Silas slowly walked down the stairs below the trapdoor, eventually coming to a room lined with bulletin boards. Pictures and names of victims sprawled across them, pinned in haphazard patterns, a grim testament to the Watcher’s reach.

  But Silas didn’t linger. In the center of the room lay a small chest, its lock conspicuously missing. Without hesitation, he drew a lockpick and, in less than ten seconds, the chest clicked open. Inside lay a folded note labeled “Task 3.”

  Silas unfolded it, each word hitting him like a cold gust.

  "Kill Evan by tomorrow, or you know who will face the consequences."

  His hands trembled slightly as he crushed the note. The choice was obvious. Evan or Elena. His jaw tightened. Elena comes first. Always.

  When he returned home, he noticed a window left open—a rookie mistake on the part of whoever had been watching him. Silas didn’t panic, though. He entered his room and found the photos he had stolen from Leah’s house missing. The masked man was clearly trying to thwart his investigation.

  No matter. Silas had a photographic memory. He could reconstruct the images in his mind without the originals.

  The next day at school, Evan was absent for the third day in a row. Silas acted indifferent, though inside, his mind was racing.

  “Silas,” Ms. Caldwell’s voice cut through his thoughts. “Do you have any idea where Evan may be? He has been absent for three days in a row.”

  Silas turned slowly, staring at her as though she had asked him to calculate the mass of the sun. “How would I know?” he replied evenly.

  “Well… it seems to me you two are quite good friends.”

  “That doesn’t mean I stalk him,” Silas said flatly.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Ms. Caldwell didn’t push further. Truth was, Silas did know exactly where Evan was. Sometimes, he even checked in on him—discreetly, of course.

  Later, after school, a notification buzzed on Silas’s new phone:

  "That’s unfortunate. Seems like you will have to spend your day looking for him."

  Silas glanced at the message, then gave a small thumbs-up. Without another word, he headed toward the cathedral where he had last dueled with the masked man.

  Upon arriving, the shadows seemed to stretch longer than usual. A faint mist clung to the ground. And then, the masked man emerged from the darkness.

  “So, you really think Evan will be here?” the man asked, his voice dripping with amusement.

  “Is he not?” Silas countered.

  At that moment, Evan stepped out from behind a stack of crates, Elena also slowly emerged beside him.

  The masked man froze. “Impressive,” he muttered, eyes narrowing.

  “Now I won’t have to do your ridiculous tasks anymore,” Silas said firmly. “You’re always one step ahead—but you know what’s better than being one step ahead? Being two steps ahead. From your photo, I figured out where Elena was hidden. Then the next day, during the blind spots when you weren’t watching me, I sent Evan to rescue her.”

  The masked man laughed. “You really think you can stop me, Silas? I am capable of far more… far worse. You’ve only seen the beginning of the pain I can bring to the world. Soon.”

  Before Silas could respond, the man’s figure flickered and dissolved, the faint glow of his hologram fading into the cathedral’s shadows.

  “Impressive,” Silas muttered. “Hologram tricks.”

  Evan rolled his eyes, sarcasm dripping. “So… are we just going to stand here? No thank you? No hugging your sister?”

  Silas turned to Elena, kneeling beside her to check her over. “You’re hurt, but not badly,” he said quietly, brushing dust from her hoodie and untangling strands of hair from her face. “You’ll need some ice for your wrists, though.”

  “Thanks,” Elena whispered, her voice still shaky. She leaned slightly against Evan for support.

  Evan smirked at Silas. “Finally! I was starting to think I wasn’t part of the epic rescue team.”

  “You were part of the plan,” Silas said, lips twitching slightly as if he were about to smile. “But don’t get used to it. You still have a lot to learn about following instructions.”

  “And you’ve got a lot to learn about giving credit,” Evan shot back.

  Silas ignored him, returning his attention to Elena. “This is the last time you’re left alone. From now on, we handle everything together.”

  Evan leaned against a bench, hands in his pockets, grinning. “For now, huh? Sounds ominous.”

  “Be quiet,” Silas muttered. Yet, for the first time in days, a small sense of relief eased the tightness in his chest. They had survived this round. The masked man had been outplayed—for now.