The darkness had thickened, drawing its shadow out over the city like a black veil. Ava leaned against the window, the chill of the glass against her skin causing a shiver to run through her. The darkness of the evening weighed upon her, but there was something else—something scratching at the back of her mind, like an itch she couldn't scratch.
It wasn't the shattered promises. It wasn't the creepy sense of being observed. It was the reality she was so desperately attempting to deny.
"Something doesn't add up," she grumbled to herself.
Rohit's words kept repeating in her mind. "𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮'𝙧𝙚 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠, 𝘼𝙫𝙖. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮'𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣."
His warning had remained in her chest like a boulder, impossible to budge, too true to ignore. Her family. The case. Project ECHO. The curious symbol in her uncle's diary. All of it was like a labyrinth, turning and curling with no way out.
Her hands strayed along the chilly glass as she struggled to put all pieces together. Why had her uncle kept secrets from her? Why was this burning house a secret? And why did all instincts in her tell her someone around her was concealing the grandest deception of all?
A soft groan of a door yanked her out of her reverie. Rohit stepped into the room, his typical unruffled demeanor superseded by a hint of something foreboding.
"Ava," he whispered, a hint of concern in his voice, "I don't believe we're safe here. Not anymore."
Ava's heartbeat missed a beat. "What do you mean?"
"I got a call," he said, his hand gripping the back of a chair for support. "I think they know we're onto them."
"Who?" Ava's voice trembled with unease.
He didn't answer right away. Instead, he turned to the door, as though sensing something—someone—out there. His eyes narrowed, scanning the shadows of the hallway.
Ava swallowed hard. "Rohit, what's going on?"
"They're nearer than I expected," he told her again, his voice so low as to be nothing more than a whisper. "I just. I don't trust anyone anymore."
Ava's face went pale. "Rohit, who are you speaking about?"
Rohit breathed deeply, but before he could respond, something pierced the air—sharp, sudden, and cold. A door creaking open in the distance. A figure moving in the shadows.
"Someone's here," Rohit whispered, his voice hardly louder than a breath.
Ava stopped dead in her tracks, eyes going wide. "Who?"
Before he could answer, a low, husky voice from behind them replied.
"𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐧."
The voice was cold and calculating and. familiar. Too familiar.
Ava turned around, staring with wide eyes, but the figure standing in the doorway was a silhouette, their face obscured by the cloak of night.
"Who are you?" she demanded, stepping forward, but the figure didn't answer. Instead, they stepped into the dim light, revealing only a pair of cold, unblinking eyes.
"Still so blind," the figure whispered, their voice dripping with contempt. "You think you're safe, that you're in control. But you're not."
Ava's heart racing in her chest. She moved back a step, trying to locate the voice, but the words caught her like a sucker punch. She recognized this individual—or so she believed.
"Who are you?" she repeated again, her voice now shaking.
The man smiled—just a little—before continuing to talk. "You two are so gullible. But you'll soon find out. The truth always surfaces. Even if it means shattering you first."
Ava's blood turned cold. This was no accident. No random person. This was somebody who knew her, somebody who had been following her around in the background.
And they weren't finished.
....
𝗘𝗹𝘀𝗲𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲, 𝗜𝗻 𝗮 𝗗𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗥𝗼𝗼𝗺...
There was a shadowed figure hunched in the corner of a lightless room. The lamp overhead cast the only light, dancing shadows that snaked up across the walls in long, ethereal tendrils. The figure's face did not show itself, the curve of their features lost in blackness. The gleam in a pair of sharp eyes indicated their presence in the darkness, a soft sneer on their lips.
The silence was pierced by a voice, low and steady.
"They're getting too close.
The individual opposite the figure spoke, their voice shaking in the silence. "What do we do?"
The figure laughed softly, their voice unnervingly calm. "Let them come. They believe they have power. but they have no concept of what's next."
A moment. Then the figure leaned forward, their eyes unflinching.
"You know what we must do. We complete what we began. This time, there will be no errors."
The room was thick with an eerie quiet. The figure stood, their shape hardly discernible in the darkness.
"Are you ready?" the voice repeated.
A slow nod was the response.
"It's time," the figure breathed. "𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘄."
𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐯𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐨𝐡𝐢𝐭...
Ava stood stock-still, her mind racing. She couldn't shake the feeling that the walls were closing in on her, that they were being watched by eyes that never blinked.
"Rohit." Her voice trembled. "What is this? What's happening?"
But Rohit didn't answer. He was gazing at the door, his face white.
"They're closer than we realize," he whispered to himself, his eyes haunted. "And I don't think we're prepared."
The creak of the far door opening again made her jump. Ava's gaze darted to Rohit, back to the black hallway. All of her instincts were screaming for them to get out—to flee—but something held her immobile.
"Rohit. say who it is!" Ava demanded, her voice strained.
He let out a quick breath, frustration and terror mingling on his face. He looked towards the door, as if wondering if it was even worth looking there again. But something stayed his hand—something about the way the air in the room seemed to grow thick.
"Whoever it is. they want us to find them." Rohit's voice shook a little, but he pushed the words out. "And we will. But we have to be prepared for whatever happens next."
Ava's breath caught as she turned to him, her eyes on his, seeking some sort of solace. She didn't find it.
All she could see was fear—an emotion she never thought to see in his eyes.
She wanted to speak, to reassure him, but her voice deserted her. The air was too thick. The silence was oppressive.
Just then, the figure moved forward, the slightest of movements just beyond the door. Ava's heart froze.
She sensed the weight of their eyes, oppressive and crushing. And just as quickly as they had come, the figure disappeared into the shadows, vanishing silently.
Rohit didn't budge. He didn't say a word. He simply stood there, his eyes fixed on the vacant doorway.
The tension was excruciating.
.....
𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕?
𝑾𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝑨𝒗𝒂 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑹𝒐𝒉𝒊𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎?
𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒅𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒏?
𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔 "𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒈𝒖𝒏" 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏? 𝑾𝒉𝒐'𝒔 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈… 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒐'𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅?
𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌—𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒂 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝑨𝒗𝒂 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚?
𝑫𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝑹𝒐𝒉𝒊𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒆'𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒆𝒓? 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕?
.......
𝑬𝑵𝑱𝑶𝒀𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑺𝑻𝑶𝑹𝒀? 𝑲𝑰𝑵𝑫𝑳𝒀 𝑫𝑶 𝑺𝑶𝑴𝑬 𝑹𝑨𝑻𝑰𝑵𝑮. 𝑰𝑻 𝑯𝑬𝑳𝑷𝑺 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑺𝑻𝑶𝑹𝒀 𝑻𝑶 𝑮𝑹𝑶𝑾...!