chapter one
487 Words
Deep below the city, beneath broken subway tunnels and sealed maintenance corridors, there were places the Agency didn’t officially recognize.
Places that didn’t exist on any map, Safehouses.
Or at least… as close to safe as anything got anymore.
Most people never found them, And if they did, They didn’t talk about it.
Silkara did, Just not out loud.
She slipped through a narrow opening in the concrete, landing lightly in the darkness below. The space was tight at first, cracked walls, exposed piping, but it widened the deeper she moved.
Familiar, Hidden, Safe... For now.
Dim lights flickered ahead, Voices, Low, Careful, but Alive.
She paused before stepping fully into view, Not because she was afraid, But because she knew the rules.
No names.
No pasts.
No questions you weren’t ready to have answered.
A group sat scattered through the space, some resting, others keeping watch. None of them looked entirely normal… at least, not anymore.
One had skin that shimmered faintly under the dim light.
Another’s eyes reflected too brightly, catching movement that wasn’t there.
A third kept their hands wrapped tightly, like they were afraid of what might happen if they let go.
None of them were monsters. No matter what the Agency said.
“Rough night?”
The voice came from the far side of the room, Calm, Observant.
Silkara didn’t answer right away. She reached up, pulling her hood back just enough to breathe easier—but not enough to show her whole face.
“Something like that.”
A quiet understanding passed through the room, No one pushed,
They never did.
Because everyone here knew what it meant to be hunted.
Above them, the city kept moving Somewhere, in a room filled with screens and shifting data, figures moved between glowing panels, tracking patterns most people didn’t even know existed. Heat signatures, Movement irregularities, Behavioral anomalies,
“Signal lost,” one voice said.
Another responded almost immediately.
“Of course it is.”
A man stood slightly apart from the others, arms crossed, gaze fixed on the last recorded position, Calm, Focused.
“She won’t keep getting lucky,” he said.
Behind him, another figure leaned casually against a console, Less rigid, More amused.
“Maybe not,” he replied, “But you have to admit… She's interesting.”
The first man didn’t smile,
“We’re not here to be entertained, Issac.”
Issac shrugged slightly,
“Doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the challenge, Jeramy.”
Silence settled between them for a moment before Jeramy spoke up.
“Next time,” Isaac said, voice quieter now, more certain, “we don’t let her disappear.”
Below the city, Silkara exhaled slowly, unaware of how close they already were, Or maybe, not as unaware as she wanted to be.
Because safety in this world wasn’t real, It was borrowed, Temporary, Fragile, And eventually...
The Agency always collects, And the Agency kept watching
- Writer
