Chapter One Ethan I run. Fast and hard over the moonlit grass, my heart pounding in my ears. My veins burn with adrenaline, sweat drips down my face as I push through the pain. I’m not sure if they’re following me, but I don’t want to take that chance. How did they find me? They were supposed to be dead. “No!” My voice is hoarse and thick with emotion as I stumble and fall to my knees. I’m too late.

Mar 13

Scenario: Ethan, a digital forensics expert, gets caught in a deadly game when his family is kidnapped. He must follow cryptic digital clues to save them.

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Ethan, a digital forensics expert, gets caught in a deadly game when his family is kidnapped. He must follow cryptic digital clues to save them.

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Chapter One

Ethan

I run.

Fast and hard over the moonlit grass, my heart pounding in my ears. My veins burn with adrenaline, sweat drips down my face as I push through the pain.

I’m not sure if they’re following me, but I don’t want to take that chance. How did they find me? They were supposed to be dead.

“No!” My voice is hoarse and thick with emotion as I stumble and fall to my knees.

I’m too late.

The sound of gunfire rips through the night, and I brace myself for the impact. But it never comes. Instead, a dark shape blurs past me, faster than anything I’ve ever seen. The last of the assailants falls to the ground, and I watch in disbelief as the figure materializes into a woman with long, dark hair.

She’s not alone.

Three more people emerge from the shadows, their features hard and determined. They move with a lethal grace, dispatching the attackers with brutal efficiency. I recognize them - they’re the best in the world at what they do. And they’re on my side.

The woman extends a hand to me, her expression unreadable. “Let’s go.” I take her hand, and she pulls me to my feet. “The car’s this way,” she says, and we sprint through the forest, the others close behind.

We don’t stop until we reach a black SUV waiting at the edge of the trees. The doors open, and I’m pushed inside. The woman climbs in after me, and the others follow. The SUV speeds off down the dirt track, leaving the chaos behind.

I’m panting, trying to catch my breath as I stare at the shadowy figures in front of me. “How… how did you find me?”

“We heard about your little problem,” one of them says, his voice familiar yet disconcertingly altered by some sort of voice modulator. He hands me a small earpiece. “Put it in.” I do as I’m told, and he speaks again. “Can you hear me?”

“Yes.”

“Good. We’ll keep in touch.”

I look around for my rescuers, but they’ve vanished as quickly as they appeared. The woman beside me is leaning forward, talking quietly with the driver.

“Who are you?” I ask her.

She turns to look at me, and I can see now that she’s younger than I’d first thought - probably in her early twenties. She has dark, deep-set eyes that seem to see right through me.

“You can call me Raven,” she says with a small smile.

“Raven?”

“Yeah, like the bird.” Her smile fades, and she adds, “You’re safe now.”

I can’t help but laugh, a harsh, bitter sound that surprises me as much as it does her.

“Safe? How am I safe?”

I gesture to the front of the car, where my kidnappers had been less than five minutes ago.

“They tried to kill me!”

“They won’t be trying again,” she says evenly.

“And you’re safe because we won’t let them get to you.”

“Who are you?”

I ask again, my voice harder now.

“What do you want from me?”

She sighs, and for a moment she looks much older than her years.

“I’ve already told you - you can call me Raven,” she says, her words a near-perfect echo of what she told me only seconds ago.

“And I’m here to help you.”

“Help me?”

I laugh again, but this time there’s no humor in it.

“How can anyone help me?”

“By giving you what you need,” she says simply.

“What do I need?”