

"Since you're clearly engaged in your own science fiction drama, why don't you tell the class the difference between ionic and covalent bonds?"

A few students snickered. Lucas, sitting two rows ahead, turned slightly, flashing his smug grin. "Yeah, Kyle. Enlighten us."

Kyle cleared his throat, doing his best to remember the textbook. "Ionic is… electrons transferred. Covalent is… shared."

The teacher raised an eyebrow. "Correct. Maybe next time, you'll apply that brain before it drifts off to Mars."

Laughter bubbled again, but Kyle ignored it.

He wasn't drifting to Mars. He was trapped in a nightmare on Earth.

After School

The final bell rang like a liberation. Students burst from classrooms, chattering, laughing, running to practice, or slouching into buses. Kyle gathered his books slowly. Kate met him at his locker while Jason was still in gym.

"You okay?" she asked quietly.

Kyle nodded, but it wasn't convincing.

Kate leaned against the row of lockers, brushing her curly hair back. "I've never seen you like this."

He sighed. "I've never felt like this."

Kate waited patiently, letting the silence stretch without pressure.

"There was this moment," Kyle said, closing his locker with a soft clang. "When I was hiding behind the fridge in the store… I thought I was going to die. I was waiting to feel metal tear through me. But I didn't. It passed me by."

Kate looked at him, really looked. "That's why you didn't sleep last night."

He nodded, eyes low. "I keep thinking it'll come back. Or that woman… she knows I lied."

Kate hesitated. "Do you… do you think she's not human either?"

Kyle looked up sharply.

"I don't know," he said. "But she wasn't normal. She didn't wear a badge. But every officer looked at her like she owned the room. Like she could end them."

Kate's eyes widened a little, but she nodded. "We've got your back. Me and Jason."

A lump formed in Kyle's throat. He hadn't realized how badly he needed to hear that.

Kyle walked home alone that afternoon, backpack heavy on his shoulders, the skies now gray and brooding. Distant thunder rumbled.

A light drizzle began as he neared his apartment. He tilted his head up, letting the cold drops soak into his dark hair. It felt cleansing, almost.

His mom was already home, stirring something on the stove again. She turned and smiled.

"You're soaked! Grab a towel before you catch a cold."

Kyle obeyed, moving slowly, his limbs tired in more ways than one.

"How was school?"

He offered a neutral smile. "Same as always."

She studied him a moment longer, then nodded, accepting the lie like a gift. "Well, eat up. You'll feel better."

That night, he lay in bed again, but this time he had something else running through his mind: Lucas.

And the way the girls had looked at him. Not with scorn, not entirely—but with something else. Something that only made Lucas angrier.

He stared at the ceiling, thoughts drifting like clouds.

Would anyone ever believe the truth?

Would he even be allowed to speak it?

He finally slept, just after midnight, his dreams haunted not by machines… but by people.

The alarm buzzed again, shrill and merciless. Kyle groaned, dragging himself up. He showered quickly and dressed, brushing his wet black hair back, staring at his reflection.

The bags under his deep blue eyes were darker now. He looked like someone who had seen too much.

He grabbed his backpack and left quietly, his mom still asleep. Outside, the world was fresh after the rain. The pavement gleamed, the air sharp with petrichor.

At the school gates, Kate waved him over. Jason was already there, tossing a football in the air and catching it lazily.

"You look better," Kate said with a half-smile.

Kyle shrugged. "I got maybe four hours of sleep. That's something."

Jason leaned in. "Okay, so real talk. I kept thinking about what you said yesterday. The cyborg stuff."

Kyle's heart skipped. "And?"

"I believe you," Jason said. "You don't lie about stuff like that. Besides… my uncle works in private security, and he says weird things are happening all the time. They just don't make the news."

Kyle blinked. "Seriously?"

Jason nodded. "So… if you're caught in something big… we've got to be careful."

Kate looked between them, her green eyes troubled. "Do you think it'll come after you again?"

Kyle frowned. "I don't know. I don't even know what it wanted."

Jason glanced at the school building. "Let's get through the day. Then maybe… maybe we start looking for answers."

Kyle gave a slow, grateful smile. For the first time in two days, the weight on his chest felt lighter.