Chapter 5 - The Hidden Backroom
Clara bolted down the aisle, her white sneakers squeaking against the littered floor. Leo buried his face in her neck, holding onto her cream sweater with desperate, white-knuckled strength. Behind them, the damaged drone righted itself with a mechanical screech, its green lens locking back onto their fleeing figures.
The police officer made no move to stop them. He was too busy desperately trying to pry his melting badge off his uniform, cursing under his breath as the digital interface burned his fingertips.
Clara rounded the corner toward the back of the supermarket, ignoring the terrified shouts of the trapped shoppers huddled near the frozen foods section. Her lungs burned with every breath, and the weight of her toddler felt heavier by the second. She spotted the heavy metal fire exit door at the end of the corridor, marked with a glowing green sign.
She slammed her shoulder against the push bar, but the door did not budge. Locked from the outside.
“No, no, no!” Clara muttered, frantically rattling the metal handle.
A sharp whirring sound echoed down the corridor behind her. The drone was closing in fast, its metal claws clicking rhythmically against the floor.
Suddenly, a bruised, calloused hand shot out from a narrow janitorial closet door that Clara had nearly missed. A weathered man with graying hair and deep lines etched into his face yanked her inside, pulling both her and Leo into the pitch-black space just as a beam of green laser light swept across the hallway outside.
The heavy door clicked shut, plunging them into absolute darkness. Clara held her breath, listening to the soft, terrified whimpers of her son and the steady, calming breathing of the stranger standing beside them in the dark.
“Quiet,” the man whispered, his voice raspy and low. “They track thermal signatures as well as Wi-Fi.”
Clara held Leo tight, her heart pounding against her ribs like a trapped bird. “Who are you? How did you know we were there?”
“I’ve been watching the system consume people for a decade,” the stranger replied, striking a match to light a single, flickering candle on a shelf filled with old cleaning supplies. The weak flame cast long, dancing shadows across the cramped room. “And you just broke the biggest firewall they’ve ever built.”
The stranger looked down at Leo, then locked eyes with Clara, a grim smile touching the corners of his mouth.
May you like
“If you think getting chased through a supermarket was bad,” the man said softly, “wait until you see what’s waiting for us underneath the city.”
---
