Chapter 8: The Children in the Shadows
Inside the cage, the little girl shifted, her wool blanket slipping from her thin shoulders to reveal a faded pink sweatshirt with the sleeves pushed up to her elbows. Her arms were covered in small, old bruises—not from the cage, but from something older, something from before Clara had brought them down the stairs into the damp dark. Julian took a half-step toward them, ignoring Clara for a second. He crouched down until his eyes were level with the rusted steel bars. "What’s your name?" he asked, keeping his tone soft, stripped of the authority he usually carried like a shield. The girl didn't answer right away. She looked past his shoulder at Clara, her small jaw set with a stubbornness that looked heartbreakingly familiar. "My name is Maya," she whispered finally, the words scratching out of her throat like dry leaves. "And this is Leo. He's my brother." Julian nodded slowly, his throat tightening. He reached out a hand, sliding his palm flat against the cold iron bar, waiting to see if she would flinch. She didn't flinch, but she didn't move closer either. She just stared at his knuckles, noticing the small scar across his thumb where a wrench had slipped during an engine rebuild back in Ohio. "I'm Julian," he said quietly. "And we’re going to get you out of here. I promise you that."
