Saturday, 09 February 2047

  The day dragged through the same ordinary rhythm, each machine beat and conveyor clatter pressing against my thoughts. Where did Miller vanish during the hours no one seemed to notice? What paths did he tread beneath the Corporation's geometry? By the time my shift ended, I had made up my mind. I would follow him.

  I waited at the main gates, eyes scanning every departing figure. When Miller finally emerged, I trailed him cautiously, staying in the shadows. He moved toward the tunnel entrance without hesitation — cold concrete, harsh overhead lights, and then the labyrinth below.

  Inside, the world fractured. People vanished down side corridors, slipping into an underground network I hadn't known was this large. I lost sight of Miller almost immediately. Around me, workers negotiated in low voices, exchanging goods I couldn't identify, moving with an intent and rhythm I couldn't yet read. Then sirens cut through it all. Panic erupted. Guards struck without warning, beating some and dragging others into the walls. I ran with the crowd, heart hammering, until a narrow passage opened ahead and neon light spilled in — the Shadow District.

  I was out of the tunnels but lost, with no idea where to go or how to find Miller.

  "Hey, come here," a voice called from a dark alley. I didn't move.

  "Forty-Two, you'll get in trouble here. Come on, before they catch you."

  I froze. "Do you... know my name?"

  "Yes, idiot. I work with you — assembly section 5. Don't you remember me? I'm Kelly."

  I knew the face. We had never spoken.

  "Why are you helping me?" I asked, voice low, eyes still scanning the alley.

  "I don't need to explain," Kelly said, glancing over his shoulder. "But if they catch you here, you're done. Maybe they'll assign someone smarter to handle our machines. Wear this cape — no one should see your uniform. Take the path to the right, then the next section on the left. That leads toward the factory gates. Keep going until you find an exit."

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  "Thank you, Kelly."

  "Good luck," he said, and disappeared.

  I pulled the cape over my shoulders and followed his directions, keeping my eyes low. Guards flickered along the walls ahead, stopping people at random, badges catching neon light. I pressed behind a corner, counted heartbeats, and slipped past when the moment opened.

  Someone collided with my shoulder. My pulse jumped.

  "Why are you here?" a familiar voice hissed.

  Miller.

  "I was looking for you," I stammered.

  "Idiot," he muttered, grabbing my arm. "My place. Now."

  At the hideout, before I could say anything, he turned on me.

  "You almost got caught by security. Do you realize that?"

  "I followed Kelly's directions. He said it was the best way out."

  Miller's eyes narrowed. "I don't know who Kelly is, but that path leads straight to the Regulation's Office. They'd have caught you, processed you. Your family would never see you again."

  The air went out of me. I had trusted Kelly's directions without question.

  "Why would he do that? What would he gain?"

  Miller shrugged, jaw tight. "Maybe your job. Do you work together?"

  I shook my head. The room felt smaller than before — cluttered not just with machines but with things I couldn't yet account for.

  "Why are you following me here? You could have just asked," Miller said, folding his arms.

  I picked up one of the components from the nearest shelf and held it out. "Because of these. They're from the factory. I recognized them the morning the box fell — I'd calibrated the same pieces the day before." I kept my voice steady. "What are you doing with them, Miller? Are you stealing?"

  "I don't steal anything." His composure cracked fast — faster than I'd ever seen. "These are marked for recycling. I'm reallocating them."

  "No parts can leave the factory. You know that."

  He ran through explanations that contradicted themselves, voice rising then dropping, none of it holding together. His eyes moved around the hideout as though the walls were listening.

  "Are you... going to turn me in to HR?" he asked finally, voice quieter than I'd ever heard it.

  "No," I said. "But you're going to explain."

  He did. Voice low, conspiratorial, almost relieved to say it: they were diverting components from the line, reselling them through the Shadow District. Others were embedded in the system, manipulating numbers, covering the gaps. Each transaction was deliberate, punishable by processing and termination.

  "We both work the same line," he said. "We could do this together. Nobody would ever know."

  "I don't want to hear any more," I said. "I'm leaving.”

  He warned me about the streets, urged me to stay the night, said it was too dangerous. I pushed past him anyway, back through the hideout and into the tunnels, moving toward the factory entrance and whatever the night outside would bring.

  I thought about Kelly's directions leading me toward a Regulation's Office. I thought about Miller's face when he asked if I would report him. I didn't know yet which of them frightened me more.