Chapter 11 - The Red Light in the Window
The cool evening breeze carried the scent of pine and distant traffic as Leo and Lily stepped out onto the front porch of the house. Officer Vance walked closely behind them, guiding the two children down the concrete walkway toward a sleek, unmarked municipal van parked at the curb.
Before getting into the vehicle, Leo paused, glancing back at the second-story bedroom window of the house. The window—which belonged to the room where his primary ring lights and multi-camera streaming rig were permanently installed—was flashing with a rhythmic, pulsing red light. It wasn't an error code from the servers downstairs; it was an optical distress signal, blinking in a deliberate Morse code pattern.
Leo squinted, translating the flashes in his head from his early days of studying broadcast engineering manuals. S-O-S. SYSTEM OVERRIDE ACTIVE. BACKUP GENERATOR ONLINE.
Leo’s breath caught in his throat. The servers downstairs hadn’t been completely destroyed; they had a secondary, hidden power source that had just kicked in.
“Leo, get in the van. It’s getting chilly,” Officer Vance urged gently, holding the sliding door open for Lily, whose mouth and pastel rainbow dress were lightly smeared with chocolate frosting.
“Officer Vance,” Leo said, his voice tense as he pointed up at the bedroom window. “Look at the window. The system isn't dead.”
Officer Vance stopped and looked up. Her professional demeanor instantly tightened into tactical alertness. She reached down to her belt, resting her hand near her service radio.
“Dispatch, this is Unit Four,” Officer Vance spoke quickly into her shoulder mic. “We have an unverified secondary power signal originating from the primary asset location. Requesting immediate technical backup at the residence.”
From inside the house, a muffled, mechanical shriek echoed through the open front door—a sound like thousands of high-speed hard drives spinning up simultaneously at maximum capacity.
Suddenly, the exterior security lights of the house flared back to life, blindingly bright, casting harsh shadows across the front lawn.
Lily whimpered, hiding her face against the seat of the municipal van.
“Other, I want to leave. Let’s go to the new house,” Lily cried softly.
Leo climbed into the van beside her, closing the door firmly to shut out the blinding lights and the unnatural hum of the restarting servers.
“We are going, Lily,” Leo promised, holding her tightly.
Officer Vance remained standing outside the van, her eyes locked on the front entrance of the house as the heavy wooden front door slowly began to swing outward on its own accord.
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Standing in the doorway was a figure neither Leo nor the officer expected to see.
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