Silver octome memories

Outcome Memories – Closed Sector

The corridor ends abruptly at a broken wall. Silver stops and raises his arm, forcing him to brake. The lights flicker once, twice. The sound of the exe is close, slow, steady.

Silver points to a lateral opening, barely visible between the structures.

"There," he says.

They duck behind the wall just as a shadow crosses the corridor. The exe moves slowly, distorting the surroundings. The space vibrates.

The protagonist leans his back against the wall, holding his breath.

—Tell me he didn't see us.

Silver watches through the crack without moving.

-Not yet.

-"Not yet?

—If it had detected us, the system would have already reacted.

The executable stops. The sound changes, becoming deeper.

"It stopped," the protagonist whispers.

"Don't talk," Silver replies softly. "He's analyzing."

A few tense seconds pass. The exe seems to lean forward, as if searching for something.

"It's very close," says the protagonist, almost voiceless.

-I know.

—What if he comes in here?

Silver barely turns his head.

—He's not going to do it.

—How are you so sure?

—Because this sector interferes with its tracking.

The exe moves a little further… and then continues on its way. The sound slowly fades away.

The protagonist exhales.

—I thought it was already done.

Silver waits a few more seconds before moving.

—Never consider something finished prematurely.

—That was unnecessarily intense.

—It was efficient.

They emerge from hiding. The hallway is damaged where the exe passed: dead lights, unstable floor.

"Is that going to follow us all the time?" the protagonist asks.

—As long as we're off the road, yes.

-Brilliant.

Silver starts walking.

—Stay close. —And don't improvise.

—And what if I have no choice?

Silver stops and looks at him.

—Then do it quickly.

The sound of the exe is heard again, distant but present.

Silver continues to advance.

—Come on. He's not going to get lost on his own.

They both get lost in the hallway before the lights go out again.