Chapter Twenty Eight
674 Words
Writer’s POV
The lights died with a hiss.
For a heartbeat, there was nothing — no sound, no motion — just the hum of the dead computer and the slow, rising panic pressing against the silence.
Mila’s fingers tightened around the edge of the desk.
“Xavier?”
“I’m here,” his voice came out low, steady, closer than she expected. “Don’t move.”
The emergency lights flickered once, bathing the library in a dim orange glow. Shadows stretched long across the walls, making everything look alive.
Mila’s heart hammered in her chest. The computer was still glowing red — the same message repeating over and over again:
“SHE’S STARTING TO REMEMBER.”
Only now, a small line had appeared at the bottom of the screen — a blinking cursor, like it was waiting for a response.
“Don’t touch it,” Xavier said sharply.
“I wasn’t going to,” she shot back, though she didn’t take her eyes off it. “Someone’s controlling this remotely. Which means—”
“—there’s a feed somewhere,” Xavier finished for her. “A way they’re watching us.”
He moved quickly, scanning the corners of the room. His eyes caught something glinting near the far wall — a tiny metallic dot embedded between two shelves.
He stepped closer.
“Gotcha.”
“What is it?” Mila whispered.
He reached up and twisted the piece free. A small black lens — no bigger than a pinhead — came loose, wired into the wood behind it.
“A camera,” he said. “Hidden. And not school-issued.”
Mila’s stomach dropped. “How many?”
He pulled his phone out, using the flashlight. They checked the walls — the vents — even the lamp posts. Within minutes, they found three more. All pointed toward the same area: the desk they had been using.
Her breath caught. “They’ve been watching this spot for a long time.”
“Yeah,” Xavier murmured grimly, crouching near the wall socket. “And they didn’t want anyone to know.”
He tugged at one of the baseboards. It gave way with a quiet click, revealing a narrow compartment built into the wall. Inside: wires, dust, and a small hard drive with a blinking green light.
Mila knelt beside him. “This doesn’t look like a school setup.”
“It’s not,” he said. “Someone installed this privately.”
Xavier hesitated, then disconnected the drive. The light blinked once — twice — then died.
The moment it went dark, the computer behind them powered down completely. The red glow vanished.
The room was silent again.
*****
Mila stared at the hard drive in Xavier’s hand, her reflection warped in the metal surface.
“You think the footage is stored here?”
He nodded slowly. “Footage, files… maybe everything they didn’t want us to see.”
Her hands trembled as she took it. “Then we have proof.”
“Maybe,” he said. “Or maybe it’s bait.”
She looked up. “Bait?”
“Whoever’s running this,” he said, “is too smart to leave evidence lying around. If we plug this in somewhere, they’ll know. They’ll see us coming.”
“So what do we do?”
He looked at her — really looked.
The stubborn set of her jaw, the fire in her eyes.
“We find out who’s behind it,” he said. “But we play their game first. Carefully.”
*****
As they slipped out of the library, the moonlight pooled across the empty hall. Mila glanced back once more, her gaze catching the faint outline of the Omega symbol glowing faintly on the computer screen before it faded into black.
Neither of them noticed the figure standing just beyond the doorway — watching.
Hands in pockets.
A smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
Mr. Lennox.
He whispered under his breath, almost amused,
“Let’s see how far you’re willing to remember, Mila.”
- Writer
