Elian. 

No one was chasing us. That didn’t mean we were safe.

We stopped crawling when the air changed. Ahead, light cut through the cracks in a panel. I hesitated. Didn’t know how to open it.

“Left side,” he muttered. “Feel for the latch.”

I reached out. My fingers brushed a cold metal. There.

With a shove, the panel creaked inward. Loud. Rusted hinges. Old frame. But it moved.

I slipped out first. 

Lightless. Cramped. Ceiling just above my head. A place no one had walked in years. Pipes lined the walls. Storage space? No..A service room. Everything smelled like old oil and something long dead.

Felix crawled through after, sealing the panel shut behind us. No hesitation. Like he knew no one ever checked this place.

“You good?” he asked.

I nodded. Wiped my hands on my shirt. 

“Lets go” he said, already moving. “Need to follow the rust.”

That wasn’t helpful. Everything was rust.

But I followed anyway.

We passed a few broken piping. Collapsed wiring. At the end of the corridor stood an elevator door. Dented. Marked. Something had tried to break through. No luck. I guess. 

Felix pulled something from his belt. A slim black rod. A tool? I didn’t ask.

He wedged it into the seam between the doors. Teeth clenched. The metal groaned, then snapped back shut. He tried again, this time supporting himself with a foot against the wall.

I scanned the ceiling. Still no hum. No power. But that wouldn’t last. The seals were already reactivating. Drones would be online anytime. One wrong camera, and we’d be done. 

The doors hissed apart an inch. Then two. Felix cursed under his breath and shoved both arms in, wrenching the doors open just enough to slide through.

No car.

Just an empty shaft.

I looked at him. He looked back like this was expected.

“Seriously?” I asked. 

At this point, I don’t know if he is fearless. Or just plain stupid. 

He dropped a rusty bolt from his pocket. We never heard it hit the bottom. 

“There’s ladder” he said, pointing to the wall. “Three levels down. Car’s stuck there” 

“You think you know.”

“I know,” he said flatly. “I’ve done it before.”

Right. Of course he had.

He went first. Gripped the rusted ladder bolted to the shaft wall. It wobbled with every step. I followed. Palms slick. Boots slipping.

We descended fast. No safety. No rope. Just guesswork.

Three levels down, Felix stopped. Took a pocket torch and lit the dark. The car was there. Half-visible in the dark. Stopped between floors. 

Felix reached the emergency hatch on the roof. Opened it and dropped inside. I followed, boots hitting metal with a dull clang. The air inside smelled like dust and iron.

He opened the maintenance panel with the same tool from earlier. Wires sparked. He didn’t flinch. 

“You know how to fix this thing now?” I asked. 

“No. I know how to trick it.” He smiled. 

The lift stayed still. But after a few seconds, a red light blinked once. Then green. Just for a moment.

The door opened. 

“What was that?” I asked.

“Magic” He replied. 

We slipped. The lights here flickered weakly. Some dead. Some barely twitch. No cameras. No drones.

He stepped out.

I followed.

Out of the restricted zone. Past surveillance. Off the record. Deep inside Sector F. Forgotten by most. Monitored by none.

Felix exhaled, slow. “That’s it.” 

But my hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

Not from the climb. Not from the cold.

From knowing.

I’d seen something I shouldn’t have. Followed someone I couldn’t trust.  And walked out pretending like I still belonged here.

Felix moved ahead like it was done.

But I couldn’t.