(ARC :1 PH:1 INVISIBLE ONE)
The city did not sleep that night.
As Anie and Eli ran, behind them, an entire system was waking up.
Drones,, Sensors,,Data pulses,,
But to the people it was nothing. Just another ordinary night.At the end of the dark road stood an old train tunnel.
Eli stopped there.
"This place is safe," he said
"For a little while."
Anie tried to breathe. Her heart still refused to calm down.
"How do you know all this?" she asked.
He, leaned against the wall.
"I've run before,"he said.
"The way you ran today."
Anie looked at him,
"Alone?"...
he smiled It wasn't a happy smile.
"Yes."
There were many words standing there unspoken.
!!Bzz!! Her phone vibrated again.
This time, it wasn't an Unknown Contact.
SYSTEM ALERT:"Temporal fluctuation detected.""
her hand trembled,,
"What is this?"
"This,"
Eli said calmly,
"is the moment the city noticed us."
looked at the screen.
"Can't you see? This isn't a public alert."
"Then what is it?"
"Internal."... Anie swallowed,
"Whose is it?" Eli closed his eyes.
"I don't know. But they're calling people like us."
("Footsteps.")
At the far end of the tunnel, a figure appeared.
A woman,dark jacket. eyes that seemed to look straight through them.
Anie recognized her.....
"Yesterday",,,
"Yes,"
the woman said.
"Nice to see you again."
Eli stepped forward...
"Who are you?"
The woman looked at him. For one moment.
"I'm not surprised you made it this far,"
she said.
"Eli."...
his face changed...
"You know my name?"
"The city knows,"
she replied.
"But for now, you and her are still invisible."
That old pressure returned to Anie's chest.
"What are you?"Anie asked.
The woman smiled.
"I was once like you." !!Silence.!!
"Once?"
"Later,"
she said,
"the city saw me."
tunnel lights flickered, out of rhythm.Time itself seemed to bend for a moment.Eli held his breath.
"Anie… we need to... "
Before he could finish,At the edge of the tunnel, a red line opened in the air.
A scan....
Anie screamed, clutching her head...
"It's… tearing me apart…"
"Listen,"
she said.
"Your power is not yours yet."
She looked at her.
"Then whose is it?"
"The city's,"
the woman answered.
"You are reading it."
The scan moved closer.Eli grabbed Anie's hand.
"Look at me,"
he said.
"Breathe." she met his eyes.
The noise faded, the fear weakened.
The scan hesitated,just for a moment.
woman smiled.
"This is it,"she said.
"The connection."
She stepped back,
"Tonight, you survived,"she said.
"But next time"
Her form shattered into shadow.
"The city will learn your names."
The scan vanished...tunnel fell back into darkness.Anie collapsed,he caught her.
"You're safe,"he said.
"I'm here." she closed her eyes.
For the first time not fear, trust....
Outside, the city took a breath.New files opened.
SUBJECT STATUS:"Unidentified - Active"
Anie's name was still not there.
But there wasn't much time left.....