We drove in silence.
Elias's hands were tight on the wheel, his knuckles white. Vance sat in the back, tapping furiously on a small black device that looked like it belonged in a spy movie. My heart beat like a trapped bird against my chest, every pulse screaming Mom. Mom. Mom.
The paper that came with the brick had one thing on it:
"Midnight. 6°27'31.2"N 3°24'19.4"E. No backup. No tricks. Come alone."
But I wasn't alone.
Elias refused.
"They know me," he said. "I trained with some of them. If we show up like they asked, they'll kill her before we even step out of the car."
I turned to him sharply. "You trained with them?! You mean the people trying to erase me?"
He looked away, ashamed.
"I wasn't like them," he said softly. "I left when I found out what they were doing — when I saw your name on their list."
"My name?"
"You were... special. Not like the others. You had something they wanted but couldn't replicate. They thought you were a myth — until your memories started surfacing. The dreams. The notebook. It triggered the frequency."
I stared at him.
All this time... the quiet glances, the way he always seemed to be nearby at school, the way he noticed things no one else did — it wasn't just coincidence.
"You've been watching me."
"I've been protecting you."
Vance cleared his throat. "We're getting close."
I looked out the window. We were headed into an abandoned train yard, the kind of place that smelled like rusted secrets. My hands trembled as I opened the car door.
"I'm going alone."
"No, you're not," Elias said firmly.
"Yes, I am," I shot back. "They said no tricks. If I don't go alone, they'll kill my mom. I can't risk that."
He looked like he wanted to argue, but something in my eyes must've stopped him.
He reached into his jacket and handed me a tiny earpiece.
"You won't be alone. I'll be listening. And if anything feels wrong — anything — you run."
I nodded.
But before I turned to leave, he grabbed my wrist gently.
"Amara," he said, his voice low and intense, "if we don't make it out of this… I need you to know. Back then, when you spilled juice on me — I didn't just remember it because it was funny. I remembered it because that was the day I knew you were different. Special. And not because of your powers. Because of you. I liked you… way before all this started."
His confession hit me like a wave.
For a second, the train yard disappeared. The fear. The danger. The notebook. All gone. Just his voice. Just us.
"I always liked you too," I whispered.
Then I turned and walked into the dark.
---
The train yard was eerily silent.
Rows of abandoned cars lined the rails like sleeping giants. I stepped carefully, following the coordinates on Elias's phone.
Then I saw it.
A woman tied to a chair in the middle of the clearing.
"Mom!" I ran toward her — but stopped dead in my tracks.
She looked up, dazed.
A red dot from a sniper's scope blinked on her shoulder.
"Amara," a voice called from the shadows, smooth and chilling, "how nice of you to join us."
A tall man stepped out, face covered by a black mask.
"You came alone, just like we hoped."
I took a step forward.
"Let her go. I did what you asked."
He laughed.
"Oh, sweet Echo," he said. "This isn't a trade. This is a test."