The lab was unusually quiet. Milo sat alert at my feet, ears twitching as I watched the holographic display pulse faintly. Jayden leaned against the table, arms crossed, his brow furrowed. Alex, of course, was bouncing on the edge of a stool, humming to himself, ignoring all warnings about "being careful."
"I swear," I muttered, "this thing does something when it wants to, not when we want it to."
Jayden smirked. "You mean it has… a mind of its own."
Alex nearly fell off the stool. "Mind of its own?! Oooh, is it sentient? Are we talking robot overlord vibes here?"
Milo growled softly. Apparently, he agreed with Jayden.
We'd been watching, analyzing, and even trying to poke at the Silver Door's signals for hours. The hologram flickered, pulsed, and shimmered with energy spikes, all pointing to one conclusion: something was about to happen.
And then the CCTV screen in the corner of the lab pinged.
Jayden leaned forward. "Wait… rewind that. Pause."
The grainy black-and-white feed showed the mansion's corridor outside the Silver Door. Footsteps approached—slow, deliberate. My heart dropped when I realized… it was Dad.
"Does dad… know it's doing this?" I whispered.
The three of us—Jayden, Alex, and I—watched as he reached the door. The energy readings spiked wildly. Then, with one precise motion, he opened it and stepped inside.
The moment the door shut behind him, every signal, every flicker, every spike vanished. Silence.
Alex's jaw dropped. "Wait… what the fish just happened? Did your dad just… turn it off?"
Jayden muttered, rubbing his eyes. "Control its signal… or something. Seriously, what is this door?"
I didn't wait for answers. My curiosity won over. When he came out, I ran over to clarify "I'm asking him!" I yelled, dashing out of the lab, Milo running beside me.
Dad was just outside the Silver Door, examining a panel on the wall. He turned as I approached.
"Kim," he said calmly, seeing the worry and excitement in my eyes. "You shouldn't be here."
"Dad! What just happened? How did the door… stop? Did you control it?"
He sighed, kneeling to ruffle Milo's ears before looking back at me. "It's newly implanted technology. I designed the door myself, but this… this system is new. It responds only to certain commands. You're not ready to access it yet."
I frowned, disappointment and curiosity warring in my chest. "Not ready?"
"Not yet," he said firmly, standing. "When the time comes, you'll know. For now, trust me. Your curiosity is… admirable, but this isn't just a toy. It's not just another experiment."
I nodded reluctantly, Milo licking my hand as if agreeing with my dad. "Okay… I'll wait. But I will figure it out someday but it shouldn't be long".
Dad gave a small smile. "I know you will, Kim. Just… not today."
I turned and walked back toward the lab, Milo trotting happily at my side. When I arrived, the scene was familiar: Jayden leaning casually against the counter, Alex in mid-explanation of some nonsense theory about the Silver Door, and Milo jumping excitedly toward me.
I let out a groan and plopped down in the chair next to Jayden. "Well… that was disappointing. And stressful. And… what even is that door?"
Jayden smirked, his eyes glinting. "We don't know, yet. But one thing's certain: whatever your dad is hiding… it's serious. And we're not even close to understanding it."
Alex piped up, waving his hands dramatically. "Ooooh, I love mysteries! Wait, wait—can I draw a diagram? Oooh, hologram overlays! Energy spikes! Danger levels!"
Milo barked at him, perhaps a little judgmentally, as if to say: "Focus, humans. Big stuff happening here."
I sighed, leaning back. "Yeah… big stuff. And we're stuck on the outside for now."
Jayden glanced at the holographic display. "For now. But trust me… the door has a way of speaking when it wants to. And when it does, we'll be ready."
And as I stared at the inactive Silver Door from the lab's hologram, I felt a shiver of anticipation. Whatever Dad was protecting… it was far bigger than any of us imagined.