Chapter 8: The First Task

The air in District 14 carried an uneasy stillness, the kind that settled after a storm but before its consequences unfolded. Henry sat cross-legged on the floor of the workshop, his head resting against the cold wall. His body ached from the strain of the drones, his thoughts fragmented. The faint hum in his chip hadn’t subsided, but it felt muted, like it too was recovering from the night before.

Across the room, Mia watched him with a mix of anger and worry. She sat on the edge of the cot, her arms wrapped around her knees. She hadn’t said much since their escape, but her silence was heavy, almost accusatory.

“You can’t keep doing this,” she said finally, her voice soft but edged with steel.

Henry opened his eyes and met her gaze. “I don’t have a choice.”

“You always have a choice, Henry,” she snapped. “But you keep choosing to push yourself further, to make it worse for both of us.”

“I’m not making it worse,” Henry said, his frustration bubbling to the surface. “I’m trying to fix it. Do you want to spend the rest of your life running, hiding, scavenging? Because I don’t.”

Mia’s jaw tightened, but before she could respond, the workshop door creaked open. Rafe stepped in, his expression grim. He held a small, battered device in his hand—something that looked like a cross between a pager and a remote detonator.

“We don’t have time for this,” Rafe said, cutting through the tension. He tossed the device onto the table. “They’ve upped their surveillance. If we don’t move now, you’re both dead by morning.”

“What do you mean, ‘move’?” Henry asked, rising unsteadily to his feet.

Rafe crossed his arms. “You want to fight back, right? Well, here’s your chance. There’s a server hub on the east side of the district—old infrastructure, barely guarded. But it’s connected to the upper city’s surveillance grid. If you can breach it, you can erase your digital footprint.”

“Erase my—” Henry began, but Rafe cut him off.

“They’ve got your signature, Henry. Every time you use that amplifier of yours, it leaves a trace. You want them off your back? You wipe that trace.”

Henry glanced at Mia, then back at Rafe. “And if I don’t?”

“Then the next time those drones come, they won’t stop at your workshop,” Rafe said. “They’ll torch this entire district to send a message.”

The journey to the east side of the district felt longer than it was. Henry kept his head down, his hood pulled low as he navigated the alleys and side streets. Rafe walked a few steps ahead, his posture relaxed but his eyes sharp, constantly scanning for threats. Mia trailed behind, her silence heavy.

When they reached the hub, Henry’s stomach clenched. The building was a squat, windowless structure, its concrete walls streaked with grime. A single, flickering light above the door was the only sign of life.

“This is it?” Henry asked, eyeing the building.

Rafe nodded. “Doesn’t look like much, does it? But inside, it’s connected to one of the main data trunks for the entire city. You tap in there, and you’ll have access to everything you need.”

“And what happens if I get caught?” Henry asked.

Rafe smirked. “Then you’d better hope you can control more than just drones.”

Inside, the hub was eerily quiet. Rows of ancient servers hummed faintly, their blinking lights casting shifting patterns on the walls. The air smelled of dust and ozone, and every sound seemed to echo too loudly in the confined space.

Henry set to work, his hands trembling as he connected the amplifier to one of the server nodes. The hum in his chip grew louder, sharper, as he accessed the system. Data flooded his mind—lines of code, security protocols, encrypted commands. It was overwhelming, like trying to drink from a firehose.

“Focus,” Rafe said from behind him. “You don’t need to understand all of it. Just find your signature and erase it.”

Henry gritted his teeth, his fingers tightening around the edge of the terminal. He sifted through the data, searching for the faint echo of his presence. It was there, buried deep, a pulsing thread of activity that tied him to every action he’d taken since the amplifier’s activation.

“I found it,” Henry said, his voice strained.

“Then wipe it,” Rafe said.

Henry hesitated. The thread wasn’t just a record of his actions. It was a connection—a two-way link between him and the system. If he severed it, he might lose more than just his trace.

“Henry,” Mia said softly, stepping closer. “You don’t have to do this.”

He turned to her, his eyes weary. “If I don’t, they’ll keep coming.”

Before she could argue, the faint whir of engines reached their ears. Henry’s blood ran cold. Drones.

“Do it now!” Rafe hissed, drawing a small pistol from his coat.

Henry focused, his mind locking onto the thread. With a surge of effort, he severed the connection, the thread dissolving into static. The servers shuddered, their lights flickering as the system reeled from the intrusion.

“Done,” Henry said, collapsing against the terminal.

The first drone appeared seconds later, its red lights sweeping the room. Rafe fired, the crack of the pistol deafening in the confined space. The drone lurched, its sensors sparking, but another one appeared to take its place.

“Mia, get down!” Henry shouted, pulling her behind a server rack.

He reached out with his thoughts, the amplifier flaring to life. The hum became a roar, the drones’ systems lighting up in his mind like beacons. He seized control of the nearest one, turning its weapons on its companion. The two drones collided in a burst of sparks, their remains crashing to the floor.

More were coming. Henry could feel them, their signals converging on the hub like predators closing in on prey.

“Time to go!” Rafe shouted, pulling Henry to his feet.

They bolted from the building, the sound of engines growing louder behind them. Henry’s head throbbed, his vision swimming as he struggled to maintain control over the remaining drones. He sent them crashing into walls, into each other, buying precious seconds as they fled into the night.

When they finally reached the relative safety of the district’s maze-like alleys, Henry collapsed against a wall, his chest heaving. Mia knelt beside him, her hands shaking as she checked for injuries.

Rafe leaned against a nearby lamppost, his expression grim. “You bought yourself some time,” he said. “But this isn’t over. They’ll rebuild that trace faster than you think.”