Dad’s workroom is boring. It smells like old coffee and sweat, like a man who thinks hard work is a personality trait. His storage unit sits there—small, sleek, and locked tighter than a miser’s safe. It requires Biometrics and his View to open. But I’m not him, and I don’t have to be.

  I slap the bypass chip against it. It sticks, hums, and starts working, little lights blinking like it’s thinking real hard. Kernel's head of security, and this is his security? Please.

  The vault clicks open. I crack my neck and peek inside. No gold. No diamonds. No credit chips. Just—paper? A thick sheet, old-school, untouched by the digital world. Weird. I pull it out, and my View snaps a picture before I even think about it.

  It’s the infrastructure of the domes. Kernel’s. The hell does my guy want with this?

  I smirk, shove it back in, shut the vault, and—almost forget the hacking device. That would’ve been hilarious. A whole stealth mission ruined by my own dumbassery.

  Slipping out, I move quiet, but then—oh, great. Her.

  Mom’s gliding through the hallway like a ghost who forgot it’s supposed to haunt people. Her gown drags, her shoulders stiff—same as always. She stops. “Revilsa.” My name in her mouth sounds like a courtroom accusation. Like she’s about to ask why I stole the silverware again.

  “Why are you here?” she murmurs, eyes sharp. “Why aren’t you in bed?”

  I snort. “Why do you care?” And walk off.

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  She doesn’t let it go. Of course not. She slips into Dad’s office. I don’t stick around to see what she finds. That’s a problem for future me.

  I walk straight to my room, shut the door, and grab my boots. And of course, grab a chocolate bar. I do not leave through the front door. That’s for boring people. Boots on, window open, I jump. Land in the grass with a roll. Stretch. Crunch into chocolate. Life’s good.

  School’s mine, obviously. I learn when I want, ignore what I want, play soccer when I feel like it. The gym? My territory. The varsity team huffs outside like dogs locked out of the kitchen. Let them wait. Let them seethe. I eat up the attention and make them wait longer.

  By sunset, the halls are empty. I wait until the sky bleeds orange before I leave. Not towards home.

  I go down—into the city’s underbelly.

  Through The Rot.

  The alley’s dim, and my guy’s already waiting. He is a head shorter than me, even though I am just 14, wrapped in a hood and a mask.

  We stare at each other.

  He says, “You first.”

  I smirk. “Or what? You gonna beat it outta me?”

  That makes him move. He hands over dirt on the new teachers. I like it. I like it a lot. I flick him his intel. He turns to leave, but I stop him.

  “Why do you even want that dome infrastructure? You’re always asking for weird crap. Figures. Limited-time merch. Now this?”

  He pauses. I tilt my head. “What’s under that mask, anyway?”

  He lifts it just enough for me to see.

  Hairy.

  I bark a laugh. “Gross.”

  I flick the chip he gave me between my fingers. “Nice tool. Where’d you get it?”

  He shrugs. “It’s new. Keep it.”

  Then he’s gone.

  Just like that.

  Sigh.

  Home is a race.

  I run. No way I’m getting home before Dad.

  I hit the door, sprint up the stairs, boots still on. Mom yells something about it, but whatever.

  Then I see it.

  Dad’s office door—open.

  He’s crouched in front of his vault.

  He turns, smiling. “How’re you, dear?”

  I lean against the frame. “What’re you doing?”

  “Updating security.” He taps the vault. “There’s some new malware going around.”

  My stomach drops. He tilts his head, eyes narrowing slightly. “And—I swear I left this paper straight last time. It was a little off when I checked.”

  I blink. Swallow. “Uh. The earthquake last night?”

  He ‘huhs’. Nods slowly. “Thought the vault was supposed to keep everything in place…”

  I nod too. Casual. Totally normal. Definitely not full of sheer, pure, untamed panic.

  “Guess not.”

  Revilsa’s Note (yeah, I hacked the author’s account):

  If you’re reading this, congrats, you have eyeballs and taste.

  If you’re snitching to my dad? I hope your socks always get wet in the rain.

  What was your favorite moment in this chapter?