Chapter 5

When the iron door clanged shut behind us, the air felt thick and suffocating.

This underground place looked like a junkyard that time forgot. Everything down here reeked of abandonment and defiance.

Samuel led me through the maze of broken-down corridors. Old monitors covered every wall, scrolling with lines of data.

Each screen showed bits and pieces of information—stuff the Dominion Network had probably thrown away years ago.

"Welcome to the Deep Web," Samuel said quietly as we walked. "This is where you'll get your answers. Everything about your identity, about whatever they put inside you—it's all down here."

My pulse quickened. I was finally going to learn the truth.

I never imagined I'd end up in a place like this, dealing with any of this mess.

"How did you guys even know this stuff was down here?" I asked.

Samuel laughed, but there was no humor in it. "We're the Unnumbered. You think the Dominion Network just lets us have nice things? The only reason we're still breathing is the Deep Web. Down here, they can't touch us."

I followed him through one dark hallway after another until we stopped at this huge screen mounted on the wall.

"Here's what you came for," he said.

Samuel pressed his palm against the screen. It lit up instantly, and all these weird symbols and numbers started flowing across it.

I just stared. None of it made any sense to me.

"This is—" I whispered.

"The Dominion Network's source code."

Samuel cut me off. "That code fragment hidden inside you? It came from this place. Crack those lines of code, and you'll finally understand who you really are—and exactly how the Dominion Network controls everything."

He paused and turned to face me. "You know why you're still alive? You're not just some fugitive on the run. You're the Dominion Network's biggest mistake."

"Biggest mistake?"

My heart started pounding. This couldn't be real.

"What are you talking about?"

"You weren't designed to be part of the Dominion Network," Samuel said. "You were supposed to be eliminated—a failed experiment they wanted gone. But here's the thing. The data and code running through your system? That's what keeps their entire network operational. They tried to delete you, erase you completely, but somehow, you survived. You became the one thing they never planned for."

I pondered. "So that's why they can't just kill me outright?"

"Exactly."

Samuel sighed, "You were a glitch in the Dominion Network. A mistake that should never have existed. But somehow, you survived. Every time they tried to delete you, you just... reborn."

My heart was racing. Something inside me felt like it was waking up.

"So what do I do now?" I couldn't help but ask.

"You need to crack this code. Figure out what's really buried inside you. Once you control that information, the Dominion Network can't touch you anymore. You'll have all the power," Samuel said with a smirk.

We were still talking when something slammed into the building outside.

"Eradicators. They are here," Samuel muttered.

He stared at the warning signals flashing across the screen, his face darkening. "They've tracked us down. We're out of time."

"What do we do?" I asked.

"You need to crack this code," Samuel said, tension creeping into his voice.

He swiped the alerts off the screen. "I can keep the Eradicators off your back, but unlocking the core system is something only you can do."

I stared at the wall of code scrolling past. Suddenly, fragments of images started flashing in my head—hazy, half-formed memories I couldn't quite place.

Pieces of something buried deep were trying to surface.

Then, pain exploded behind my eyes.

A memory that wasn't mine crashed into my thoughts. Something powerful was stirring in the back of my mind, something I'd forgotten completely.

*****

"Unlock sequence: Fifth character position corresponds to your deepest fear."

My hands started shaking.

That code—it was like it was alive.

"You..." I whispered. "I get it now."

Samuel looked at me, hope in his eyes. "Did you break through?"

"Almost there."

Just then, heavy footsteps echoed from outside.

The Eradicators had found us.