The air was thick and heavy with the smell of pine and earth, but it was the eerie hum of technology that rattled Lexi's nerves. The sound of the drones behind them was growing closer, their faint mechanical whirring unmistakable. Every step Lexi took felt like it might be her last. Jace's grip on her hand was the only thing keeping her from panicking, but it was firm—almost urgent.
They were running through the woods now, the dark trees closing in around them like silent sentinels. The uneven ground beneath their feet made every movement harder, the underbrush clawing at their legs, the branches slashing at their arms. Lexi's breath came in ragged gasps, her heart thudding so loudly in her chest it nearly drowned out the noise of the pursuing drones.
"How much farther?" she gasped, struggling to keep up with Jace.
"Not far," he panted back, his voice tense. "Stay close."
Lexi's mind was spinning. The cryptic message in Morse code. The strange boy, Jace, who seemed to know more about her parents than she did. And now, the drones chasing them through the forest. Everything was happening so fast, and the more she tried to make sense of it, the more disoriented she became.
"Who are they?" Lexi managed, still trying to catch her breath. "Who's after us?"
Jace didn't answer immediately. His eyes were scanning the woods, darting from tree to tree, his senses honed. He didn't even slow his pace. "It's not about who they are," he said finally, "It's about what they want from you."
"What do they want from me?" Lexi asked, her voice cracking, panic creeping into her chest.
Jace shot her a quick look, but his focus was split. The drones were getting closer—he could hear them now, their engines buzzing louder. "They want what your parents left behind. And you're the key."
Lexi's blood ran cold. "The key to what?"
Jace glanced back over his shoulder, his gray eyes flashing with something she couldn't quite place. "To Project Eden."
Lexi stumbled, her foot catching on a tree root, but Jace was there, pulling her back up before she could fall. "Focus, Lexi," he urged. "We need to keep moving."
The woods seemed to stretch endlessly ahead of them, the trees towering like silent watchers. But there was something different now—something charged in the air. It wasn't just the fear that had settled into her bones; it was a strange energy that crackled in the spaces between the trees. She felt it in her skin, the hair on the back of her neck standing on end.
"What are we running toward?" Lexi asked, fear creeping into her voice. "Where are we going?"
Jace's expression was grim, his jaw set tight as they pushed through the dense forest. "To safety," he said simply. "We need to get to the safe house before they find us."
"A safe house?" Lexi echoed. "Is that where you're taking me?"
"Yes," Jace replied, his voice clipped. "It's a place where they can't track us. But we won't make it if we don't get there soon. They're too close."
The whir of the drones' engines was louder now, much closer. Lexi could almost feel them—feel the cold, metallic presence of the machines closing in on them. The thought of them finding them, of whatever they were searching for inside her, made her stomach turn.
Then, up ahead, she saw it. A small clearing bathed in faint, unnatural blue light. The ground seemed to shimmer there, the very earth vibrating with power.
Jace reached for her arm, pulling her toward the clearing. "There. That's our only chance."
The moment they crossed into the clearing, the sound of the drones stopped. The trees around them seemed to pulse with energy, and Lexi's skin prickled, as if the very air itself had shifted.
In the center of the clearing, there was a large stone—one that seemed to hum with life, glowing softly beneath the canopy of the trees. Lexi's eyes widened as she looked at it, her breath catching. She could feel something powerful emanating from it, like a force that was too strong to ignore.
Before she could ask any more questions, Jace pulled her to the side, his grip tight on her wrist. "Get down!" he hissed.
Lexi crouched low as Jace darted to the stone, his hand brushing against it as if he was activating something. A hidden panel slid open on the ground, revealing a staircase that spiraled down into darkness. Without hesitation, Jace motioned for her to follow.
"Now!" he urged.
But before they could make it, the hum of the drones returned, now louder, more frantic. The lights flickered in the trees, the low buzzing growing into a shrill whine.
"Move!" Jace shouted, pulling her toward the opening.
The staircase stretched down into the earth, a dark tunnel that seemed to swallow all sound, all light. Lexi barely had time to think before she was pulled down the stairs, her feet slipping as she descended into the unknown.
Behind them, the clearing was alive with the buzzing of drones, their red scanning lights sweeping across the trees. But Lexi didn't dare look back.
Jace's hand tightened around hers, pulling her faster down the staircase, his voice strained but urgent. "Keep going, Lexi. We can't stop. Not now."
The sound of the drones was fading behind them, but the oppressive weight of the silence was even worse. Lexi's heart was still racing, and her mind felt like it was spinning out of control.
She stumbled for a moment, catching herself against the wall of the tunnel. She couldn't stop herself from thinking about everything she had left behind. The world she thought she knew—her aunt, her home—was slipping away.
But then, something clicked in her mind, and a cold weight settled in her stomach. She wasn't running from her aunt—she was running from the past.
Her aunt had never loved her. She had never been the protector Lexi had wanted so badly to believe. Catherine had kept her isolated, controlled, and in fear—her only purpose to maintain the power she had over Lexi, to keep her in the dark about who she truly was. And now, with everything falling apart, Lexi realized just how alone she was.
"Jace," Lexi said, her voice a little hoarse. "What about Aunt Catherine? She won't come for me, will she?"
Jace didn't slow his pace. His expression remained unreadable as they descended further into the tunnel. "No," he said, his voice blunt. "She's not coming. And even if she did, she wouldn't help. Catherine's been controlling you, keeping you hidden for a reason. She's not your protector. She's the one who's been keeping you trapped."
Lexi's heart sank, but the truth cut through her like ice. She'd known it for years, hadn't she? She'd known the fear in Catherine's eyes, the anger that lurked just beneath the surface. Catherine had never cared. She had never been a mother figure, no matter how hard Lexi had tried to make her one.
"She was never going to rescue me," Lexi whispered, the words tasting like ash on her tongue.
Jace didn't say anything in response. His silence was more confirmation than any words could be. It wasn't just that Catherine wouldn't come—it was that she couldn't. She never wanted Lexi to escape, to find out who she truly was, because the truth would shatter the control she had so carefully built.
Lexi pressed her hand against the cold stone of the tunnel wall, a wave of anger and sorrow sweeping over her. But deep down, she knew that this was her only chance. Her real future lay ahead of her—beyond Catherine's lies, beyond the chains that had kept her bound to a false version of her life.
She just had to keep running.
And never look back.