Chapter 9 - The Shadow Route
""Go,"" Miller whispered, cocking his pistol with a trembling hand. ""Follow the yellow pipe. It leads to the storm drain behind the old industrial rail yard. There's an abandoned rail car marked 402. Knock three times, wait, then knock twice. Someone is waiting there who can help.""
""I can't leave you!"" Lily cried, tears finally spilling over her cheeks.
""You have to protect Mia,"" Miller said firmly, his eyes burning with intense urgency. ""If they catch you, your faces belong to them forever. Run, Lily!""
Lily didn't look back. She hoisted Mia onto her back, securing the toddler's arms around her neck, and bolted down the tunnel beneath the thick yellow pipe. Behind her, the sharp bark of the tracking dog cut through the humidity, followed instantly by three deafening gunshots that reverberated down the claustrophobic corridor. Then, silence.
Lily ran through ankle-deep runoff water, her lungs burning, her small legs pumping on pure adrenaline. Mia buried her face into Lily’s hair, muffling her sobs. The darkness was absolute except for the glowing screen of Lily's phone, which she used as a flashlight.
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Suddenly, the phone chimed again. A push notification from a major news network flashed across the lock screen: “BREAKING: Amber Alert issued for viral deli girl Lily Evans and sister Mia. Believed to be abducted by rogue agent.”
Her own photo was staring back at her on the news banner. The whole country was looking for her—not as a victim needing help, but as a runaway hostage whose face was now public property. Ahead, a faint square of grey daylight marked the tunnel's exit.
