You don’t truly understand tunnel vision until you experience it. The world doesn’t slowly dissolve around you; it vanishes with brutal abruptness. Your heartbeat thunders, your nerves fray, your body trembles, and your palms grow damp. All the while, your gaze stays fixed on the one thing that matters, locked in place like it’s encased in glass at the centre of your mind, drawing your undivided focus.

Galis found himself caught in this single-minded state as he pushed through the unrelenting crowd, a constant, shifting mass of bodies. Every brush and shove grated on his already thin patience. Snippets of complaints and startled yelps sounded around him, but they were muffled by the relentless drumming of blood in his ears.

“Gotta get home. I need to get home,” he muttered under his breath with the manic enthusiasm a zealot would show when praying, constantly chanting the phrase in a feverish tone. His eyes would occasionally shift from side to side, frantically moving with haste and worry, but never for too long. All his focus remained on following the path ahead of him.

He could feel himself shivering as he rounded another corner, passing shops with rose-tinted windows. As he walked, he found himself questioning his actions for what seemed like the thousandth time that hour.

Why did he steal it? What was the point? Guilt ran rampant in his mind as his conscience chewed at his emotions like a rabid dog. Every now and then, flashes of panic and dread shot through him like bolts of lightning.

Thievery wasn’t exactly a rare crime in the area, but it was what he had stolen that frightened him.

‘They’ll have my head for this, or worse,’ Galis thought, grimly tracing a finger over the cold rectangular object in his jacket pocket. If they caught him either he would be made an example of, or he would never see the light of day again. Likely the latter. His skin felt cold and numb as he ran through the options in his head, maybe the Watchmen wouldn’t re-write his memories if he handed himself in?

“Right, because the ruthless city guardsmen were known for their good manners and nice tea parties,” he muttered sarcastically, crossing a familiar yet unrecognisable street. The wind beat against his clothes as if to push him back, its shrill whistle mimicking the telltale chime that signalled the Watchmen. As if he wasn’t already turning his head to look behind him every five seconds enough.

He tried not to think about it, looking over his shoulder constantly would just make him look more suspicious in future camera feeds. And a simple apology wasn’t going to be enough to undo his actions.

How did he let himself stoop this low? Well, in hindsight, he knew exactly what had driven him to make the decision he did, but it didn’t stop the deluge of guilt from haunting him.

Galis prided himself in the way he lived, in a city teeming with vagabonds and lawless fools he believed himself to be different.  Always living morally upright, right down to the last letter of the law. He used to scoff at those who claimed their lives to be too difficult, turning to crime to solve their problems. But now he had found himself in their unenviable position over some childishly volatile fit of emotion. And in that reckless instant, he had seized the one object that would make him the city’s most wanted criminal by morning.

‘Make results not excuses.’ Galis thought bitterly, he would find a way out of this, one way or another.

As he trekked through the winding streets and tall, dark buildings. He felt heat simmer under his veins. He was angry—angry at the snide noble who had practically begged to get robbed, angry at the world for putting him in this situation, and most of all, angry at himself.

‘…I’m supposed to be better than this,’ he thought. The familiar feeling of doubt and self-loathing crept through his body, accompanied by the all-too-familiar lump in his throat. His father would be horrified if he saw what his son was doing at that moment.

The walk took hours but felt even longer. For a long time, Galis marched onward, sticking to shadows and corners until he was well into the outskirts. The blur of the oppressive city slowly dissipated as the world around him gradually refocused itself.

His breathing felt slightly easier as he kept his pace nearing the gate to the outside world. With every step he took needles of irrational fear pricked his skin.

He gradually came to a halt near the small lit booth. Normally a large floodlight would illuminate the heavily fortified iron gate which it sat beside, but the south side of the city wasn’t exactly the most cared for. He looked up to see a large metal cylinder above the booth, cracked and spluttering with the occasional fizz of the power line it was connected to. Barely lighting up the pavement around it. Everything else was blanketed in a quiet darkness which spread around each corner of the area.

Galis turned his attention to the inside of the booth. Tentatively stepping up he gave a quick knock on the stainless-steel shutter which kept it closed.

“We’re no' open!” came a rough, angry voice from inside the box. “Come back at some reasonable hour in the bloody mornin’, ye lunatic!”

“Nole it’s me,” Galis spoke in an impatient tone, tapping his foot against the rough concrete floor.

 “…Galis? What ye daein’ out here so late lad?”

“It’s complicated, listen can you open the gate or not?”

The shutter quickly opened itself to reveal a disgruntled, flabby figure whose bloodshot and stuffy red eyes fixed themselves on him. Sat in a small chair amidst an absolute mess of paper and junk food sat a short moustachioed man with a flat face and square jaw. His bushy moustache took up most of the space on his face but didn’t hide the grimace he wore as he looked outside. His meaty hands tightened on the chair he sat in as he stared in shock.

“…By Roma’s wake…” Nole said, stunned, “Ye must be out yer mind to be out in this weather.”

“…What?” Galis responded, watching the older man stare behind him curiously. When he had fled from the store it had only been lightly raining, he quickly glanced upwards to feel a streak of rain barely miss his eye and roll down his cheek.

 A split second later, he realised that his clothes had been completely soaked through and that the rain, which he had barely registered before, had been coming down on him in full force for some time.

‘That must be why I was so cold earlier.’ He thought. But it wasn’t as if he hadn’t experienced worse, a little bad weather was nothing in the face of his current predicament.

“Listen, Nole, I’m fine,” Galis said curtly. “Could you open the gate? I’m in a bit of a rush.”

Hearing him speak, Nole then turned his attention to Galis and the younger man watched as his grimace deepened.

“Goddammit Lad, ye look even worse than I dae,” Nole scoffed, “and that’s sayin’ somethin’, considerin’ I always look awful. Good grief, ye didn’t even realize it was raining, did ye?”

“You should stop cursing Nole, it’s a bad habit.” He deflected. Hoping to steer the conversation away from his current state of affairs.

In response the older man looked at him incredulously, “And ye should go home! Barring the fact that I’m no’ supposed to let ye out, whit makes ye think I’d feed yer ridiculous addiction tae suicidal ideas?”

Galis narrowed his eyes as lingering paranoia crept into his heart the longer the conversation continued. Nole had never cared enough about his job to stop him each time he left in the past. Barring the long conversations, they would engage in whenever he wasn’t on duty, this was the longest it had taken him to open the gate. It was worrying.

 Normally, Galis wouldn’t even bother alerting the security guard and sneak through a hole in the perimeter. But he needed an official to clear his exit, in case they caught him leaving on any camera feed.

Thus, while wincing slightly, Galis opted for a different approach, “Because we’re good pals? Maybe even best friends?” He said with a wry smile.

His hopes were shot down as the security guard gave him a flat look.

“Galis, if ma best mate was someone three decades younger than me, I’d need tae rethink ma life choices.” Nole deadpanned, “At the very least, more than I already have.” He then gestured down to his grease-stained black and yellow guard uniform.

‘Unlikely. You know he doesn’t even talk to others—he’s just stalling for the Watchmen to come and arrest you,’ Galis’s paranoia whispered. As far as he knew, he was the only person who had ever shown the security guard a shred of respect or treated him like a real human being. Every other interaction he’d witnessed had been either callous and rude or indifferent and brief.

“I’m surprised you even have other friends,” Galis muttered, irritated. Accidentally thinking aloud. Almost immediately he felt awful.

The pair then stared at each other for a few moments, in some measure of awkward, humane silence. Both were tired enough not to want to argue any longer, but stubborn enough not to concede their points. The damn broke when the younger man spoke again.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean that,” He said while rubbing his forehead, “It’s just been a long day for me.”

Nole clicked his teeth and looked away to the rain-soaked streets. “Ach, dinnae be apologisin’ fer every wee thing, Galis. I’m a grown man. I know whit I look like tae folk.” He chuckled. “Besides, I’d be in a foul mood, too, if I were stuck outside in that weather.”

“…Right,” Galis said quietly.

A few more moments of silence passed until the older man spun around in his chair to face Galis again. “I’m sorry Galis, but I’m no’ goin’ tae repeat ma self,” he said in a sombre tone, “I don’t want yer death weighin’ on ma conscience.”

“Nole, you know I can handle myself out there, I’ve never been in any real danger before.” Galis shot back, undeterred.

The older man’s gaze was piercing, as if it could drill straight through his skull. Under any other circumstances, Galis wouldn’t have pressed so hard, wary of risking Nole’s job. But right now, he didn’t have a choice—if he didn’t leave the city immediately, he’d be caught for sure.

“Lad, ye’re no’ listenin’,” Nole replied in a soft tone. “It’s been getting rougher out there these last few weeks. Dinnae go riskin’ yer life fer whatever daft plan ye’ve got. Just… go home.”

‘This is ridiculous’ the paranoid part of Galis spoke, louder than before, ‘When has he ever cared for your well-being? Your “friendship” doesn’t even reach past that of a drunkard and his barkeeper, they only need one thing from the other.’

He had been giving in to that part of himself more often than not lately, and as much as he hated the constant mistrust it was a fair point. For all he knew Nole could just be buying time for his law-keeping buddies to reach him. Maybe he should just make a break for it.

Galis felt his eyelid twitch as he considered his options, and it didn’t help that his nerves were still a jumbled mess.

‘Well, I’ve already started talking to him, might as well see it through.’  he thought with a resigned sigh, for what it was worth at least this path was easier on the security guard. For whatever reason the Watchmen treated corruption far more leniently than incapability. Nole could just pretend that he let him through because of some emergency rather than explain how he failed at the one thing he’s being paid for.

 After a few more minutes of deliberation, the younger man decided against running. It would be disrespectful to not show at least an inch of trust for the man who had helped him so much in the past.

That being said, it still didn’t stop him from lashing out in a mixture of fear and anxiety.

“So what?” Galis hissed impatiently, “Even if I die it’s no skin off your back, just an extra form to fill out in the morning.”

His response was met with a flurry of annoyed hand flourishes and a series of half-curses from the mouth of the guard. Eventually, Nole heaved a sad sigh and lifted a large glass panel with his foot, hidden under many half-filled trash bags.

"Yer an Idiot," Nole huffed, exasperated. "An' when ye finally get what’s comin’ tae ye and end up squashed like a bug, just know that I bloody well told ye so."

Then he stepped on a small blue button causing yellow lights to blare from the large metal barrier past the small security office. Or at least they tried to before shortly flickering violently and dissipating. Through the darkness, Galis could barely make out the smallest corner of the gate turning inwards, allowing access outside.

Relief filled him as the familiar screech of the turning metal door met his ears.

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“If ye make it back alive, ye owe me fer this one,” Nole grumbled, shaking his head with disappointment.

“Yeah, I got it.” Galis said, looking gratefully at him, “Thanks.”

He had felt a twinge of shame over the whole thing, but he didn’t have the luxury of dwelling on it. Though he trusted Nole to a degree, sharing the truth was out of the question. Steeling himself, he gave a brief nod and strode quickly into the darkness ahead.

“I said ye owe me!” Nole called after him, “An’ I plan tae collect, so ye better come back!”

A ghost of a smile shone on Galis’ face. It was a shame he was unlikely to see the security guard again, he had been a decent man. Not a good one, but at least he was honest.

The younger man marched onwards through the corner of the gate which slammed shut behind him. The buildings out here were much smaller and not nearly as well-kept as the ones in the city, they slowly gave way to large empty fields with sparse foliage.

As he kept walking it didn’t take long for the dry concrete of the city to turn into wet mud which clung to the bottom of his boots. He couldn’t see too far ahead of himself, but he had taken the same path enough times to know where he was going even blindfolded. The path slowly angled upwards as he worked his way up a tall hill, the constant strong winds from earlier threatening to push him off at any moment.

After a half-hour of struggle, he finally reached the top. Galis looked down at the city below him, his lips curling in both awe and disgust.

Valtsomu: the capital of one of the world's greatest powers. Home to millions of nobles who built the city, and nearly four times as many regular citizens who kept it running. From his vantage point, the city was a vast expanse of tall, imposing black structures, each with thousands of eerily glowing, dirty-gold lights. All were neatly arranged to form a crescent moon, spanning the length of the entire horizon.

It wouldn’t take long before that place would be in utter chaos because of what he did. In truth, he wasn’t even sure anybody had even attempted what he accidentally succeeded in. Whatever happened next wouldn’t be pretty.

Galis kept trekking for another short while, eventually reaching a small structure. It was a wooden cabin he had built himself. His eyes strained against the darkness as he fumbled at the doorknob, opening it after a few failed attempts and an accidental splinter.

He felt calmer as he finally entered, being on the outside was a protection in itself, especially nowadays. He didn’t even need a lock on his door.

After flicking a hidden switch to his right, the cabin illuminated itself in a soft orange glow. His father had helped him build it after a long fight as a gesture of peace, not that it had aided their strained relationship. There were only three rooms: a living room, a bathroom and a bedroom. The latter two were much smaller than the first. They had built it in the densest cluster of trees they could find that was still close to the city walls, as a result, it was decently hidden while still giving him an escape option.

Galis practically collapsed on the small black leather couch in the middle of the room. Watching his reflection in the old, beaten television screen he sat across from. A haunting visage stared back at him, with sunken eyes and a pale complexion. His usually olive skin had gone almost white from the numbing cold, and his dark brown eyes had heavy bags under them.

‘Nole was not joking when he said I look worse than he does.’ He thought while running a hand through his long, dark brown hair as it dripped with rainwater.

For a few moments, he finally felt fully relaxed. Being home had that effect on people, it was a haven from which no one could touch you. The quiet serenity almost made him forget the fact that he had committed a crime not too long ago.

Crime…He was now a criminal. Galis had little doubt he could ever face the only family he had left with what he had done, and that fact hit him harder than the act ever could. Earlier Nole had told him to go home, but even if he had what would he say? That he couldn’t help himself? That the prideful, snotty manchild he had taken from fully deserved it?

Galis wanted to curl up in a ball and cry for an eternity, but he didn’t. Feeling sorry for himself wouldn’t solve the problem after all. Instead, he flicked on the television scrolling through the channels until he settled on an old highlight reel for classical music. Soft piano filled the room, reverberating off the walls. Ah, Burclu, one of his favourites. He was a well-renowned musician, just like his father.

While humming the familiar tune Galis pulled a sleek rectangular case out of the pocket of his jacket. Despite the onslaught of rain, the mechanical holding device hadn’t seemed perturbed in the slightest. It was a hollow object which was made of multiple linking metal thorns that were cold and dull, plated roses blossomed on each side. Though it appeared needlessly extravagant, it was clear that a lot of care had been put into each of its moving parts.

“Now that’s some high-quality tech.” He mumbled aloud, staring at the small thing impressed.

Galis had known it was expensive when he first caught sight of it. He had also known when the man who had it proceeded to gloat loudly to all the customers about how he was now among the elite. Waving around the object like one would the flag of their home country.

He hadn’t cared at first, but then… one thing led to another, and he found himself extraordinarily upset at this swaggering idiot. Choosing violence would have been suicidal given the circumstances but considering the less-than-intellectual choice he made instead; it was probably the better option.

In the end, while he wasn’t sure exactly what it was, he knew a few things. First, he had stolen from a noble, a big no-no in this city of lunatics. Second, the case bore a royal insignia, something he’d only noticed an entire hour after taking it.

It wasn’t hard to surmise the rest.

‘How did that guy even end up with this’ He pondered, the last he had checked the royals had gone extinct thousands of years ago. Most of their belongings were strictly monitored and guarded, not exactly available to the general public. It would make sense if some noble of a major family held it. But this random oaf was more street vendor than noble with how brazenly he acted. The only reason Galis even knew he was a noble was that he wore attire no regular citizen could ever afford.

Galis rotated the object around as he thought, playing with it in his hand until he heard a small click. Very slowly the mechanical case began to unravel itself, unspooling almost like a ball of yarn.

“What the” Galis yelped, dropping the entire contraption. It clattered to the floor with a loud thud.

The object continued rattling across the floor, its movements growing increasingly erratic. Red light seeped through newly formed cracks as it strained to open itself. Galis sprang to his feet, then threw himself onto the floor behind the couch, shielding his head with his hands. His first thought was that it was some kind of weapon.

‘Did I bring a bomb into my house?’ he thought, terrified. He should have ditched the damned thing when he had the chance.

He lay still, listening to the horrid sound of metal screeching and the familiar grinding of multiple mechanical parts failing in unison. The noise faded with a final ghastly breath, leaving Galis alone in a tense, uncomfortable silence. Thankfully, it didn’t seem as though anything had exploded.

A quick glance over the couch revealed that the case had completely disappeared. Aside from a few shallow scratches on the wooden floorboards, there was no sign that it had ever been there.

“That’s concerning.” Galis mumbled to himself, “…Where did it go?” Maybe if he was lucky, it had just disappeared, and he wouldn’t have to deal with it again. He continued to stare at the spot where it had vanished, deep in thought.

As he was contemplating, a raspy male voice rang out to his right, “What are we looking for?”

On instinct, Galis swung a fist in that general direction. His hand passed through a spectral visage, whose unhinged smile formed partway into his hand. Immediately he recognised it as a hologram, and an incredibly detailed one at that.

“Aw come on now,” said an ageing figure with a Cheshire grin “That’s just bad table manners, who raised you?”. Upon closer inspection, Galis saw profound and detailed wrinkles lining the old man’s face. His eyes were an ominous gold, enlarged by the thick triangular spectacles he wore. The man’s attire was almost as strange as his sudden appearance—he wore a loose, black robe with a shiny red necktie hanging haphazardly over it.

The whole scene was so realistic that, if Galis’s hand hadn’t been halfway through the old man’s face, he might have thought someone had broken into his home.

All he could do was stare in open-mouthed shock.

“I wouldn’t leave your mouth open for too long.” The figure spoke again, scratching at the half-stubble growing on his chin. “I’ve eaten one too many flies doing that for too long.”

“I…Uh”

Galis backed away, slowly nearing the door behind him.

“Relax, you look like you got caught stealing from your mother’s cookie jar.” The man winked at him. “Then again I would be terrified too if that happened.”

He clutched at his black robe as if remembering something awful. “She was a real monster.”

Then he straightened himself out and gave another shark-like grin, “But that’s neither here nor there, What’s your name son?”

Galis stopped just short of reaching for the doorknob. He had nowhere else to turn, in the worst-case scenario he would be caught even if he ran back to the city. Better to just face his punishment head-on. At the very least the stranger didn’t seem here to arrest him, so he could breathe easy on that front.

“I’m Galis…Who are you?” Galis asked, tentatively.

The old man gave him an almost-offended look. After a beat of silence, he adjusted his glasses and leaned in, scrutinizing Galis.

“You don’t know?” he whispered. “And here I thought I was widely renowned. Guess someone had to humble me eventually.” He leaned back with mock theatrics. “Oh, the sweet irony!” he declared, pressing a hand to his forehead. “I’m -Calibration error-, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Galis blinked twice. Was he serious? It had been an awfully long day and so there was a decent chance he was just hallucinating the entire ordeal, especially after all the recent stress. Unfortunately, after rubbing his eyes a few times the figure did not disappear as he hoped he would.

‘Roma above, I need to get this crazy old man out of my house immediately.’ Galis thought with mounting anxiety. He had seen detailed holograms before in his life but never something of this scale. At this point, he had retracted his arm and without it in his face, everything about the stranger in his home felt as though there was an actual person.

“Hey.” The man spoke, disrupting his internal dialogue. “By the by, would you happen to have any water? I’m parched.”

“…I…I think I have some in the kitchen, I could grab it if you want?”

“Nah, don’t bother, I can’t drink anyway. I’m not real.”

The silence in the room was deafening. For a few moments, Galis felt the sudden urge to strangle the old man in front of him.

“Then why would you suggest it!?” He exclaimed exasperated.

“Well, I always found that drinks smooth conversation, besides isn’t it polite to get a beverage for guests?”

“Listen if you’re not going to explain why or how you got here, I’m going to need you to leave.”

“Now hold on just a minute, I was getting there. Can’t I engage in any pleasantries?” The stranger replied, holding up his hands in mock surrender, “Besides, patience is a virtue that everybody should have. I swear, you folk are always so hasty.”

Galis felt his blood pressure rise slightly but forced himself to take a deep breath. “You must have something to do with the rectangular case, right? The one with the royal insignia? Are you some kind of virtual guardian?”

“Close, but no cigar.” The old man responded with a slap of his knee, then he brought a hand up to scratch his beard again. “Actually, not close in the slightest, but fear not my handsome young friend! I will explain the situation.”

“Just get on with it.”

In response, the stranger raised a hand and cleared his throat. Taking a deep breath as if mentally preparing himself.

“For you see, it all started when. Zzzt, calibration error. Calibration error. Calibration error. Calibration error. Calibration error. Calibration error. Calibration error. Calibration error. Calibration error. Calibration error. Calibration error. Calibration error. Calibration error. Calibration error. Calibration error. calibration error- Which led to the creation of the device you find yourself with!” The stranger said jovially.

“Hey, wait a minute.”

“Now, now young man it’s rude to interrupt somebody when they're speaking.” Galis saw a spectral finger hover in front of his lips in a shushing gesture. “As I was saying, I am -Argument error. And I built the -Argument error- To help me power my -Calibration error.”

Galis started to feel a knot tighten in his chest as the stranger continued. Cracks started to appear in the man’s appearance, and his speech grew distorted, taking on an eerie tone. Whenever he uttered certain words, a red light would pulse from his body, briefly flooding the cabin in crimson. He still half expected him to blow up at any given moment, it wouldn’t be the weirdest way somebody had tried to kill him.

The man himself then donned a bored expression, “But all of that is just context that I’m sure you're not interested in. The only reason you nobles would even buy this product is for the promise I made to you all during the -Argument error-, the promise a power I had discovered. A way to manipulate the human consciousness.”

“But I thought only the Watchmen could do that?” Galis interjected before he could be spoken over again.

“Watchmen? Boy, what are you talking about? Nobody except me and whoever else has access to these devices even knows about the power over consciousness.”

“Who on this planet doesn’t know who they are? Also, I’m not a noble of any kind, I mean have you ever looked around you?” Galis muttered.

“The name of -Argument error- Will not be besmirched, young man. I know all there is to know.” The old man huffed at him, “And you nobles all have strange tastes, how was I supposed to figure out that this wasn’t just an eccentric choice for a holiday home?”

“Know what. Forget it, just continue with your speech.”

“Much appreciated. In any case, the main purpose of -Calibration Error- Is to offer you an opportunity to gain these secrets while completing a few tasks for me on the outside. It functions like a fun game, where you control an avatar which exists somewhere in the real world. For every task you complete, I’ll give you a little taste of the true secrets to manipulating the human mind.”

“Sounds like a poorly hidden scam.”

“My family name alone should have been enough to convince you otherwise.” The man replied confidently, “And even if that’s not the case I have over -Redacted- Users, so there will always be others if you’re not interested.”

“So, you’re like a salesperson?”

“An incredibly crass way of putting it I suppose.” The stranger said with a dramatic sigh, “But if anything, you can see me as a guide. As you may have surmised my current form is nothing, but a complex algorithm meant to mimic my behavioural patterns and help new users, so I won’t be here for too much longer now that my job is done.”

‘What job, that was a half-baked explanation at best,’ Galis thought, deliriously ‘Just what did I get my hands on?’ Much of the situation had made no sense to him and the parts that did were concerning, to say the least.

“For what it’s worth, I wouldn’t worry about it too much.” The old man put a hand on his shoulder, and for a brief moment, Galis felt the hand reassuringly grab him. Then it fell straight through him. “It’s all intuitive and you seem like a bright fellow, I’m sure you’ll understand in time.”

Galis scratched his cheek and gave a weary nod. “I’m tired enough to take your word for it, is there anything else I need to know about your…device?”

“Well not particularly, Although I will say that your model seems to be quite old. Like it’s been through -Argument error-. You should take better care of your belongings Galis; they are the one of the only things we can rely on.”

“Right.” He murmured, cradling his head in his hands.

Galis considered bringing up the random flashes of red light and distorted speech patterns, but he was smart enough to realise that it didn’t seem intentional. Perhaps he should have at least asked about it, but at this point, he was beyond exhausted.

“Well, if that’s all then I’ll be on my way, I have lots of other customers to deal with.” The old man said, donning a bowler cap and standing upright.

Not long after, the stranger bade him farewell. Promising to return when next he was needed before vanishing into thin air. Where he sat was the case that Galis had stolen, untouched and unresponsive.

For a scant few moments, he was left in peace to digest the sudden onslaught of information that had been thrust upon him. He leaned against a wall and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to keep himself from passing out on the floor. Unfortunately for Galis, the world didn’t seem interested in giving him a break.

His attention was soon turned to a loud and familiar alarm coming from his television, which had suddenly cut out. The gentle classical music was replaced by a quiet siren, which blared ceaselessly.

“We interrupt this broadcast to announce a temporary full-scale city lockdown.” A monotone droned. “All citizens will not be allowed in or out of the city until further notice. This message will now be repeated.”

Galis felt his hands sweat, it hadn’t been three hours since he had stolen the case, and they already locked down the city. It was already leagues worse than he could ever have imagined.

“I’m definitely in over my head” He whispered to himself.