Chapter 3: The First Rule of Fire
668 Words
Elena’s heart pounded as the city lights blurred outside the window of the rideshare. She kept her head down, hoodie pulled low, one hand clutching the burner phone in her pocket like a lifeline.
Don’t bring anything traceable, Kai had said.
She’d left her ID, her watch, even her necklace behind.
Only the weight of her own fear followed her.
The driver didn’t ask questions when she told him to stop two blocks early. No one did in this part of the city. Too many shadows, too many silences.
She walked the last stretch alone.
When she reached the alley behind the abandoned print shop, a hand reached out from the dark.
She didn’t scream.
She knew that grip—rough but controlled.
Kai.
He tugged her behind the broken door, locking it quickly behind them. His eyes flicked over her like a scanner—checking for wires, panic, second thoughts.
“You came,” he said.
“You asked.”
A beat passed between them. Heavy. Charged.
“You shouldn’t have.”
“Then why did you call me?”
Kai didn’t answer. Not with words. He turned and led her through a corridor that smelled like ink and rust, down a narrow staircase lit only by old emergency bulbs.
She followed.
And when they reached the underground door, he paused.
“This is La Madriguera,” he said. “The den.”
“The rebellion?”
“Not all of it. Just the bones. Just the ones who’ve lost too much to lie anymore.”
He keyed in a code. The door slid open.
And Elena stepped into a different world.
---
Inside, the basement was alive.
Not polished, not clean—but real. Pipes ran along the ceilings like veins. People in mismatched clothes clustered around maps and monitors. A girl with piercings tapped away at a console while a boy with burn scars argued over blueprints.
No uniforms. No hierarchy.
But an energy that made her skin prickle.
They stopped when they saw her.
The whispers started immediately.
“That’s her—”
“Rodrigo’s daughter—”
“What the hell is Kai thinking—”
Kai stepped in front of her. “She’s with me.”
“You bringing in bait now?” the burn-scarred boy snapped.
“She came on her own.”
“Not good enough.”
A short woman with silver hair stepped forward. “We don’t bring them here. You know the rules, Navarro.”
“She’s not like him,” Kai said.
“How do you know that?”
Elena’s voice cut through the room. “Because I’m already burning.”
Silence.
Then: “What did you say?”
She stepped past Kai. Her voice shook, but her spine didn’t.
“My father kills people with secrets. You want proof? I can get it. I know his routes. His patterns. I know the names of the men who disappear after meetings in his study.”
The room listened. Warily. Like they wanted to believe—but couldn’t afford to.
The silver-haired woman eyed her. “And what do you want in return?”
Elena’s voice barely cracked. “The truth.”
---
Later, they sat on the rooftop. Just her and Kai. The lights of the city flickered beneath them like lies wrapped in gold.
“I shouldn’t have brought you,” he said. “They’re right. This is dangerous.”
“I’ve lived in a prison my whole life. At least this kind of danger means something.”
He looked at her then—not like a rebel. Not like a soldier.
Like a boy who hadn’t meant to fall into this world but had no choice but to survive it.
“First rule of fire,” he said quietly. “It never asks permission before it consumes.”
She turned toward him, heart too loud. “And the second?”
Kai’s mouth tilted in a ghost of a smile.
“There is no second.”
- Writer
