We'd only been back in the tunnels for an hour, but it felt like we'd never left.
The same chill clung to the stone. The same hum pressed against my ears, like the walls were waiting to speak. Only this time, I couldn't stop glancing behind me — not because I was scared of what was ahead...
...but because part of me couldn't stop thinking about him.
Aren.
That's what he said his name was.
But something in the way he spoke... the way he looked at me like he already knew who I was — it didn't feel right.
Still, I hadn't told Zelith. Or Rowen. Or anyone.
I told myself it was nothing. That sometimes people are just odd, or awkward, or curious in a weird way.
But deep down, I wasn't so sure.
Zelith motioned us forward. "This panel was encrypted deeper than the rest," she said. "I think it's hiding something... important."
Rowen crouched beside her. "Like another map?"
"I don't know..."
She pried the rusted panel open with a sharp tug. Behind it was dust, wires, and a sealed terminal. Ancient. Untouched. But it sparked faintly at her touch.
We watched in silence as the screen blinked to life.
A symbol — like a spiral inside a triangle — shimmered briefly before giving way to blueprints. Not for a weapon. Not for a map.
A machine.
I stepped closer, heart pounding.
PROJECT: NOX-TEMPUS
INTERFACE: PROTOTYPE
STATUS: INACTIVE
ACCESS: LIMITED
"This is..." Zelith stared at it, stunned. "A time machine!"
I swallowed. "Like... actual time travel?"
No one answered.
Then the screen shifted again, and text appeared:
Target Date: 2024.07.16
Countdown: Incomplete
Core Module: Missing
And just like that, I couldn't breathe.
Because that date wasn't random.
That was his birthday.
My father's.
YOU ARE READING
The Escape Code
Science FictionIn a city designed to trap its people, where every turn is a dead end and every shadow watches, Lira Wren is running for her life. Branded as a Ravent-a rebel against the system-she's hunted at every step. With her mother gone and her little brother...
