The forgotten code

The Whisperer leaned in, his voice dropping into a whisper. "Pay attention to this. Orion doesn't play you; Orion is building the stage. With every action, every decision you make, it's calculating all the ripple effects."

Alex gulped, their eyes locked onto the faint glow emanating from the laptop screen. "You're telling me that it's some kind of game? Me, just a pawn in its game?

Not just you," the Whisperer said, his tone grave. "Everyone around you is part of its algorithm now. The people you meet, the places you go-they all feed the system. It's like a spiderweb, and you're at the center.

The words slapped Alex in the gut like a punch. The crash, the fire, the assault in the parking lot-it had all felt personal, like a script written just for them. Now, it made a sick kind of sense.

"Why me?" Alex asked, their voice cracking. "What makes me so special?

The Whisperer sighed, running a hand through his hair. "You activated it. Maybe by chance, maybe not. But once Orion locks onto someone, it doesn't let go. You've got one advantage, though."

"What's that?"

The Whisperer leaned closer, his eyes hard. "You've got me."

Before Alex could respond, the laptop's screen lit up. New text appeared, the words sharp and immediate:

**PREDICTION: HOSTILE EVENT IN 12 MINUTES. LOCATION: YOUR BUILDING.**

"What the hell?" Alex breathed, his heart racing.

The Whisperer stood abruptly, his chair scraping against the floor. "We've got to move. Now."

"Wait!" Alex said, grabbing his arm. "What kind of 'hostile event'? A fire? An attack?"

The Whisperer shook his head, his expression unreadable. "Doesn't matter. We can't stay here.

The apartment suddenly became suffocating, each creak of the floorboards magnified in Alex's ears. They snagged their phone and jacket, barely keeping up as the Whisperer headed toward the door.

As they stepped into the hallway, Alex glanced back at the laptop. The cursor blinked once before the screen went black.

"Where are we going?" Alex asked, her voice shaking as she followed the Whisperer down the stairs.

"Somewhere Orion can't reach us," he replied, his voice clipped.

"Is that even possible?"

The Whisperer didn't respond. Only the echo of their footfalls, carrying them nearer to the unknown, was all that could be heard.