BEHIND THE WALLS OF AVACO

CHAPTER ONE The small window of Leana’s apartment rattled against the wind, sharp and insistent. The city hummed beyond, distant, like a world she could only watch, never touch. Her living room smelled of coffee, cheap vanilla candles, and exhaustion months of running on too little sleep, too many worries, and unpaid bills. The faded cream walls seemed to close in on her, pressing her into the small sofa she had reluctantly accepted as “good enough.” She pressed her phone between her ear and her shoulder as she tugged at the crooked strap on her camera bag, the leather worn and soft from years of constant use. “Leana, when last did you sleep?” Naya’s voice came through, sharp and worried. “Sleep?” Leana snorted. “That luxury died the day I started taking photography jobs for fifty dollars.” “You know you can take a break.” “A break?” Leana laughed, but nothing about it was funny. “Rent doesn’t take breaks. Bills don’t take breaks. Hunger definitely doesn’t take breaks.” Naya exhaled slowly. “You’re burning yourself out.” “I don’t have a choice,” Leana murmured. She stopped in front of her mirror. Her curly hair was slightly wild, her eyes tired, her freckles standing out more than usual. She looked like someone who had been fighting life’s battles too long without pause. Her skin had a pallor she disliked, but there was resilience in her eyes a spark she clung to when everything else felt heavy. “I just want stability,” she whispered. “You and your dramatic speeches,” Naya teased, though the concern was still there. “I’m serious, Naya. One month just one where I don’t have to count coins before buying toothpaste.” Her eyes drifted to her camera. It wasn’t just a tool; it was her escape. Her passion. Her identity. But passion didn’t pay the rent or the electric bill or the overdue groceries. Every unpaid invoice loomed like a shadow she couldn’t shake. Her phone buzzed again. Another unknown number. She froze, pulse skipping. “Wait,” Leana said. “Someone’s calling me.” “Who? Another birthday client?” Naya asked. “I don’t know. It’s an unknown number.” “Don’t pick.” But she ignored the warning and pressed the answer button. “Hello?” A crisp feminine voice replied, “Good morning. Am I speaking with Miss Leana Torres?” Leana straightened. “Yes… who’s this?” “This is Ava from Avaco Corporation.” Her stomach dropped. Avaco. The name alone felt unreal. The biggest tech-media company in the city. The kind of place people dreamed about, stalked online, prayed to get an interview with. “We reviewed your application,” the woman continued, “and Mr. Hale would like to see you today. Immediately, if possible.” “What…?” Leana’s voice caught. “You mean… me?” “Yes, Miss Torres. You. Can you be here in an hour?” She looked around her small apartment half-drunk coffee, scattered unpaid bills, the clutter of survival. Everything suddenly felt too tiny, too loud, too suffocating. “I can be there,” she said quickly. “Yes. Absolutely. I’ll come right now.” “We’ll be expecting you.” The call ended, leaving her shaking. LEANA!” Naya yelled from the other line. “What happened?! I was listening!” Leana put the phone on speaker, grabbed her bag, and spun in circles. “They called me. Naya… Avaco called me. The biggest tech-media company in the city. They want to see me. Me!” Naya squealed. “Girl, that’s your ticket out of poverty! Go! MOVE!” “I’m moving, I’m moving where are my shoes?!” “They’re under your bed!” Leana froze mid-panic. Her hand hovered in the air. The answer had come too fast… too exact. “…How do you know?” she asked slowly. A tiny pause. Like Naya knew she’d been caught. “Because your life is predictable!” Naya shot back. Leana dropped to her knees and yanked the shoes out. “Naya, if I get this job” “You will! Don’t jinx it, I’m prophesying it!” Leana laughed breathlessly, hope and panic knotting in her chest. “I’m scared.” “That means it’s big enough to change your life,” Naya said softly. Her heart thudded. Loud. Heavy. Real. Maybe… this was it. Suddenly, the lights flickered once… twice… Then the bulb above her popped, raining tiny sparks onto the floor. The apartment fell into a dim, uneasy darkness. Leana froze. Something in the air shifted. The shadows felt thicker. The wind howled through the cracks, carrying a low creak from the hallway outside. “What… what was that?” Naya whispered. “The light… it just died,” Leana breathed. She grabbed her bag. Her hands trembled. The doorknob felt colder than it should like the darkness itself had touched it. “Whatever happens today…” she muttered, gripping the knob, “it feels like everything is about to change.” The hallway stretched long and dark before her, unfamiliar and unsettling. She could almost feel the city watching her through the thin c***k under the door, alive and waiting. When she stepped outside, she didn’t know that closing this door behind her meant the fragile safety of her life had ended. Something else something dangerous had already begun to move. As she hurried down the street, the rain tapping against her jacket, a chill curled through her stomach. Every honk, every shifting shadow, every distant scream of the city felt sharper. Charged. Today, she would cross a threshold she never knew existed and there was no turning back.