Solfa couldn't focus in class.
She tried. She really did.
But every time she looked at the board, every time she tried to follow what was being said, something else pulled her attention.
The hum.
It wasn't faint anymore.
It wasn't something she could brush off as an imagination.
It was there.
Constant.
Like a second layer beneath everything else.
"..and as systems become more advanced," Mr. Harlan was saying, "they begin to respond not just to input, but to patterns".
Patterns.
The word hit harder than it should have.
Solfa's grip tightened around her tablet.
A flicker.
The lights above them dimmed for half a second.
No one reacted.
Her eyes snapped upward.
"Did you see that?" she whispered.
Mira glanced at her. "See what?"
"The lights"
"They're fine".
Solfa looked again.
They were.
Perfectly steady.
Her chest tightened.
No.
That happened.
She knew it did.
By lunch, the pressure in her head had built into something she couldn't ignore.
It wasn't plain.
It was… presence.
Like standing too close to something powerful, something humming with energy just out of sight.
"You're scaring me a little", Mira said quietly, watching her.
"Good", Solfa muttered. "Because I'm scared too".
Mira leaned forward. "Talk to me".
Solfa hesitated.
Then, lower this time, "I think something's trying to reach out to me".
Mira froze.
"...what?"
"I don't know how to explain it", Solfa said quickly. "It's not like a voice. It's more like signals. Patterns. Like something is… pushing against my thoughts".
"That's not normal".
"I know"
Mira sat back, clearly unsettled now. "We need to tell someone".
"Who? And say what?" Solfa let out a small, breathless laugh. "Hi, I think the city is talking to me?'
Mira didn't answer.
Because there wasn't a good answer.
After school, Solfa didn't wait.
She left before Mira could stop her, before anyone could ask more questions; she didn't know how to answer.
She needed space.
Air.
Distance.
But the moment she stepped outside, it got worse.
The hum surged.
Not louder, closer.
Her breath caught.
"No… no, no, no-"
The city shifted.
Not physically, but underneath.
Lines.
Everywhere.
Running through the streets, buildings, and lights.
Connecting everything.
Moving.
Alive.
Solfa stumbled back, gripping the nearest wall.
"Stop", she whispered. "Please- just stop".
The lines pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
Then, everything snapped back.
Silence.
Stillness.
Normal.
Solfa's heart slammed against his ribs.
"That wasn't in my head", she said shakily. "That was not in my head".
Her phone buzzed suddenly in her pocket.
She flinched.
For a second, she didn't want to touch it.
But it buzzed again.
Slowly, carefully, she pulled it out.
Unknown Number.
Her stomach dropped.
"Yeah… no", she whispered. "I'm not taking that">
The phone buzzed again.
Then again.
Then-
The screen glitched.
The caller ID changed.
Not to a name.
Not to a number.
But to a single word:
CONNECTED
Solfa's breath hitched.
"What…?"
The phone stopped buzzing.
Silence.
Her hand trembled a little as she stared at the screen.
Then, a message appeared.
No notification sound.
No sender.
Just text.
WE SEE YOU.
Solfa dropped the phone.
It hit the ground with a sharp crack.
She stumbled back.
"No".
Her pulse roared in her ears.
"No, no, no- this isn't happening-"
The screen lit up again.
Even from the ground, she could see it.
Another message.
YOU CAN HEAR US NOW
Solfa shook her head, backing away.
"I'm not doing this", she said, her voice unsteady. "I'm not".
The streetlights flickered.
All at once.
Every single one on the road.
On.
Off.
On.
Off.
Then, they stayed on.
But dimmer.
Watching.
Her breath came faster.
"I don't understand this".
Her phone vibrated again on the ground.
She didn't want to look.
She really didn't.
But something in her chest, something deeper, pulled her toward it.
Slowly, she stepped closer.
Knelt.
Picked it up.
Her fingers were cold.
The screen glowed faintly in her hand.
Another message.
This one is longer.
YOU WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO WAKE LIKE THIS
Solfa's vision blurred.
"What does that mean…?" she whispered.
A final message appeared.
Slower this time.
Like it wanted her to read every word.
THE OTHERS DID NOT SURVIVE
Her heart stopped.
The hum surged.
Loud.
Overwhelming.
And for a split second, she wasn't standing on the street anymore.
She was somewhere else.
Dark.
Cold.
Metal.
Voices screaming.
Then silence.
Solfa gasped and stumbled back into reality.
Her phone slipped from her hand again.
"No-no, no-"
Footsteps echoed behind her.
Fast.
Closing in.
"Solfa!"
She turned sharply.
Mira.
Running toward her.
Relief flooded her chest until she saw her expression.
Not confused.
Not worried
Terrified.
"What did you do?" Mira demanded, grabbing her shoulders.
"I didn't-"
The streetlights flickered again.
Harder this time.
The hum spiked.
Mira's grip tightened.
"Solfa… something's wrong".
"I know that!"
"No", Mira said, her voice dropping. "I mean something is coming">
Solfa froze.
"...what?"
Mira's eyes shifted past her.
Toward the end of the street.
Solfa turned slowly.
At first, she saw nothing.
Just shadows.
Stillness.
Then… movement.
A figure stepped forward.
Tall,
Still.
Watching.
Another shape appeared beside it.
Then another.
Not people.
Not quite.
Their movements were too precise.
Too controlled.
Solfa's chest tightened.
"... who are they?"
Mira didn't answer.
Because she already knew.
The streetlights flickered one last time.
And went out.
Darkness swallowed the road.
The hum roared.
And from somewhere ahead, a voice broke through the silence.
Cold.
Calm.
And not human.
"Target confirmed"
Solfa's breath caught.
Because in that moment, she realized something terrifying.
This wasn't random.
This wasn't an accident.
They weren't looking for someone.
They were looking for her.