The television is too loud for how early it is.
Not volume—content.
A static-heavy news feed fills the living room with shaky footage and bright red banners. A woman's voice repeats the same words with different panic
each time:
"—multiple casualties—"
"—unidentified attacker—"
"—witnesses describe something... inhuman—"
Ren sits cross-legged on the floor, the screen reflected faintly in his gray eyes.
Soren sits on the couch like he was placed there on purpose—back straight, hands folded, expression blank. Not bored. Not scared.
Studying.
The footage cuts again: a street corner, a blur, people screaming, a smear of movement that doesn't match human speed.
Ren's jaw tightens.
Soren's eyes don't change.
The front door opens.
No announcement.
No warning.
Just Nyla.
She steps in like the air rearranges around her without permission—lab coat gone, coat pristine, hair perfect, posture immaculate. She glances at the television once.
Once.
Her mouth curves into something that isn't a smile.
"Idiots," she says casually, like she's commenting on the weather.
Ren looks up. "They're Kryvens?"
Nyla doesn't answer the question directly. She unhooks her coat with slow precision and drapes it over the chair.
They're loud," she says instead. "Undisciplined. Attention-seeking."
Soren's head tilts slightly. "Exposure increases
risk."
"Yes," Nyla replies. "That is why competent organisms don't broadcast their existence like a circus act."
Ren mutters, "So they're getting sloppy."
Nyla's eyes flick toward him.
"Sloppy is a human word," she says. "This is incompetence."
Ren swallows a smile despite himself.
Soren's gaze shifts to Ren, and something about it annoys him instantly—like Soren is cataloging that reaction.
Nyla steps closer to the screen, taps a button, and the broadcast cuts to black.
Silence drops like a weight.
"Eat," Nyla says.
Ren blinks. "I'm not hungry."
"You will be," she says, unbothered. "And you will not be insufficient today."
Soren stands immediately, as if the command was meant for him too.
Ren stands slower.
Already irritated—and he doesn't even know why yet.
Nyla's eyes flick between them, clinical and sharp.
"You will walk with me."
Ren's chest tightens.
Soren replies smoothly, "Yes, Mother."
Ren says nothing, but his expression does.
Nyla doesn't ask for agreement twice.
Outside, the air is crisp and bright, like it has no idea what the news just showed.
The street looks normal.
YOU ARE READING
Beyond The Parasites: Arc ll
ActionParasites were only the beginning. Follow Ren Kaelis through multiple arcs as he uncovers hidden truths, forms unlikely bonds, and faces the dangers lurking beyond his world. © Kyierrah Love. All rights reserved. This story is an original work by Ky...
