The air grew suddenly colder.
Zahra pressed her back against the dusty file cabinet, heart thundering in her chest. Footsteps slow, deliberate, echoed again from behind the shelves. She didn't dare call out. Instead, she slipped her phone into her pocket and crouched low, inching toward the crack in the doorway she had entered through.
Another step. This one closer. Then silence.
She held her breath.
A shadow moved across the floor between shelves, a tall figure, dressed in dark winter clothes. No badge. No staff uniform. They weren't supposed to be here either.
Zahra's fingers closed around a thick, heavy book from the lowest shelf. She waited, then threw it across the room. It hit the opposite wall with a loud thud, sending a cascade of papers flying. The stranger turned instinctively, and Zahra bolted. She didn't look back. She didn't stop until she burst out into the daylight, lungs burning, snow stinging her face like needles. She ran all the way back to her dorm, slammed the door behind her, and locked it twice. Only then did she dare to breathe.
Later that night, Elijah knocked softly.
"You look like you've seen a ghost," he said, handing her a plastic bag of pastries. "Did you skip lunch again?"
She didn't answer right away.
"Elijah…" she began slowly, "Did you ever hear about something called 'Project Xǐzhǎo'?"
He froze. His smile faded. He set the bag down, gently.
"Where did you hear that name?"
"I found files," she said. "Old trial records. My father's name was on them. Something about experiments. Complications."
Elijah sat down heavily. "You shouldn't be digging around in those archives."
"Why not?"
"Because some doors, once opened, don't close again."
She crossed her arms. "You know something. Don't you?"
He looked her dead in the eyes.
"My uncle studied here too. Back in the '80s. He was part of that trial. Never came home. They said he left the program and vanished. But my family never believed it. He was careful. Too careful."
"What happened to him?"
"They don't talk about it. But when I got here, I started digging too. And the more I found, the more I realized someone didn't want the truth uncovered."
He opened his wallet, pulled out a worn photo. A young man in a lab coat, laughing. The resemblance to Elijah was unmistakable. "That's him," Elijah said. "David Okoye. Gone without a trace."
Zahra felt a chill crawl up her spine. "You think what happened to your uncle is connected to my father?"
"I think they were both part of something bigger. Something buried. And now that you've stirred it…"
He glanced toward the window.
"…someone's watching."