Page 44 of Lost Echoes

Focus. Don’t argue. Save what you can.

N1ghtingale:

If Phoenix is gone?—

The words choke me. I cut in:

Don’t say it. He’s not gone. He can’t be.

Luke’s jaw tightens, but he doesn’t contradict me.

The last bar flashes green. We’ve saved what we can.

GhostNode confirms with a single line:

Mirrored. Fragmented. Hidden.

Then the directory names vanish from the live server list. Deleted as if they had never existed.

A hollow ache opens in my chest. “We got them, right? We saved them.”

Luke nods, though his expression is grim. “Some of them. Enough to prove something real. But not enough to stop this alone.”

I look at Phoenix’s still-lit username, cursor frozen. He hasn’t logged back in.

“What if they found him?” My voice cracks on the question.

Luke reaches over, gripping my hand tight. “Then we make sure his work doesn’t vanish with him. That’s the only way to honor him.”

A lump forms in my throat. I want to believe him. But staring at the cursor beside Phoenix’s name, I can’t shake the feeling that the stage lights just went dark on one of our only allies.

The chat window is too quiet, like a room where everyone’s holding their breath. I hate that Phoenix’s username still glows, but there’s no sign of him.

Luke leans back, running both hands through his hair. “If Phoenix is compromised, then Ghost, Compass, and Nightingale could be next. Us too. We need to decide now—do we stay in this, or do we walk away? And do we want to bring in your dad?”

The question lands like a stone in my stomach. “My dad?”

“He’s a cop.”

My mind swirls with all the possibilities. We could walk away and pretend none of this is happening. Leave the kids who are still down there, the survivors who’ve already risked everything. Leave Phoenix.

But what about Billa, Kenzi? Or Fenna? She could be next. They might just be waiting for her to be old enough to start the experiments. The fact that they tried to run her off the road makes it clear now they have their eyes on her.

“We don’t walk away,” I say, my voice steady even as my hands shake. “We go deeper. With them. All the way. No matter the cost. And we leave my dad out of it. Let him keep protecting Fenna.”

Luke studies me, his mouth forming a frown. Then he nods once, firm. “Then we commit. We work with the network, we build the release, and we accept what comes. But we need to consider bringing him in. He knows things we don’t.”

I don’t like the idea, but I not anyway.

GhostNode:

I’m in.

Compass14:

Together or not at all.

N1ghtingale: