The darkness slammed over the shop like a heavy door.
Mira's breath hitched. "Zayn…?"
"I know, I know—don't panic," the boy muttered, scrambling blindly across the counter. Metal clattered. Something fell and shattered.
"You said he couldn't track me," Mira hissed.
"I said he *lost* you," Zayn corrected. "Temporarily. Not permanently."
"That makes me feel so much better," she said sharply.
A loud thud hit the outside shutter.
Mira froze.
Zayn froze.
Another thud.
This one louder.
Angrier.
Zayn whispered, "He's trying to force it open."
Mira's pulse hammered in her ears. "We need to get out."
"Working on it." Zayn's hands moved quickly through the darkness. "There's a back exit—if the grid isn't fried."
A metallic groan raked through the air as the shutter bent inward.
Mira grabbed Zayn's arm. "We need to go. *Now.*"
"Right, right—this way." He tugged her toward a narrow hallway lined with old cables and shelves stuffed with dusty equipment.
Behind them, the shutter screamed as metal tore.
"He's inside," Mira whispered.
"No kidding," Zayn said.
They reached the back door. Zayn tried the handle.
Locked.
"Oh you've gotta be kidding me," Mira said.
Zayn fumbled with a ring of keys. "I don't usually have homicidal metro cyborg things breaking into my shop, okay?!"
From the front of the store came slow footsteps.
Deliberate.
Heavy.
Getting closer.
Mira whispered, "Hurry."
Zayn jammed another key. No click.
The footsteps moved deeper into the shop.
"Zayn—"
"I'm trying!"
Another key.
Another failure.
The footsteps stopped.
Silence.
Mira swallowed hard. "Why did he stop?"
Zayn's breath trembled. "Because he knows exactly where we are."
They heard the faint electric *whirrr* of a device powering up.
Mira didn't wait. She stepped back, lifted her leg, and **kicked the door as hard as she could**.
The rusted bolt snapped.
"Move!" she shouted.
They burst into a narrow alley behind the shop. Rain drizzled from the sky, tapping against the asphalt.
Zayn slammed the door behind them and jammed a screwdriver through the hinge.
"That won't hold him," Mira said.
"I know," Zayn replied. "But it'll slow him."
Another crash echoed from inside. The thing was breaking through the hallway now.
Zayn grabbed Mira's wrist. "This way!"
But she stopped. Something made her turn her head.
The alley was long… too long. The buildings on either side narrowed into shadows. And at the far end—
A second figure stood.
Not the same man.
Smaller.
Thinner.
But still wrong.
Still watching.
"Zayn…" Mira breathed.
He spun. "Oh no. They sent another one."
"What do we do?" Mira asked.
"We don't go that way," Zayn said quickly.
"Then where?"
Zayn grabbed Mira's backpack and pulled her toward a chain-link fence.
"We climb."
Before Mira could argue, he was already scrambling up. She followed, boots slipping on the metal.
Behind them, the back door exploded open.
"Faster!" Zayn yelled.
Mira reached the top of the fence and swung her leg over. Zayn dropped down the other side. She landed beside him, knees jarring.
The first figure appeared in the alley, stepping through the shattered door like a shadow peeling off the wall.
He tilted his head at them, as if evaluating.
Zayn said under his breath, "They're scanning."
"Scanning for what?" Mira asked.
"You."
"Oh great."
The second figure started walking toward the fence—slow, mechanical steps, each one echoing.
Zayn grabbed Mira's arm. "Run!"
### **The Chase**
They bolted down the next street, weaving through trash bins and abandoned cars. Mira's lungs burned but adrenaline pushed her forward.
Behind them—
Footsteps.
But not like normal ones.
These were synchronized.
Perfectly timed.
Too precise.
Zayn gasped, "They're coordinating!"
"How fast can they run?" Mira shouted.
"As fast as they need to!"
"That's not an answer!"
"It's the only one I've got!"
They reached a busy road. Cars honked. Vendors shouted. People moved like ants in the morning scramble.
Mira—thinking fast—grabbed Zayn's hoodie and pulled him into a fruit market stand.
The vendor snapped, "Hey! You buying something?!"
"Uh—apples!" Zayn grabbed one and threw it at the vendor. "Keep the change!"
"That's not how paying works!" the vendor hollered.
But Mira and Zayn were already gone.
They ducked behind crates, slipped between two crowds, and shot across the road as a bus screeched past.
Mira gasped, "Did we lose them?"
Zayn checked over his shoulder.
His face went pale.
"They're still coming."
She turned—and her stomach dropped.
Both figures were sprinting now.
Fast.
Too fast for anything human.
People in the street screamed, scattering.
Zayn yelled, "Left!"
They turned sharply down another street.
Then Mira saw it—a narrow stairway leading downward behind an old bookstore.
"Down there!" she said.
"No!" Zayn shouted. "That goes toward the metro tunnels—"
But it was too late. She grabbed him and pulled them both down the stairs.
They reached a rusted metal door. Mira shoved it open.
Inside was darkness.
Old wiring.
Dust.
Concrete walls.
A forgotten maintenance corridor.
Zayn groaned. "I told you—this is part of the metro system!"
"Better underground than dead!" Mira snapped.
Zayn opened his mouth to argue—
Then froze.
The two figures appeared at the top of the stairs.
And slowly…
silently…
they started descending.
Zayn whispered, "You were right."
Mira blinked.
"About what?"
"We're better off underground."
They slammed the door and locked it just as the footsteps reached the bottom step.