With every step toward the apartment, Linn’s pulse picked up.
She kept telling herself it was just paranoia, but the growing sense of dread became almost physically unbearable.
The street leading to their shared apartment was eerily quiet, only a few passersby breaking the stillness.
As the building came into view, unease settled in her chest.
The front gate—locked when they left earlier—now stood slightly ajar.
Two motorcycles were parked near the entrance.
Nearby, a dark sedan idled quietly, its engine humming beneath the stillness of the street.
Then—
The driver turned his head.
Their eyes met for a split second before Linn instinctively ducked behind the wall, her stomach tightening.
Did that person see me?
“Linn, what are you doing?” a voice broke through her anxiety.
She spun around to find her roommates, shock coursing through her.
“Why are you all here?!” she whispered urgently.
“You looked suspicious, so we followed you,” one replied, concern etched on their face.
“Is something wrong?”
Alarm shot through her as every instinct screamed that danger was near.
“Run! Now!”
“Why—”
“Do not question me! Just go!”
The urgency in her voice snapped them into action.
Confusion gave way to instinct as they sprinted after her into a secluded alley, the roar of engines echoing behind them as the motorcycles and car revved to life.
“Listen!” she called as they dashed, “We need to meet at Alta Square. Run fast, hide, and blend in with the crowd. Use your phones to keep in touch!”
Despite their confusion, they nodded and followed her lead.
“But what the hell is happening?!” one roommate gasped, breathless.
“Someone is after us! No time for explanations!”
They exchanged looks of disbelief, but the urgency in her voice left no room for doubt.
They needed to trust her.
Even then, one of them hesitated.
“Wait, are you kidding us?”
“Then don’t believe me if you want to die!” she snapped angrily.
As they entered the bustling crowd, Linn reiterated, “Police station at Alta Square! Split up here!”
Nods of agreement came quickly.
They understood the necessity of separating to increase their chances of survival.
Without a backward glance, they melted into the throng, phones clutched tightly.
Questions crowded her thoughts as she moved through the crowd.
Those chasing them were not robbers; if they were, they would have fled at the first sign of resistance.
The realization made her skin crawl.
They were being hunted.
She kept her head down, trying to blend in with the sea of people.
But they were just ordinary civilians.
Nothing about their lives warranted such attention.
None of them were involved in anything illegal or shady either.
So why were they being pursued?
Or was she imagining it?
But her gut screamed otherwise.
The intensity of the chase felt deliberate, beyond what typical criminals would do.
Her thoughts raced as she pushed through the crowd.
She started a video call in their group chat.
“Everyone, are you okay? Where are you?” she asked, forcing her voice to stay steady.
They responded in hushed tones, moving through different streets.
“Yeah, we’re fine. Just scared,” one replied, glancing around nervously.
“Stay alert. Do not disconnect the call.”
They nodded in agreement, knowing it was their best chance.
Scattered across different streets, they kept the call active.
“Guys, there is someone suspicious behind me,” one said, fear creeping into their voice.
“Maybe you’re just overthinking it,” another chimed in, trying to calm nerves.
“Where are you?” Linn pressed.
“I am near the park,” came the shaky response.
Her other roommates attempted to reassure her, but Linn’s instincts shouted otherwise.
“Jia, send me your location now. Keep moving. Do not be obvious. Stay near people,” Linn instructed, mentally mapping the quickest route.
Just then, a sudden thud echoed through the call, and Jia’s camera went black.
Linn’s stomach dropped.
“What happened?”
Silence answered her.
She hurried toward the location, and the first thing she saw was Jia’s phone lying abandoned on the ground.
Terror seized her as she snatched it from the ground, glancing around frantically for any sign of her roommate.
“Jia!” she yelled, voice hoarse, drawing curious stares from passersby.
But no trace of Jia was visible.
Fear gripped her, knowing Jia had likely been taken by the same pursuers.
She clutched Jia’s phone tightly, the call still active—a stark reminder of the danger lurking nearby.
Where is she?
Where the hell is she?
“Everyone, send your locations!” she commanded, desperation creeping in.
One by one, her other roommates’ locations pinged on her screen, each appearing in a different part of the city.
“Please, make it to the police station safely,” she pleaded, resuming her hurried steps toward the police station.
But then, a muffled scream pierced through the call.
“What happened?!” she exclaimed, her pace now frantic.
“There is someone—” the voice trembled before fading into chaos, muffled sounds of a struggle flooding her ears.
Her breath caught as she sprinted, nearly running now.
The call remained connected, but the screaming stopped.
“Razel!” she called out, dread twisting in her stomach.
The crowd noise continued on Razel’s end, but her voice was gone.
A chilling silence settled over the call, making Linn’s blood run cold.
“Razel! Answer me!” she cried.
“Linn, I think someone is following me too,” another roommate chimed in, panic lacing her tone.
“I can feel them right behind me.”
“Keep moving. I’m coming to you,” Linn responded without slowing.
But before Linn could get a response, Jade got disconnected from the group call.
“Jade? Jade!” she practically yelled into the phone, quickening her steps.
The line filled with overlapping breaths and footsteps, a symphony of fear as they ran through the crowd, each trying to sound braver than they felt.
“Linn, what do we do now? Jia, Razel, and now Jade—” another roommate sobbed, her voice cracking.
They were eight, but now three of them seemed to have vanished, taken by their pursuers for reasons unknown.
Her pulse lurched as she replayed the last few minutes in her mind.
Then something clicked.
Jia had shared her live location with her.
The others had followed soon after.
Every roommate who disappeared had their live location turned on, and none of them had lasted long after sharing it.
Linn faltered for half a step.
Coincidence?
Maybe.
But what if it was not?
If someone could somehow access their locations, they would not need to search.
They would already know where everyone was.
Every muscle in her body went rigid.
It sounded absurd.
But so did everything that had happened in the last several minutes.
“Turn off your location services!” she shouted into the call.
“Right now!”
“What?”
“Just do it! If they are tracking our locations, we cannot make it any easier for them!”
No one questioned her.
As they kept running, each of them quickly switched off their location services.
The group call still connected them, and the background noise of the crowd blended with their rapid breaths.
It might have been a ridiculous theory.
But if she was wrong, all they would lose was the convenience of using their phones.
If she was right…
…it could save their lives.
Just then, a sudden ding echoed through the call.
Not a disconnection.
Not a notification.
A ding.
Like another line joining.
Linn frowned.
“Did someone just join the call?”
“No,” Jess answered between breaths.
“It’s just us.”
Another sound followed—faint static, then what sounded like breathing.
Slow.
Calm.
Not running.
Everyone on the call fell silent, tension thick in the air.
“Guys,” Carrie whispered, barely above a breath, “tell me you heard that.”
The breathing continued for a few seconds, then it stopped.
“That is not one of us,” Linn said slowly, her stomach dropping.
No one spoke.
Then Tine suddenly said, “Wait. My phone just opened something.”
“What do you mean it opened something?” Linn asked quickly.
“I am not touching anything, but my screen—it is moving on its own.”
Ice spread through Linn’s veins.
“Do not use your phones!” she said immediately, her voice dropping into a sharp whisper.
“Do not open anything! Do not answer any calls!”
“But how are we supposed to—”
Before anyone could finish, Jade’s voice suddenly echoed from the call again—but something was wrong.
Her voice was delayed.
Repeating.
“—behind me… behind me… behind me…”
The same words repeated again, distorted and delayed, even though Jade had already disappeared from the call.
That was when Linn realized the truth.
Her absurd theory had not been entirely wrong.
Somehow, their phones really were the key.
But how?
She had no answer.
She knew next to nothing about cybersecurity, and this was far beyond anything she understood.
The question would have to wait.
Right now, figuring out how it was happening mattered less than making sure everyone survived.
Her breathing turned shallow and uneven.
“It is not just our locations anymore. They are inside our phones. Everyone, throw your phones away! Now!”
Turning off their location services would not save them anymore.
Their phones themselves had already been compromised.
“Linn, I am not sure about this,” France hesitated, her voice shaky.
“My phone is all I have to stay connected.”
“No way! We need to keep the call open!” Carrie protested.
“What if we get separated for real? We need to know where everyone is!”
“Trust me! We cannot risk them knowing our locations! It is too dangerous!” Linn replied, urgency sharpening every word.
Panic erupted across the call.
“This is ridiculous! I just bought this phone last week! I cannot throw it! It is way too expensive!” Tine protested, doubt creeping in.
“Just do it! You will thank me later!” Linn snapped, fear overtaking her.
Just then, the call’s audio cut out abruptly, and one by one, her roommates’ screens went black.
She watched in horror as each name disappeared from her call list as if something was hunting them one by one.
She stared at the phone in disbelief, its silence deafening.
Her composure cracked as she tried calling back, but no one picked up.
The weight of the unknown crushed her.
But her survival instincts kicked in.
She tossed her phone away and made a desperate push toward the police station, silently praying for her roommates’ safety.
It was clear now—whoever they were, they were not ordinary criminals; they were on a different level, intelligent as hell.
That meant she had to be extra careful.
They could have already spotted her and were tailing her, waiting for an opportunity.
Countless possibilities collided inside her head as she walked, scanning every passerby, constantly on the lookout for any suspicious individuals.
It did not make any sense.
They had not done anything that would garner such targeted attention.
But someone, or some group, was actively tracking them down.
She quickened her pace, her pulse hammering in her ears, the street around her seeming scarier with every passing second.
Every person she passed, every stranger who walked too close, every passing car that seemed suspicious was now a potential threat.
She fought the urge to run.
Running would only attract attention.
She had to blend in, stay inconspicuous.
Police station.
Police station.
That thought fueled her determination.
She had to get to the police station.
It was her only hope now.
Just a few more streets.
She could see the police station in the distance now; its lights cutting through the darkness.
She made her way forward, carefully scanning the street ahead, every step feeling heavier than the last.
She was almost there.
Almost there—
Ting.
She halted.
A police officer.
Darkness swallowing her vision.
Then—
She snapped out of it, eyes widening as she stumbled back a step.
No. Cold sweat broke across her skin.
The police station.
One of them was there.
Waiting.
“Karma to Helium. Status.”
“Helium. GPS signal is stationary. The device was likely discarded.”
“Karma to Lucifer. Status.”
“Lucifer. On the move. Target identified. Command?”
The channel fell silent for a heartbeat.
“We are up against the hostile. Do not engage. Do not alert them. Observe only. Priority remains locating and securing Parallax.”