The corridor stretched endlessly before them, its walls marked by decades of decay. Corroded metal panels hung loose in places, revealing clusters of exposed wires that sparked faintly—a stark reminder of how fragile Zero-VI’s systems had become. The faint hum of the station’s life support pulsed unevenly, accompanied by the occasional creak of stressed alloys.

Lira’s boots dragged slightly against the uneven flooring as she followed Kaden, the book still pressed to her chest. She wasn’t sure why she held it so tightly; it wasn’t like she had much of a reason to trust its importance—no more than a nagging feeling she couldn’t quite explain. She told herself it was the strange markings, the alien symbols etched into its cracked cover, but the more she thought about it, the flimsier that excuse felt.

She frowned. Could it have been more than instinct? Some kind of… outside influence? The idea made her uneasy.

Ahead, Kaden stopped, glancing back at her with an expression caught between mild impatience and curiosity. In the flickering light, he looked as worn as the station itself. His dark hair was uneven, a few stray locks sticking out from what might’ve once been an attempt to keep it neat. His features were sharp—not in a striking way, but in a way that might’ve stood out more if he didn’t carry himself like he was trying to blend into the walls.

Lira studied him for a moment longer, trying to pinpoint what it was about him that felt off. He wasn’t ugly, but there was a kind of awkwardness to him, the way he always seemed slightly out of place no matter where he stood. Maybe if he acted with a tiny bit more of confidence—or at least stopped looking like he was expecting to get punched in the face—he’d be easier to look at. But as he was, she found it hard to take him seriously.

“You always this quiet?” he asked, folding his arms as he leaned against the wall. “Or is it just me?”

Lira got annoyed at his tone, but kept her voice steady. “Just thinking.”

“Dangerous habit,” he muttered, turning away and resuming his stride.

She clenched her jaw, gripping the book tighter. “Why were you at the library?” she asked suddenly, her voice cutting through the ambient hum of the corridor.

Kaden paused, not looking back. “Same reason as everyone else,” he said. “Looking for something.”

Her frown deepened. “That’s not an answer.”

“No, but it’s the truth.” He finally turned to face her, his expression unreadable. “And I could ask you the same thing. Why’d you grab that book in the first place?”

Lira hesitated, the weight of the question pressing down on her. Why had she taken it? She could picture the exact moment she found it: half-buried beneath a pile of forgotten tomes, its cover cracked and marred with strange, exotic designs. At the time, it had seemed like little more than an oddity, a relic of some forgotten past. But the longer she carried it, the more it gnawed at her, as though it had chosen her instead of the other way around.

“I don’t know,” she admitted quietly. “I thought it looked... important.”

Kaden tilted his head, studying her. “Important?”

She nodded, though her voice faltered. “Like it wasn’t supposed to be left there, forgotten. Like someone needed to keep it safe.”

For a long moment, Kaden said nothing, his gaze flicking between her and the book. Then, he spoke, his voice lower. “You sure about that?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, it’s weird, don’t you think? Picking it up like that, protecting it without really knowing why?” He stepped closer, gesturing at the book. “You said you overheard those soldiers searching the station floor—people tearing the place apart looking for something. And you just... happened to pick it up before they got to it?”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

The question hit harder than it should have. Lira tightened her grip on the book, her chest knotting with unease. “Are you saying I shouldn’t have?”

Kaden’s expression softened, though it didn’t lose its edge. “No,” he said finally. “But I’m saying it’s strange.” He gestured at the book with a sharp tilt of his chin. “You’re not even curious about what it is?”

Lira glanced down at the cracked, weathered cover. The ancient symbols felt like they stared back at her, unreadable yet somehow alive. She hesitated, unsure whether to admit how deeply unsettled the book made her feel.

“Of course I am,” she said quietly, looking back at him. “But I haven’t exactly had the time to sit down and study it.”

Kaden stepped closer, narrowing the space between them. His gaze flickered between her and the book, his tone almost wary. “Let me see it.”

Lira hesitated, her grip tightening instinctively. “Why?”

“Because it might not be what you think it is,” he said, his voice steady but insistent. “Or worse, it might be exactly what someone else thinks it is.”

The weight of his words hung in the air. Reluctantly, she handed the book over. Kaden took it carefully, his movements precise, as though he expected the object to bite.

He examined the cover first, his fingers running over the strange etchings. His brow furrowed, and without a word, he flipped the book over, tilting it under the flickering light. Something caught his attention near the spine—a faint, almost imperceptible indentation.

“What is it?” Lira asked, stepping closer.

Kaden didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he reached into his jacket and pulled out a small, slim device, its edges scuffed from use. He tapped a button, and the screen lit up with a pale blue glow, displaying a series of rapidly shifting symbols.

“What are you doing?” Lira asked, watching as he hovered the device near the book.

“Checking for anomalies,” he said distractedly. The device emitted a faint, high-pitched hum as it scanned the book’s surface. Moments later, it beeped sharply, and Kaden’s expression darkened.

“What is it?” she pressed, her unease growing.

“There’s a locator chip embedded in the spine,” he said, his voice low.

Lira’s breath caught. “A what?”

Kaden held the book up, angling it toward her. “Right here.” He tapped the narrow indentation. “It’s old tech, probably pre-Collapse. Tiny, but functional.”

Her stomach churned as she stared at the spot he’d indicated. “You’re saying... someone’s tracking it?”

“Could be,” he said, slipping the device back into his pocket. “Or it could just be a leftover relic—an outdated signal no one’s monitoring anymore.”

“That’s not exactly comforting,” she muttered, running a hand through her hair.

“It wasn’t meant to be.” Kaden handed the book back to her, his expression grim. “If someone’s looking for this thing—and based on what you told me about those soldiers, they probably are—it means they know it’s here.”

Lira’s grip on the book tightened. “And now they know I have it.”

“Maybe not yet,” Kaden said. “The signal’s faint. They’d have to be close to pick it up. But if they get within range...” He trailed off, letting the implication hang.

Lira stared at the book, her mind racing. She had only taken it because of a gut feeling—an instinct she couldn’t explain. Now it felt like she’d stumbled onto something much larger, something she wasn’t prepared for.

“What do we do?” she asked, her voice quieter now.

Kaden leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. “Depends. You want to keep running with that thing in your hands, hoping they don’t catch up? Or...” He hesitated, then gave her a pointed look. “We could figure out what it’s really hiding.”

She blinked at him. “You mean crack it open?”

“Not literally,” he said with a faint smirk. “But yeah. The chip’s got data—it always does. If we can access it, we might learn something useful.”

Lira’s unease deepened. “And if we don’t like what we find?”

Kaden shrugged. “Then at least we’ll know what we’re up against.”

Before Lira could respond, a distant metallic groan echoed through the corridor, followed by the rhythmic clanking of heavy boots.

Kaden straightened, his expression hardening. “Looks like we might not have much of a choice.”

Lira’s heart raced as the sound grew louder, closer. She clutched the book tightly, every instinct screaming at her to run.

“Stay close,” Kaden said, already moving. “And keep quiet.”

As they slipped into the shadows, Lira glanced down at the book one last time. The ancient markings seemed to pulse faintly in the dim light, almost as if they were alive.

Whatever secrets it held, she was certain of one thing—it wasn’t going to let them go easily.