The building looked gentler at night.

Soft lanterns glowed along the polished halls, warm light spilling across spotless floors. The walls, once cracked and dull, had been repainted in calming colors. Toys sat neatly arranged in corners. Blankets were thick. Food was plentiful.

It almost made you forget.

Almost.

Enjin moved through the corridors like a shadow, careful, precise, every step placed with intention. He knew the patrol patterns now. Knew which doors creaked, which didn’t. Your door slid open just a fraction before you even realized someone was there.

“Hey…”

His voice was low. Urgent. When you turned, your breath caught. He looked different.

Not just because he was outside because he wasn’t supposed to be here at all but because something about him had changed.

“Come with me,” Enjin said.

No greeting. No buildup. Just that. You stared at him, trying to process what you were seeing. It was midnight already.

“We don’t have time,” He cut in quickly, stepping fully into the room and sliding the door shut behind him. His gaze flicked once to the hallway, then back to you. “I found a way out. I know where to go. It’s not..” He hesitated, jaw tightening. “It’s not good, but it’s better than this.”

You frowned. Unsure. After all this ‘ institution’ did give you and the others everything. Why would you want to leave?

“They’re selling you.” The words landed too fast. Too flat. Too certain. Enjin didn’t raise his voice. Didn’t need to.

“I didn’t know before,” He added, quieter now. “But I do now.”

That hesitation. You opened your mouth, already forming it. And before you could say his name-

He cut you off.

“Enjin.”

A pause. His voice steadied, even if his eyes didn’t.

“Enjin…that’s my name now.”

Silence filled the space between you. Not empty. Heavy. “I’m not-” He stopped himself, exhaling through his nose. “That name doesn’t mean anything.” His gaze dropped briefly, then came back to you. “This one does.”

You didn’t fully understand. Maybe he didn’t either. Then, more urgently, “Come with me.”

He stepped closer now, lowering his voice even further. “Please. I’m serious. You can’t stay here. None of you should be here.”

You hesitated. Your eyes drifted around the room, the soft bed, the folded clothes, the small pile of gifts sitting untouched near the wall. Proof that things had gotten better. Weren’t they?

Enjin’s expression hardened but not at you. At the room. At everything in it. “They need you to think that.” His voice dropped. A long pause followed.

It wasn’t a good answer. He knew it. You knew it. But he didn’t take it back.

“I found someone,” He added quickly. “He—” Another brief hesitation. “He helped me. He said I could leave. That I should.”

That hit. Subtle. But real.

“But I’m not leaving you here.”

It came out immediately. Firm. Too firm.

“I might be wrong again,” he admitted. Honest. Painfully so. “But if I’m right…”

“…I don’t want to leave without you.”

That was it. Just truth. Raw and unguarded. Somewhere down the hall, footsteps echoed faintly.

He looked back at you one last time. Hand lifting toward you.

“…Come on,” He said under his breath.