Luis stopped near a console, brushing dust off a cracked screen. A slow smile curled across his lips, subtle but unmistakable—as if the system had found exactly what it’d been searching for. “This place… it’s part of the old network. The core control,” he said quietly. “If we can get this running, maybe we can turn the tide. Make this place a sanctuary.”

  Jamie’s fingers twitched at her side, jaw clenched tight. Her green eyes flashed like embers ready to flare. “Or it could be a trap,” she said sharply. “We need to move fast.”

  The room was cluttered with old machinery, cables hanging like vines from the ceiling, and rusted consoles blinking weakly. A low hum thrummed beneath our feet—the heartbeat of something waking up.

  Then it started.

  My vision flickered—like a cracked screen glitching in and out. Words appeared, overlaid in harsh, jagged text, flashing right in front of me:

  YOU DO NOT BELONG.

  LEAVE NOW OR BE ERASED.

  THIS IS NOT YOUR SAFE ZONE. YOU DO NOT BELONG. LEAVE NOW OR BE ERASED.THIS IS NOT YOUR SAFE ZONE. YOU DO NOT BELONG. LEAVE NOW OR BE ERASED.THIS IS NOT YOUR SAFE ZONE.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  ERROR......ERROR

  They repeated, stuttering, sometimes overlapping, crashing and reforming like corrupted code. The words blurred, shaking violently, accompanied by harsh static that only I could hear, but the others stiffened, sensing the oppressive weight.

  Jamie growled low, fur bristling. “Looks like we woke the ghost,” she said darkly, pacing a few steps. Her eyes darted like a predator sizing up danger. Luis’s blue eyes glimmered with that strange mist, swirling like a storm contained, his smile never fading—as if the system’s challenge only fueled him.

  Ethan tried to lighten the moment, voice cracking a bit. “Well, at least it’s consistent, right?”

  Jamie shot him a sharp look. “Don’t get comfortable.”

  The text paused abruptly. The last message blinked and stretched into a glitching scream:

  EJECTING IN 3...

  2...

  1...

  Then, everything snapped.

  A violent force slammed into me from all sides, like being pushed through a shrinking tunnel of light and sound. My limbs flailed, breath ripped from my lungs. The walls blurred and folded, twisting like paper. Then, suddenly, I was thrown forward—landing hard on cold linoleum.

  Gasping, I blinked against the harsh fluorescent lights of the cafeteria hallway. Jamie yipped, restless. She paced, eyes darting. Luis landed nearby, eyes narrowed, mist dissipating but tension still thick, that knowing smile lingering.

  I pressed my fists against my thighs, jaw tight, swallowing down a scream that clawed at my throat. “They kicked us out,” I said, voice rough. “What now?”

  Jamie’s jaw tightened. “Now? Now we survive. We find another way. We don’t let that thing win.”

  Ethan exhaled shakily. “Yeah… no pressure,” he muttered.

  The door hissed shut behind us, locking tight.

  I sank against the wall, heart pounding in my ears. The cold pulse of the system’s threat lingered in my mind.

  We’d been ejected from the safe zone.

  And whatever that system was, it wasn’t done with us yet