CHAPTER 27: THE COORDINATES
Ava held the paper in shaking hands.
He's looking at you at this moment.
She glared at the little, square TV in the motel room corner. Off. But what if it wasn't?
Her gaze moved to the smoke detector on the ceiling over the bed. A red light flashed—too slowly for it to be healthy.
She jumped up quickly and pushed the chair towards it, climbing aboard and leaning out with her knife.
A quick flick of the blade opened the case. Inside was more than a smoke sensor. It was plugged in—small, black, humming slightly. Definitely a camera. Possibly a mic.
Ava's blood froze.
She killed it with a single blast of the flashlight, then reeled back, breathing hard. Her own skin crawled, the air in the room itself now choking.
They weren't just following her—they were in all the safe places she'd believed she had.
She needed to get out of there. Now.
Ava filled Anish's notebook, the map, and an extra set of clothes into her backpack. Then she took the room key, went out—and almost ran into a man with a laundry cart.
"Sorry," she whispered.
He didn't respond. Just looked. Too long.
She retreated slowly, then spun hard and hurried—a little too hard—to the corner of the motel parking lot, dodging cars and disappearing around a van. Then she ran.
The evening air slapped her.
She didn't glance back until she was at the bus stop, half a kilometer away. No footsteps. No shadows.
But it was nothing.
They were all around.
She heard her phone ring again.
This time, it was a location pin. From the same unknown number that called before.
No name. Just one message:"𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲."
The coordinates were a little off from the ones in Anish's book—but close. A two-mile radius. Deep into the woods outside the old city.
Ava gazed at the message.
This wasn't random.
Someone wanted her to discover this.
Someone… who might've been on her side?
Or someone playing a deeper game?
Her fingers lingered over the phone. But deep inside, she knew: this was where she was going. No going back now.
She took the last bus out of town, then hiked the rest of the way—miles into the woods, with nothing but stars overhead and dirt paths lit only by her flashlight.
The woods was alive. Night calls bounced all around her, blending with her own breathing.
Each snap of a twig made her flinch. But she continued, heart fixed on the patch from the map. A square shape. Barely marked: 𝙇𝙖𝙗 𝙀𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙮 𝘽.
It wasn't even depicted on any official government or research maps. As if it never existed.
Almost.
She made it to the location just after 2 a.m.
It was more rubble than structure—overgrown, decaying, roof partially collapsed. But there was still a steel door to be seen beneath a slope of shattered wall and moss.
And to her surprise—it wasn't locked.
She crept inside.
The inside was colder than the night air outside, air heavy with dampness and aged chemicals.
Her flashlight cut over deserted desks, smashed computers, and loose papers strewn about like someone having left in a rush.
She discovered a shattered sign against a doorway.
𝙀𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙎𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡 - 𝙀𝘾𝙃𝙊𝙀𝙎 𝘿𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣.
Her heart pounded harder.
This was it.
She pursued the hallway down a spiral staircase creaking with every step. Below, the lab lay open—a ghost of what it used to be.
But in the midst of wreckage, Ava spotted something off. A patch of the far wall didn't belong to the rest. Smoother. Less worn.
She approached it and knocked.
Hollow.
Her fingers danced along the edges before she came across a small recess. Within, a keypad. Long dead. But right next to it—a slot.
Like. for a badge.
She took out her flashlight and went over the table nearby.
Papers. Burned ID cards. Most of them rotten or charred.
Then she spotted it: an access badge that said Dr. Vikram Joshi.
Her uncle.
She inserted it into the slot.
For an instant, nothing.
Then—
A click.
The wall moved. Dust came down. And a small panel swung open, revealing a secret room behind.
Her catch of breath.
There were sealed containers, radiating blue from the inside. Monitors. Cryo-units. And in the center, a chair. Very much like the one in Rohit's cell. Straps. Wires.
Memories flooded in—snatches she didn't even know she possessed.
Needles. Screams.
White walls and masks.
This was the place.
She stepped closer to a terminal still humming softly. An old interface blinked to life as she approached.
𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲, 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗘𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻.
Her knees buckled.
No. This couldn't be real.
But then… it was always there.
Why she couldn't remember the first ten years of her life. Why her uncle always said she was "special."
The screen shifted, and a video began to play.
Her uncle.
A recorded message.
"𝗪𝗵𝗼𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿'𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀… 𝗶𝗳 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗔𝘃𝗮, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗜'𝗺 𝘀𝗼𝗿𝗿𝘆."
She froze.
"𝗜 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗶𝗱, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆'𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀—𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗘𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗘𝗦—𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻'𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻'𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝘆. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴… 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹."
He appeared older. Haggard.
"𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻. 𝗢𝗿𝗽𝗵𝗮𝗻𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺. 𝗜 𝘀𝗺𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗼𝘂𝘁. 𝗥𝗲𝘄𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀. 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗸𝗻𝗲𝘄. 𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴."
The screen flickered.
Then there was a new picture.
Not her father.
A woman.
Smiling.
With Ava's hand in a lab coat.
The caption stated: 𝘿𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧: 𝘿𝙧. 𝙋𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙖 𝙑𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙖.
Her father wasn't the inventor.
He was part of the machine.
A puppet.
But Prisha—this woman—she was the true architect.
The bad guy.
The one no one suspected.
Because she'd gone missing years ago. Declared dead. A lab fire. Same one that took Rohit's family.
Or at least, everyone believed.
The video stopped.
Ava collapsed onto the ground, mind reeling.
Her uncle died to protect this secret.
Her father—either in on it or under its control.
And Rohit—
Her heart missed a beat.
She needed to find him.
Needed to warn him.
Just then, her phone vibrated again.
This time, a picture.
Of Rohit.
Bound to the chair. Out cold.
There's a message underneath:
"𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 24 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨. 𝙊𝙧 𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙨."
And below that, an address.
In the city.
Ava clenched her teeth.
She stood up.
And without hesitating,
She sprinted.
..........
𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗮?
𝗜𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱?
𝗗𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗶𝗲?