In the days that followed, Maeve found herself moving in two worlds. By day, she worked at the siren maintenance center, pretending that nothing had changed. She walked the same halls, exchanged the same pleasantries with her colleagues, all while carrying the weight of the truth on her shoulders.
By night, she returned to the tower, working with the Resistance, learning more about the Council’s lies and the horrifying extent of their control. She studied the blueprints, mapped out the siren network, and began formulating a plan to dismantle the system from within.
But the more she learned, the more she realized how dangerous their mission was. The sirens were deeply embedded in every part of the city’s infrastructure. Disabling them would require not only precision but a level of risk she wasn’t sure she could take. One wrong move, and the entire city could descend into chaos.
Her thoughts were interrupted one night as she sat in the bunker, poring over schematics with Lily.
“There’s something else you need to know,” Lily said, her voice unusually quiet.
Maeve looked up, her eyes narrowing. “What is it?”
Lily hesitated, then pulled out a small device from her pocket. “This is a recording we found in the Council’s archives. We haven’t shared it with the others yet. I think you need to hear it first.”
Maeve’s pulse quickened as Lily pressed a button, and a voice crackled through the room. It was a man’s voice, old and weary, speaking in hushed tones.
"The sirens aren’t just for control. They’re a failsafe. If the system collapses, if the people start to remember—activate Protocol Zero."
The recording ended abruptly, leaving a cold silence in its wake.
Maeve stared at the device, her heart pounding. “What is Protocol Zero?”
Lily’s face was grim. “We don’t know. But whatever it is, it’s the Council’s last resort. If we get too close to the truth, they’ll trigger it.”
Maeve felt a chill crawl down her spine. She had thought the sirens were the worst of it—the mind control, the Fog. But now, there was something darker lurking beneath the surface. Something the Council was willing to unleash if they lost their grip on the city.
“We have to stop them,” Maeve whispered.
Lily nodded. “But to do that, we need to find out what Protocol Zero is—and how to disable it before they can use it.”
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OVER THE SIRENS🌸
Ciencia FicciónIn the distant future, society is ruled by a powerful global alliance that governs the last remaining cities on Earth. The world is recovering from decades of war, climate collapse, and disease outbreaks that devastated the population. Survival is n...
