Dahlia and the Garden of Light - Chapter 67: Chapter 67

Outskirts of the Nameless Village – Twilight
Markus moved like a shadow, weaving through brush and broken stone. His hand brushed the knife on his belt—not drawn, not yet. But close.
The red hood appeared at the crest of a crumbling hillside. The figure moved swiftly, but not like a trained operative. Panicked. Defensive. She kept glancing back toward the playground.
Derek crouched on a low wall nearby, whispering softly. Within moments, birds scattered into the sky and jackals darted through alley shadows, combing the area in a silent sweep.
“She’s trying to circle back,” Markus muttered into his comm. “Heading toward the girl.”
“I’ve got vines growing where Orchid stepped,” Dahlia whispered through the static. “She’s nervous. Sensing something.”
“Keep her calm,” Markus said. “I’ll intercept.”
—Moments Later—
The woman in the red hood barely had time to react when Markus came down the slope like a panther.
She spun, pulling a blade from her sleeve. “Stay back—!”
Markus lunged, disarmed her in two moves, and pinned her to the dirt with one knee on her shoulder. “Who are you? Why were you with the child?”
She didn’t fight hard. Her eyes shone with tears. “I saved her,” she spat. “You would’ve left her in the fire.”
“What fire?”
“Echelon’s base,” she whispered. “The day you came… I was there. Lab assistant. I ran with her.”
Markus blinked. “You… what?”
She slowly unzipped her outer jacket and pulled free a thin, weathered ID badge. A name printed in faded ink:
LINA ASHIR.
“Doctor Ashir’s daughter,” she said. “He was my father. Orchid is… my sister.”
Markus’s breath caught.
“What are you talking about?”
Lina swallowed hard. “You don’t know, do you? About him. He wasn’t just Echelon’s chief geneticist. He used himself. He put his own DNA in the serum, in the embryos. He called it ‘creating continuity.’ Dahlia… Orchid… I think they are both his daughtersand my sisters.”
From the comms, Derek whispered, “I heard. Confirming with the animals—she’s not lying.”
Markus’s grip loosened, just a little. “And you just… ran with her?”
Lina’s eyes shone. “He was gone. The lab was burning. Files shredded. I saw her in the incubation chamber crying. I couldn’t let her be another experiment. So I took her. I kept her hidden. I—” Her voice broke. “I love her.”
Markus pulled her upright. “You’re coming with me.”
Back at the Playground
Dahlia knelt beside Orchid, trying to keep her tone calm, her presence soft.
But Orchid was stiff now. Eyes narrowed. The daisies near her feet had curled.
“What’s wrong?” Dahlia asked gently.
Orchid’s voice was flat. “You’re hiding something.”
“What?”
“You feel different,” Orchid whispered. “Not bad. But… loud. Like the wind is holding its breath.”
Dahlia’s heart clenched. “I promise, I’m not here to hurt you.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Orchid—”
Before she could reach out, the child stepped back—and grass surged up from the earth behind her, twisting in thick clumps beneath her feet, responding to her fear.
“I knew you were lying!” Orchid shouted. “You knew the bad man! You’re with them!”
Dahlia stood still, hands open. “She raised you. I didn’t know that until now.”
“You’re one of them!” Orchid’s voice cracked. “You glow. You know the flowers. That’s what they did in the lab. You’re like them!”
Dahlia’s voice softened. “I am like you. That’s all I’ve ever been. A girl who made things grow. A girl who tried to save people and lost everything because of it.”
Orchid hesitated—then ran, bolting toward the sound of rustling brush. The vines recoiled from her, then followed like threads of instinct. The moonlight overhead seemed to sharpen, outlining her trail in silver.
A Hill Nearby
Markus and Lina turned at the sound of running footsteps.
“ORCHID!” Lina called out.
The girl threw herself into Lina’s arms, panting, eyes wide with tears. “She’s like them,” she gasped. “She’s lying.”
Markus took a cautious step forward. “She’s your sister, Orchid. We didn’t know until today. None of us did.”
“She’s scary,” Orchid whispered. “Too much light. Too many whispers. Like something inside her is too big.”
Lina looked at Markus. “She needs time. She’s only four. Everything is too much.”
Dahlia appeared at the edge of the clearing, breathless, eyes wide.
She stopped when she saw Orchid curled against Lina’s chest.
“She ran from me,” Dahlia whispered. “Like I was the monster.”
Markus stepped between them carefully. “You’re not the monster. But this is too much. Give her space.”
Dahlia’s jaw trembled. “I just wanted to know her. To protect her.”
“You still can,” Lina said gently. “But not today. Right now, she only sees one person who didn’t leave her. Let her keep that.”
A long silence.
Then Derek emerged, quiet as dusk, standing beside Dahlia. “We’ll follow. We won’t push.”
Dahlia turned to him. “She’s my blood.”
Derek looked at Orchid, then back at her. “So are we.”