The hidden alcove smelled of damp concrete and rust, but to me, it felt like the only safe place in the world. I pressed the flash drive into my palm as if it contained my mother's heartbeat. Every memory of her terrified eyes and forced smile on that terminal video replayed in my mind.
Festus crouched nearby, eyes scanning the shadows. "We don't have much time. Hills won't stop hunting us. But this… this is your moment, Kendra. The first key is here, somewhere."
I swallowed hard. "The first key…?"
Festus nodded, pointing to a small, weathered notebook beside the old train tracks. "Your mother left clues, hidden in plain sight. The key isn't a physical object—it's a sequence. A code. It's the only thing that can give us access to Project Veil's core files without alerting Hills."
My pulse quickened. A code? Hidden in plain sight? It sounded impossible, but staring at that notebook, I felt a flicker of hope. I knelt, brushing off the dust, and opened it.
Page after page was filled with what looked like normal notes: reminders, scribbles, equations. Then I saw it — a seemingly random string of numbers and letters. My heart skipped a beat.
"This… this has to be it," I whispered.
Festus leaned over my shoulder. "Mom always loved riddles. She'd never just give you the answer. You have to understand it, decode it, and only then will the first key reveal itself."
I stared at the code. My mind raced. This is it. My first real step. The first chance to fight back.
Hours passed as I worked through the numbers and letters, my fingers aching from scribbling possibilities in a small notebook I had found in my bag. Every shadow in the alcove felt alive, as if Hills himself was watching, waiting for me to make a mistake.
Then, it clicked. The letters and numbers weren't random—they formed coordinates. Coordinates to a location in the city. A safe house, perhaps… or a secret lab.
"I've got it," I said, trembling. "This is where the first key is hidden. We have to go—now."
Festus frowned. "It won't be easy. Hills has eyes everywhere. If he knows we're onto the first key…"
"We have to try," I said firmly, feeling a fire ignite in my chest. "Mom is alive. And I'm not letting her down."
Night had deepened by the time we slipped back into the city streets, moving through shadows, sticking to alleys, and avoiding the black vans that prowled the streets like predators. Every step felt like a risk, every sound a threat.
When we finally reached the coordinates, we found a decrepit warehouse on the outskirts of the city. Its windows were dark, but a faint hum of electricity came from within.
"This is it," Festus said quietly. "Once we go in, there's no turning back. The first key is inside, and Hills will know the moment we try to take it."
I nodded, gripping the flash drive tightly. For the first time, fear mingled with determination. I had a mission. I had a purpose. And I would not fail.
Together, we pushed open the rusted doors, stepping into the unknown.
Inside, the warehouse was a maze of crates and shadows. My eyes adjusted to the dim light, and then I saw it: a small, metallic box on a pedestal, surrounded by sensors and wires. It was pulsing with a faint blue glow.
"The first key," I whispered.
But as I stepped closer, the air shifted. A soft, mechanical click echoed through the warehouse. And then a voice — smooth, calm, and terrifyingly familiar — filled the room.
> "I wondered how long it would take you to find me, Kendra."
I froze. Hills Morgan. He was here.
And suddenly, I realized that the first key wasn't just about unlocking Project Veil… it was a trap.