Chapter 1 - The secret
Hi, my name is Mira.
I work at my father’s science laboratory.
Yeah, I know. It sounds pretty cool, right? Well... sometimes it is.
The laboratory is a huge building filled with machines, computers, strange equipment and scientists who always seem to be working on something I don’t understand. My father is the main scientist here, so I’ve practically grown up around all of it.
But there is one thing about this place that I’ve never understood.
The basement.
More specifically, the last room in the basement.
My father has always told me never to go there.
“Don’t even think about opening that door, Mira.”
Those were his exact words.
Whenever I asked him why, he’d just stare at me for a few seconds before changing the subject.
Which, obviously, only made me more curious.
I’d seen the basement many times. Most of it was used for storing old equipment and experiments that weren’t being used anymore. But the hallway at the very end was different.
There was only one door.
A heavy metal door with no window.
And my father had made it very clear that I wasn’t allowed anywhere near it.
I had tried asking some of the other scientists about it once.
They went quiet.
One of them actually told me, “You should listen to your father.”
That was it.
No explanation.
Nothing.
So, naturally, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
One night, I had to stay late at the laboratory because my father was still working. I was sitting upstairs, scrolling through my phone while waiting for him.
The building felt strangely quiet.
Usually, there were people talking, machines running and footsteps echoing through the halls.
But that night...
Nothing.
I finally stood up and decided to look for my father.
I walked through the empty corridors until I reached the stairs leading to the basement.
I stopped.
I don’t know why.
Maybe it was because of that stupid forbidden room.
Maybe it was because the basement suddenly felt colder than usual.
Still, I walked down.
Step.
Step.
Step.
The fluorescent lights above me flickered as I reached the bottom.
I hugged my arms and looked around.
“Dad?” I called.
No answer.
I started walking toward the main laboratory storage area when I heard something.
A sound.
Very faint.
I stopped.
At first, I thought it was one of the machines.
Then I heard it again.
A low, strained moan.
My heart started beating faster.
“Hello?”
Silence.
I took another step.
Then I heard a voice.
A boy’s voice.
Deep.
Weak.
Almost like he was struggling just to speak.
“Help...”
I froze.
The voice had come from the end of the hallway.
The forbidden room.
For a few seconds, I just stood there.
My father’s warning repeated inside my head.
Don’t even think about opening that door.
Then the voice came again.
“Please...”
I swallowed.
Someone was trapped in there.
Someone needed help.
And suddenly, I wasn’t thinking about my father’s rules anymore.
I was thinking about the boy behind that door.
I slowly walked toward it.
My hand reached for the handle.
And for the first time in my life...
I was about to find out what my father had been hiding from me.2
