Waking the Dead

The air in the vault was sterile, the hum of cooling units reverberating through the steel walls. The deeper they went, the more it felt like a tomb—cold, sealed, forgotten.

Jessica moved in silence, scanning the dimly lit chamber. The security cases lining the walls contained artifacts from all over the world, their labels written in elegant but anonymous script. Objects of history, stolen and hidden.

Yuki crouched by the console, her fingers working swiftly over the electronic interface. A small green light pulsed in erratic intervals, each blink a reminder that time was slipping away.

“How long?” Jessica whispered.

Yuki exhaled. “Sixty seconds.”

Leanna’s voice crackled over the earpiece. “You don’t have sixty. You have thirty. Someone just tripped an external sensor.”

Jessica’s fingers curled. “Hurry.”

Yuki’s breath was even, controlled. “Almost there.”

Olivia’s voice came through, low and urgent. “You’re not alone down there.”

Jessica turned, scanning the darkness. The vault was too quiet. Then she saw it—a shadow moving beyond the cases. Not one of theirs.

Another figure passed through the darkness. A second. A third.

Jessica stilled. They weren’t thieves. They weren’t guards either. They moved with the precision of someone trained and unafraid.

Yuki cursed under her breath. “Got it.”

The lock disengaged with a soft beep. The case slid open, revealing a sealed scroll wrapped in silk bindings. Jessica grabbed it, tucking it into her coat.

Then she heard voices.

From the next room, low and deliberate, speaking in hushed Japanese.

She edged closer, listening.

“…it’s not here. Move to the secondary location.”

A pause. Then: “…we need confirmation before we proceed. If the second mask is real, the others will follow.”

Jessica’s pulse quickened. The second mask. They were hunting it, too.

She turned back to Yuki. “Exit route?”

Yuki gestured toward the side passage. “Service corridor leads back to the loading dock.”

Jessica nodded. “Go. Now.”

They moved swiftly, keeping low, their footfalls absorbed by the thick carpet. The intruders were blocking the main exit. They had to slip past unnoticed.

As they reached the stairwell, Jessica caught movement in her peripheral vision. One of the figures turned—and his gaze locked onto hers.

He froze. Jessica saw the shift in his expression—not just recognition. Shock.

“You…” The word hung in the air, brittle with disbelief. Then, softer, like a memory surfacing: “You were never supposed to wake up.”

His voice was barely audible, but she caught it before Yuki pulled her through the exit.

The last thing she heard before the steel door shut behind them was a whisper, tinged with disbelief. “You were never supposed to wake up.”

---

Outside, the night air hit like a shock of cold water. Olivia and Leanna were waiting near the car, eyes sharp, scanning for tails.

Jessica forced her breathing steady. She didn’t look back.

“Let’s move,” she said.

The engine roared to life, and they disappeared into the city.