"Lockdown"
686 Words
The words on Lila’s phone refused to feel real.
Bring her alive.
Her pulse pounded violently.
“What does that mean?” she whispered.
Nobody answered immediately.
But the silence told her enough.
The message wasn’t random.
It was about her.
Red emergency lights flashed across the shattered greenhouse walls.
Outside, sirens screamed through the campus night.
The robotic announcement repeated endlessly:
“Emergency lockdown initiated.”
“Students are advised to return to their dormitories immediately.”
The mysterious girl looked seconds away from panic.
“They’re moving faster than expected.”
The strange man cursed under his breath.
Ethan’s eyes stayed locked on Lila’s phone.
“Show me the sender.”
Lila pulled the phone back instinctively.
“No.”
His gaze lifted slowly to hers.
“You’re still deciding whether to trust me?”
“Yes.”
For a second, something unreadable crossed Ethan’s face.
Then he nodded once.
“Smart.”
That response caught her off guard.
A loud metallic sound echoed somewhere outside the greenhouse.
Like heavy gates locking shut.
The mysterious man moved toward the broken entrance carefully.
“They’ve sealed the eastern side already.”
Lila frowned.
“Who keeps saying ‘they’?”
Nobody answered directly.
Again.
Her frustration burned hotter.
“I’m tired of secrets!”
This time Ethan stepped closer.
Not threatening.
Steady.
Controlled.
“If you knew everything right now, you wouldn’t survive it.”
Lila clenched her jaw.
“You don’t get to decide that for me.”
“No,” Ethan said quietly. “But I can keep you alive long enough to decide for yourself.”
Before she could respond—
A sudden scream echoed outside.
Close this time.
Very close.
Everyone froze.
Then came running footsteps.
Fast.
Desperate.
A student burst past the greenhouse entrance.
A young guy wearing a Kingston Elite hoodie.
Bleeding from his arm.
Terrified.
He barely noticed them.
He kept looking behind him.
“They’re here,” he gasped.
Then he saw Ethan.
Relief flooded his face instantly.
“Mr. Blackwood—”
Something slammed into him from the darkness.
Hard.
The student was dragged backward violently before he could finish speaking.
His scream tore through the night.
Lila gasped.
The sound cut off suddenly.
Too suddenly.
Silence followed.
Horrible silence.
The mysterious girl covered her mouth to stop herself from crying.
Lila stared toward the darkness outside.
Frozen.
“What just happened…?”
Ethan’s expression turned deadly calm.
“They’re hunting.”
Her stomach twisted.
“Hunting who?”
Ethan looked directly at her.
“You.”
The word shattered whatever calm she had left.
“What?!”
The strange man stepped forward quickly.
“We don’t have time for this.”
Ethan ignored him.
His focus remained entirely on Lila.
“They know the locket is active.”
Lila instinctively touched her pocket again.
Cold.
The silver locket suddenly felt heavier than before.
“What does that even mean?”
Ethan’s jaw tightened.
“It means your father hid something inside it.”
The greenhouse seemed to spin slightly around her.
“And whatever it is…”
The mysterious man finished quietly:
“People are willing to kill for it.”
Lightning flashed outside.
For half a second, the campus became visible through the rain.
Lila’s breath caught instantly.
Figures stood across the courtyard.
Tall.
Still.
Watching the greenhouse.
At least six of them.
All wearing black rings.
The same symbol from the photograph.
The same symbol from her father’s picture.
One of the figures slowly lifted a hand.
And pointed directly at her.
The mysterious girl whispered in horror:
“They found her.”
Ethan moved instantly.
“Everyone move. Now.”
The strange man grabbed the terrified girl’s arm.
They rushed toward the back exit of the greenhouse.
But Lila couldn’t move.
Her eyes stayed locked on the figures outside.
Because one of them—
The tallest one—
Was smiling.
Like he already knew this would happen.
Then her phone buzzed again.
Another unknown message.
Lila looked down slowly.
And her blood turned to ice.
RUN, LILA. ETHAN CAN’T PROTECT YOU ANYMORE.
- Writer
