The Hacker

The streets had only grown more treacherous. Fires still raged in the distance, casting an eerie glow over the city as we made our way toward Zeke's underground base. I hadn't seen my brother in months, but he was the only one I knew with the skills—and the nerve—to help us get this information out. Zeke had always been a bit of an enigma, a gamer who rarely left his lair. He wasn't just any hacker; he was the best. And in this world, that could be more valuable than anything else.

"Your brother's really into this?" Apollo asked, glancing at me as we navigated the backstreets.

"He lives for this kind of thing," I replied, half-smiling. "If there's anyone who can help us break into secure networks and stay hidden, it's Zeke. He's more prepared than anyone I know. Stubborn, but brilliant."

Lylia snorted. "Apple doesn't fall far, huh?"

We moved in silence for a while, sticking to the alleys. The city felt like a war zone, a wasteland of burned-out cars, broken glass, and shadows that moved just beyond the edge of sight. The military was everywhere, patrolling the main roads, their flashlights sweeping over the debris-strewn streets, looking for anyone who might pose a threat—infected or otherwise. But it wasn't just them we had to worry about. The infected were getting bolder, wandering through the ruins, their twisted forms barely recognizable as human.

The entrance to Zeke's hideout was hidden beneath an old bookstore. To anyone else, it would've looked like just another abandoned building, but Zeke had rigged the place with security cameras, tripwires, and other defenses I could only guess at. As we approached the building, I felt a strange mix of relief and tension. This was as close to safety as we were going to get, but with the infected roaming so close, we'd have to be fast.

"Here," I whispered, waving them forward as I punched in the code Zeke had given me years ago. It still worked, and the door clicked open, revealing a narrow stairwell that led down into the darkness. The others followed, their footsteps echoing in the enclosed space as we descended.

At the bottom of the stairs was a metal door with a keypad and a small camera mounted above it. I leaned into the camera's view and tapped out the familiar code on the keypad. After a tense pause, the door swung open, and Zeke stood there, a grin plastered across his face.

"About time you showed up," he said, stepping aside to let us in. "I was starting to think you'd forgotten where I live."

He looked just like I remembered: tall, lean, with messy hair and a sarcastic glint in his eye. He wore his usual attire of a gaming t-shirt and pajama pants, as if the world outside didn't matter. I felt a rush of relief and threw my arms around him.

"Good to see you too, sis," he said, patting my back before leading us inside.

The place was exactly how I'd expected it: walls lined with computer screens, gaming consoles stacked on a shelf in the corner, and an entire wall dedicated to what looked like every snack ever invented. Zeke had built himself a fortress here, an underground world where he was king.

Lylia let out a low whistle. "I think I'm in love."

Zeke smirked, flopping into his gaming chair. "Yeah, I get that a lot. So, you brought friends. To what do I owe the honor?"

I took a deep breath, pulling the file from my bag and spreading it out on the table in front of him. "We need your help, Zeke. We have a file here, but we can't access all of it. And even if we could, we don't have the means to get it out there without being traced. That's where you come in."

His eyes scanned the documents, his fingers tapping absently on the desk as he read. "Weaponization… mutation… damn, Lib. You've got yourself tangled up in some serious stuff."

"Tell me something I don't know." I glanced at Apollo, who was already looking over Zeke's shoulder, scanning the file.

Zeke nodded, leaning back in his chair. "Alright, I'm in. Let's tear down some walls, shall we?" He cracked his knuckles, the glint in his eyes becoming a spark of excitement.

We spent the next hour poring over the file, Zeke's fingers flying over his keyboard as he worked his way into secure networks, digging through firewalls like they were nothing more than cobwebs. Occasionally, he'd stop, mutter something about the government's laughable security protocols, and then dive back in.

"Been hearing about this mutation for a while," he said, not looking up from the screen. "Rumors, mostly. But this? This is bigger than I thought. Makes sense they'd try to cover it up, though. They've been feeding us lies for years."

As he spoke, a muffled thud echoed from above, sending a shiver down my spine. We froze, listening as the sounds of footsteps echoed through the store above. It was the unmistakable clanking of military boots.

Zeke raised an eyebrow. "Guess they found us."

"Can they get down here?" Apollo asked, glancing back toward the door.

Zeke grinned, tapping a button on his keyboard. "Not unless they want a face full of tear gas. Relax. They're not getting in." He turned back to the screen, his grin widening. "Besides, I've got bigger fish to fry."

He brought up another file, a list of names and locations. I leaned in, squinting at the screen. The locations were spread across the country—no, the globe. The experiments weren't isolated to our city. They'd been testing this mutation everywhere.

"This is… it's global," I whispered, the realization sinking in. "They've been running these experiments all over the world."

Zeke nodded. "And it looks like they've had a few containment breaches already. Surprise, surprise."

Apollo's face darkened. "This wasn't just an accident, was it?"

"Nope," Zeke replied, typing furiously. "They knew exactly what they were doing. And now we do too."

A loud bang echoed from above, and Zeke's grin faded. He checked the monitors, his fingers flying over the controls as he activated a series of traps he'd rigged around the building.

"We've got company," he said, his voice grim. "Looks like they brought backup."

I tensed, glancing at Apollo and Lylia. "We need to get out of here."

"Relax," Zeke said, pulling up a blueprint of the building. "I've got an escape route. But we've gotta move fast. I'll send the files to a secure server, but we can't stick around. Follow me."

He led us through a hidden door at the back of the room, revealing a narrow tunnel lined with exposed wires and pipes. The air was damp and stale, but it was better than facing the soldiers above.

As we hurried down the tunnel, I glanced back at Zeke, his face set with determination. He'd always been a risk-taker, but this was different. This was real, and we were all in it together.

We emerged in an alley a few blocks away, the sounds of the soldiers' shouts faint in the distance. Zeke pulled out his phone, checking the progress of the upload. "It's not much," he said, "but it's a start. We've got their attention now. They won't be able to ignore this."

The city was still burning, the fires casting long shadows across the crumbling buildings. But we had something they didn't—proof. And as long as we had that, we had a chance.