(ARC :1 PH: 1 :INVISIBLE ONE)
The city lights,flickered back to life,as if nothing had happened,everything moved forward.
Vehicles,
Horns,
The blue glow of the metro tracks,
Smiles on digital billboards.But Anie knew the city remembered.She stood with Eli.
Not in the middle of the road,but among the crowds.
Yet,
they were alone.
"This isn't a normal shadow,"...
Eli whispered.
"This is… a reaction."
"To what?" Anie asked.
"Because we interfered." His eyes
scanned the surroundings.Cameras,
Drones,Sensors,the city was watching everything.
"But they still don't recognize us,"
Eli said.
"That is why this is Phase One."
Ani remembered that word,To be invisible.
They began to walk tow-ards the lower parts of the city.Neon lights,Hologram shops,AI announcements.
"Citizens, please maintain calm."
The voice...was everywhere,
Yet,it was nowhere.
"When did you become like this?"
Anie asked.
Eli smiled,It was a sad smile.
"I don't remember clearly," he said.
"But I remember one day,the world
lagged,for a single second."
Ani came to a halt.
"That happened to me too."
They looked at each other In that moment,neither of them spoke.
They knew this was no coincidence.
Before them lay an underpass.Broken camera lights,Graffiti,Rainwater.
Eli stopped.
"Someone was here," he said.
"Who?" Ani asked.
"I don't know,but he was like us."
A chill ran through Anie's chest.
"What happened?" Eli didn't answer.
As they walked through the underpass
Anie's head began to ache voices.
Static in her eyes.
In an instant the graffiti on the wall seemed to move,Anie closed her eyes.
"Do you see this?" she asked.
"Yes," Eli said.
"This isn't data."
From the graffiti,a figure emerged.
Not human,Not entirely,A shadow
laced with digital patterns.
"Step back," Eli said.
Anie took a step, then the shadow
moved with unnatural speed.
Anie's breath hitched,Inside her,there was simultaneously fear and a desperate need.
This must stop....
She didn't decide to do anything.But the world the shadow faltered,
Not completely.
Moment Hold.{}
The water on the walls froze in mid-air.
The shadow shivered.
"Anie!" Eli called out.
She was about to fall,Eli caught her hand.That touch shattered so much
inside Anie.
Pain,memories,the dreams she tried to forget.
The Moment Hold broke,the shadow
was torn apart like shredded fabric.
Darkness,They sat on the ground.
Breathing heavily.
"You did it," Eli said.
"I didn't do anything," Anie said.
"That is the fear," he said calmly.
He looked at her face.
"Are you in pain?"
Ani shook her head.
"But you didn't let go."
Eli was still holding her hand.
"I told you," he said.
"I won't leave."
Their fingers remained intertwined.
Above them the sound of drones.
Red lights.
"Unidentified anomaly detected."
"Now they are coming."
"Who are 'they'?" ,, she looked around.
"The eyes of the city," Eli said.
"Still faceless."
Ani was afraid,but she didn't run.
"What should we do?"
Eli looked into her eyes.
"Today,we escape,"he said.
"But tomorrow"
He didn't finish the sentence.
The drones drew closer.The city lights
lagged once more for a second.
Ani realized she could never be alone
again.
"If you call me,,," he said.
"I will come, even if you don't."
They ran through the dark path.Behind them the city took a breath.There were no new names yet.But one thing was certain The invisible ones were no longer "Alone"...