2nd-glance Novels & Stories

and I felt slightly awkward. Marcus chuckled lightly and and came over to my side. "You shouldn't of run off like that. It's too dangerous for you to really be out here by yourself." I could only nod and whisper. "Let's go back before anything else happens tonight." The regret I felt was still fresh in my brain and I only wondered if I had somehow disappointed him in some way but at this moment I didn't bother to ask. Marcus on the other hand, could only nod in response. He gently took my hand in his and brushed a light kiss on my knuckles and I felt myself blush. I am not upset with you. I heard his voice, light as fingers on as they brushed the walls of my mind. Gabriel is Second to the th

I was engrossed in the task at hand, carefully slicing the steak, each movement precise and deliberate. Then, a prickling sensation on the back of my neck, a subtle shift in the atmosphere, made me pause. I felt it, a gaze upon me, an unseen presence. Slowly, I lifted my head, my eyes scanning our table. My gaze drifted across, and there was Jared. The moment our gazes locked, a slow smile spread across his face, transforming his expression from studious to mischievous.

Even the bug fixes matched mine. Something was seriously wrong. That was when a voice, low and sharp, cut right into my ear. "Kelsey, are you snooping through my code?"

A gesture of submission my grandmother taught me, let a man who believes himself above you remain in that illusion. When my tray is empty, I first make my way past the tables to collect the already empty glasses. Snippets of conversation reach me as I glide past. Names of large companies, subtle shifts of power they are quietly planning. Small victories they share with one another, inflated into something far greater than they truly are.

He quickly straddled Eric and started throwing punches left and right. It looked so painful that I felt my own face twinge. Eric finally stopped fighting back, too tired to resist, and that's when the punches stopped. "Scram!" Eric got up, wobbling, and looked at me. "Wendy, you've loved me since high school. Was that all just a lie? Can you really stand there and watch him destroy my company?"

I said curiously. "Well, I don’t know but I am pretty sure that those two devils are up to no good". Liam replied. "So, what’s the second step, since our first one was a quick success, I suppose that we are going to proceed towards our second step". I asked. "Yes, we are going to. Listen closely, if we make a mistake on this step, trust me our plan will be a failure." I nodded and listened closely. "So, the second step is…."

--- The words weren’t defiance anymore. --- They were fact. --- The kind that couldn’t be rewritten. --- Couldn’t be optimized away. --- Another glitch— --- Closer. --- A man stumbled mid-step— --- Not reset immediately. --- Not corrected instantly. --- He looked around— --- Eyes narrowing. --- Awareness flickering through him like something waking up. --- Then— --- Delayed correction. --- Too late. --- “He saw it,” he said quietly. --- A pause. --- “He actually saw it.” --- And that—

Stop causing a scene. I massaged my aching eyes and said to him with a steady voice. "This isn't a scene. I'm calmly telling you that I'm done with you!

Then, faintly at first, a light flickers across the edge of my vision. “System alert,” it whispers, soft but unmistakable. Gloss stiffens. “Did you see that?” Before I can answer, the flicker becomes brighter, spreading like golden code through the air around us. The voice we both know so well speaks again, smooth and calm this time, free of corruption, free of malice. “Phase II Protocol Initiated.” My pulse skips. “What the hell is Phase II?” Gloss’s brows furrow, but before either of us can move, the lights dim, and lines of digital energy surge between us, connecting through the faint glow at our wrists.

Rowan asked, dread in his voice. “We don’t do anything epic. We don’t confront anyone. We don’t fight. We just keep moving around in silence.” “Move where.” Harlan asked. “Inside,” I answered. “Phase II.” Declan blinked. “Are there phases?” “There are always phases,” Reagan said flatly. I nodded. “Phase II is stealth. We map the place. Take photos. Figure out how big it is, where it leads, how far it stretches.” Cole frowned. “You’re assuming it doesn’t dead-end.”