Chapter 5: DEAD ZONE EAST

The old device kept blinking.
Faster now.
Almost like a heartbeat.
And each pulse brought something closer.

Zair tried to switch it off.
Nothing worked.
He pulled a cord. he light stayed.
Smashed it with a brick. he light stayed.

“This thing’s not tech,” he muttered.
“It’s bait.”

The boy stepped back.
Aya was still missing.
The Spiral Door still locked.
And now something was coming.

From behind the steel walls,
They heard it.

Drip.
Drip.
Drip.

Then a screech not human.
The tunnel shook.

Suddenly, the mirrors lining the tunnel began to crack.
Not all at once.
But one by one, like dominoes of glass.
Each crack echoed like a scream.

Zair grabbed the boy.
“We run.”

They didn’t make it far.

A trapdoor burst open in front of them.
Two masked figures rose, cloaked in ash-gray coats, faces painted white with red marks under the eyes.
Symbols drawn in black ink across their gloves.

“Identify yourselves,” one said.
But his voice wasn’t real it came from a speaker on his chest.

Zair raised his arms.
The boy hesitated.

“What’s the signal code?” the other masked one asked.

Zair paused.
Then said it:
“The crows fly low tonight.”

The two figures didn’t lower their weapons.
They nodded.
But it wasn’t trust.

It was confirmation.

“You’re the ones we’re looking for.”

They led them through a hidden hallway.
No words.
Just silence and steam.
Until they reached a circular room glowing in orange.

There, a girl sat in the middle.
Wires attached to her head.
Eyes wide open.
Breathing fast.
It was Aya.

But she didn’t blink.

The masked one pointed at her.
“She’s not asleep. She’s inside the map.”

Zair stepped forward.
“What map?”

The other one turned to him slowly.

“The last one. The map to the Final Weapon.”

The boy’s fists clenched.
“How do we bring her back?”

“She doesn’t come back,” the masked figure said.
“Not unless you take her place.”

And then silence.
Only the sound of the blue device still blinking in the boy’s bag.




To be continued