And as our eyes met, the man had already gotten into a car with the police officer who had accompanied him
The silence was heavier than the air itself.
It felt as if the whole world had stopped after Miuco's last words
The watchers…
and those who follow them
I stared at her, unable to move my lips
Riko was staring between us, trying to understand anything
Miuco looked around anxiously,
as if she was counting time…
or waiting for something she knew would happen
Miuco took a deep breath
Then she spoke in a low voice:
"We need to leave this place now"
My feet didn't move
I said, trembling:
"Why?
Are we not safe here anymore?"
She didn't answer directly
Instead, she looked at the corridor behind us,
as if waiting for someone to appear at any moment
I said, my heart tightening:
"Miuco… why was the name Spectra written in blood on the wall?"
She stopped
For the first time, I saw her eyes tremble slightly
She spoke in a voice she tried to keep calm:
"Not now.
Not here"
But I didn't step back
I said:
"I want to know
Now"
She gave me a sharp look,
then closed her eyes for a moment,
as if she realized there was no way to avoid the answer
She opened her eyes and said:
"Spectra… it's not just a name.
It should have stayed buried"
Riko said in shock:
"You know Spectra?"
Miuco reacted faster than we expected.
She shouted:
"Not now!"
Her voice sounded like someone had been suddenly stabbed,
as if the name itself hurt
In the next moment,
a sharp light flashed on the ground
It wasn't car lights,
nor a lamp
It was sunlight reflecting… on a metallic object
Round
Polished
Unsteady
Miuco saw the reflection first
Her face changed completely
She said in a firm voice:
"Ginso, we need to move now
Someone is watching us"
We didn't run immediately
We walked quickly,
turned twice, then three times
Riko was panting,
and I tried to keep up with Miuco,
who knew the way as if she had practiced this escape many times
As if her body was moving from an old memory
She stopped suddenly in front of a rusty door
She pushed the wooden boards aside,
revealing a narrow hidden staircase behind them
We went down,
and arrived in an abandoned room,
with no light except a small broken window
Riko said in a voice full of disbelief:
"Miuco… how… how do you know this place?"
She didn't answer
And that alone was the answer
I couldn't take it anymore
I stood directly in front of her
I said:
"Why was your name on the wall?"
She froze,
as if her body turned to stone
Riko said loudly:
"Her name? What?"
I turned to him and said:
"Spectra
It's her name"
Riko looked at her in shock,
while she… didn't move
A long moment of silence passed,
then Miuco finally spoke:
"Yes
Spectra is my name
A name… from the past
A name no one should know"
Her voice had no defense,
as if she had been waiting for this moment for a long time
Before I could process her words,
we heard a very faint sound
Rustling
Then slow footsteps on the ground above us,
as if something was moving at the entrance of the hideout
Miuco moved close to the door quietly,
and pressed her ear against it
She stayed silent for a few moments,
then whispered:
"They found us"
She turned to us, pale-faced,
and said in a voice like a knife:
"Ginso, since you saw that vision,
you don't just see the possibilities anymore…
you have become
one of them"