The Room That Shouldn’t Be There

The sound of my heartbeat was the first thing that came back. Loud and uneven, like it was trying to remind me that I was still alive. The air smelled like smoke and dust. My head pounded. I pushed myself up slowly, my fingers brushing over broken glass scattered across the floor.

The office was destroyed. Papers fluttered everywhere like ghosts, and a part of the ceiling had fallen. My throat felt dry. I looked around for Alexander, for anyone, but the place was empty. The lights flickered weakly above me, giving the room a red tint that made everything look unreal.

The flash drive was gone. My bag too. I pressed my palm to my forehead, trying to remember what happened after the explosion. There had been shouting, a flash of white, and then nothing. My body trembled.

I stood and called out softly, “Alexander?”

No answer. Just the faint hiss of the broken air vents.

The elevator doors were dented shut. The main exit still locked. My only option was the hallway that led to the archives room. I had never been there, but I knew it connected to the lower floor where the company stored their old records. Maybe there was another way out. Maybe someone was still here.

As I moved through the corridor, I noticed strange marks on the wall. Scratches. Like someone had been dragged or fought here. My pulse quickened.

Halfway down the hallway, I heard a phone ringing. Not mine. Not Alexander’s. A different tone. It was coming from one of the side offices, the door half open. I hesitated, then stepped inside.

The phone was lying on the floor, its screen cracked but still glowing. A number flashed across the display with no name, only Unknown Caller. My hands shook as I picked it up.

“Hello?” I said softly.

There was static at first. Then a distorted voice whispered, “You shouldn’t have stayed.”

I froze. “Who is this?”

The line went dead.

The silence that followed was worse than the voice. I set the phone down and backed away, my breathing getting faster.

That’s when I saw it.

A door that I swear hadn’t been there before. Right next to the file cabinets, behind a fallen shelf. It wasn’t on the floor plan I remembered. The paint around it was newer, fresher, like someone had tried to hide it.

I hesitated only for a second before pushing it open.

The door creaked, and a cold gust of air hit my face. The room inside was dark except for one dim light at the far end. It wasn’t an office. It looked more like a control room. Computers lined the walls, screens glowing faintly with half-broken data feeds and camera footage.

I walked closer, my heart pounding harder with each step. There were security monitors showing different angles of the building, even the elevators and hallways. I gasped when I saw one of the screens still playing a video from earlier that night.

It showed me.

Standing in Alexander’s office, picking up the flash drive.

Someone had been watching us.

My knees weakened. I scrolled through the footage with trembling fingers, moving the time bar backward. The video glitched, showing quick flashes of Alexander’s face, Mia’s, and then something else.

Another person. A man in a gray suit, his face never clear, standing behind Mia in the shadows.

I leaned closer to the screen. For a split second, the image sharpened. The reflection in the glass showed a symbol on his tie. A logo I didn’t recognize.

And then the video feed cut out completely.

Behind me, a voice said quietly, “You weren’t supposed to find this either.”

I turned so fast I nearly fell.

Mia stood in the doorway, her clothes torn, her face streaked with dust. She looked different now, no longer pretending to smile. Her eyes were cold and tired.

“What did you do?” I asked, my voice breaking.

“You should have left when you had the chance,” she said. “You have no idea what this company really is.”

“I trusted you,” I whispered. “You were helping him. You were helping Alexander.”

She laughed, but it was short and bitter. “You think he’s innocent? You think he doesn’t know?”

My stomach dropped. “What do you mean?”

Before she could answer, one of the screens behind her blinked back on. It showed a live feed of the lobby.

Alexander was there. Standing in front of the locked doors, talking to the same man in the gray suit.

Mia looked at the screen, then back at me. “Now you understand.”

I couldn’t breathe. My heart slammed so hard it hurt. I watched the two men speak quietly, their faces serious. Then Alexander nodded and handed the man something small.

The flash drive.

The room spun for a second.

“He said he was protecting me,” I whispered.

Mia stepped closer. “He’s protecting himself. You were just the perfect distraction.”

I shook my head, but I couldn’t stop the tears. “No. He wouldn’t do that. He’s not like you.”

“You’re wrong,” she said, almost softly. “You just don’t know what he’s done.”

Before I could speak again, the building lights suddenly turned back on. The computers whirred. Every screen around us filled with lines of data, all showing the same message.

Security Override Activated

Subject L. Reyes located. Containment in progress.

Mia’s face went pale. “They found us,” she said. “We have to move.”

“Who’s they?” I demanded, but she grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the door.

We ran through the hallway, the sound of alarms blaring above us. My mind was spinning too fast to keep up. Alexander, the flash drive, the hidden room—it all tangled into one impossible knot.

We reached the elevator shaft, still blocked. Mia kicked open a maintenance panel, revealing a narrow ladder inside. “Go,” she said. “Don’t stop until you reach the top floor.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll buy you time.”

I hesitated, but she pushed me hard. I climbed, the metal cold under my hands. Halfway up, I looked down. She was standing at the bottom, staring at me. Her expression wasn’t angry anymore. It was sad.

And then, from the shadows behind her, a figure appeared.

Alexander.

He didn’t look surprised. He didn’t even look worried. He just raised his hand, holding something small—another flash drive—and said something I couldn’t hear.

Mia turned toward him, and the last thing I saw before the elevator doors closed between us was the flash of blue light as the floor beneath her lit up.

The explosion shook the shaft, throwing me against the wall. My scream echoed in the dark.

When the shaking stopped, I was alone again. Covered in dust, heart racing, eyes full of tears.

Below me, there was nothing but silence.

- Luna escapes through the shaft, realizing Alexander may be part of the conspiracy—and now Mia is gone for good. But the new flash drive in his hand means the real truth hasn’t even started.