HIDDEN ALPHA

The night was scarily quiet, the kind of silence that made Raven's skin have goosebumps. After the mysterious photograph had appeared in her apartment, she had been on serious alert, triple-checking the locks and keeping her phone within reach for the purpose of spontaneous calls. But tonight, even the small sounds of the city seemed to have disappeared, replaced by an oppressive quietness.

Raven sat on her couch, her father's old journal in her lap. She had found it kept away in a forgotten box earlier that evening, buried beneath years of old memories. The leather-bound cover was worn, the pages yellowed with age. As she flipped through it, she noticed rushed written notes and diagrams that seemed to correspond to some kind of research.

One entry caught her eye:

"Project Lycos: The key lies in the blood. Must protect the pack at all costs."

Her heart raced. What had her father been involved in? Before she could read deeper into the journal, a small noise disturbed the silence. A soft creak sound of the floor, like a footstep on a wooden floor.

Raven's head shot up. She wasn't imagining it. Someone was in her apartment.

She quickly turned off the lamp, putting the room into total darkness. Her breath came in small gasps as she listened carefully to hear any other sounds. Another creak, this time closer. Whoever it was, they were moving carefully and systematically.

Raven grabbed her phone and opened the flashlight app, holding it out like a weapon. Her other hand handled the journal tightly. She silently cursed herself for not keeping anything more useful, like a bat or pepper spray close to her.

The sound of a door being pushed open made her stomach drop. They were in her bedroom. She needed to act fast.

Raven crept toward the front door, praying the intruder wouldn't hear her. As she reached for the doorknob, a shadow moved in her surrounding vision. She froze, her blood turning to ice. The intruder was already in the living room.

Without thinking, she threw the flashlight beam directly at the figure. The sudden light disorganize them, revealing a tall, masked man dressed in black. For a small second, they both froze, staring at each other. Then the man jumped.

Raven screamed and dodge, narrowly avoiding his handling. She ran for the kitchen, her mind still racing. She took a knife from the kitchen counter and turned to face him, her heart kept pounding so loudly she could rarely hear anything else.

"Stay back! don't come close to me" she shouted with her voice shaking but firm.

The man didn't respond. Instead, he advanced slowly, his movements deliberate. His eyes, the only part of his face visible through the mask, were cold and calculating. He wasn't here to rob her; he was here for something specific.

'The journal' one of the men said.

Raven held it tighter, her mind thinking seriously about a plan. She couldn't let him take it, not after what she'd just read. Getting all her courage, she pretended a move to the left, then ran immediately to the right, aiming for the balcony door. The man hesitated for a moment, just long enough for her to slide open the glass door and step outside.

She was on the third floor. There was nowhere to go.

The man followed her onto the balcony, his tall figure showing in the dim light. Raven backed against the railing, holding firmly on the knife in one hand and the journal in the other. Her mind raced as she looked over the edge. The pathway below was dark and empty. If she jumped, there was a chance she wouldn't survive the fall.

But staying meant her death or capture was certain.

Before she could decide, the man jumped again. This time, she threw her hand out instinctively with the knife, catching him across the arm. He was shouting in pain but didn't stop trying to get her. Raven's foot fell on the slippery surface of the balcony, and she fell backward against the railing. The journal fell from her hand, and dropped on the floor near her attacker's feet.

He tried to hold the journal, but Raven kicked it out, she kicked the journal with her last strength and it slide across the balcony. she use the moment to jump to her feet and ran furiously back into the apartment, she immediately close the door behind her when she got inside her room. She locked it just as the man ran unconsciously into the glass, his hand knocking seriously against the door.

Raven didn't wait to see if the door would stand the knocking. She took her phone and dialed 911, with her hand and voice still shaking as she explained what was happening. The operator assured her that officers were on their way.

By the time the police arrived, the intruder has disappeared. The balcony door was scattered, and her apartment was in total disorganized state, but the journal was still there. Raven grab and held it tightly as she spoke to the officers, her mind racing with questions.

Who had sent the man? How did they know about the journal? And what was her father's connection to Lycos International?

One thing was clear: she was in far deeper than she had anticipated.

One entry caught her eye, written in bold, angry letters:

"If they find this, it's over. Protect the secret at all costs. The future depends on it."

Raven's breath seized. She didn't know what her father had been working on, but now she realize that it had made him lose his life over it. And now, it was putting her own life too in danger.

She looked out the scattered balcony door, the city lights shaking in the distance. Somewhere out there, someone was watching her, waiting for her next move. But Raven wasn't the type to back down or run away.

As the officers left, promising to increase patrols in her neighborhood, Raven sat on the floor of her apartment, surrounded by broken glass and scattered papers. She opened the journal again, her hands still shaking.

Holding firmly onto the journal, she made a silent vow within herself. Whatever her father's secret was, she would uncover it. And she would make whoever was behind this pay.

As Raven began cleaning up the mess, her phone rang again. Another text from an unknown number:

"This is your last warning. Drop the case, or face the consequences."

Her holding of the phone tightened. They wanted her scared, but all they had done was awaken a fire within her. She typed a quick reply:

"Come and try. I'm not afraid of you."

Hitting send, she felt an energy of relief and defiance. She didn't know who she the enemy was, but she knew one thing for sure: she wasn't going to give up easily and she prepared herself ready for a fight.

Outside, in the shadows of a nearby building, a figure watched her window. The light from her apartment flashed, and the figure smiled. The game was far from over.