Dani’s Hack
806 Words
The crack in the floor didn’t closet breathed faint Slowly but alive.
No one stepped near it not even Alex.
Lara had dragged the twins onto one of the booths. They looked smaller now. Fragile. Like whatever had been holding them together was starting to slip.
“Stay with me,” she muttered, brushing wet hair from Lia’s face. “You don’t get to ghost us mid-apocalypse, okay?”
No response just shallow breathing jamie stood a few feet away still too still.
“You’re the key.” the words echoed again in their head not from the twins from below. Alex noticed of course they did. "Don’t listen to it,” Alex said sharply. Jamie let out a quiet breath.''I’m not.”A pause followed.
“…I don’t think I have a choice.”Before Alex could respond. A loud buzz cut through the room. Lara flinched.“What now?!”. From the counter, an old tablet lit up. Cracked screen. Half-dead battery. Definitely not working five minutes ago.Alex frowned.
“…That’s not ours.”
Jamie stepped closer. The screen flickered
Static. Then a face.
“Wow,” Dani said, leaning too close to the camera. “You guys look terrible.” lara blinked. “…DANI?”, “Yes, Lara, still alive, still hot, still the only reason you’re not all dead right now hi.” The connection glitched. But held. Barely. Alex stepped in. “How are you in here?”, Dani grinned. “Short answer? I’m good.” Longer pause.
“Long answer? Something pinged every surveillance system within a two-mile radius about ten minutes ago, and guess who got curious?” Jamie frowned. “What kind of ‘something’?” Dani’s expression shifted. Just slightly. “Not human,” they said. “And not subtle.” The tablet screen flickered again Then split. Multiple camera feeds appeared. Street corners. Alleys. The outside of the café. Lara leaned in.
“…Tell me that’s just bad lighting.” “It’s not,” Dani said. The shadows in the feeds moved.
Not like normal shadows they stretched widely . Crawled. Gathered. All of them Pointing toward one place. The café. Jamie felt it again. That pull. Stronger now. “They’re coming,” Jamie whispered.
Dani snapped their fingers.
“Yes. That. That is exactly what I’ve been trying to say.”
Alex’s voice turned cold. “How many?” Dani hesitated, That was answer enough.
“…Enough,” they said finally. Lara groaned.
“Great. Love that. Super helpful.”
Dani ignored her.
“Okay, listen carefully. This isn’t random. There’s a pattern.” The screen shifted again. Now showing a map. Lines and connections. Points lighting up one by one.
“Every incident tonight every spike, every weird reading it’s forming a grid,” Dani explained. “And guess what’s sitting right in the center?” No one answered They didn’t need to. “The café,” Dani said. Jamie shook their head. “No… it’s not just the café.” Everyone looked at them. Jamie stepped closer to the screen. Hands trembling slightly. “It’s me.” Silence overwhelmed everyone . Lara opened her mouth and
Closed it. Alex didn’t react. But their eyes darkened. Dani leaned in closer this t2.
“…Yeah,” they said quietly. “I was hoping I was wrong about that.” Jamie swallowed.
“What am I?”
Dani gave a small, humorless smile.
“Working on it.” The screen glitched again
Harder this time.
“Okay, that’s new,” Dani muttered.
Static spread across the display.
Then text began to type itself across the screen.
Not from Dani
Not from any system. Just appearing.
OPEN
Lara stepped back.
“Nope. Nope. I hate that.” More text appears. IT’S TIME the tablet crackled.
Dani’s voice broke through
“Guys, I’m not typing that” The screen went black then one last message burned through the darkness. KEY ACCEPTED
Jamie gasped.
The crack in the floor flared, light burst from beneath it. Dark light. Impossible light shade. The café shook violently. Outside thehallway
Every camera feed would’ve shown the same thing the shadows rising.
Not creeping anymore.
Not watching, moving in a fast speed Toward the café. Bacn jnside
Alex grabbed Jamie’s arm
Hard.
“What did you do?”
Jamie’s voice broke “I didn’t”
But they had.
The twins’ eyes snapped open both at once.
And this time they weren’t afraid.
They were certain.
“It’s open,” Lia said.
Leo finished “It knows you now.”
The front door unlocked On its own.
Then slowly It creaked open darkness poured in not empty full.
Watching and waiting.
And something stepped just to the edge of the doorway not, inside a silhouette can be seen tall and familiar smiling.
- Writer
