Page 4 of Unlocking Ruin

The neon keyboard lights make it feel like a party—until you screw up and death crashes the celebration.

The worst part? I didn’t mess up. Frank did. Worse, he blamed me. I discovered his plan weeks ago. Frank was a hacker too, a decent one who—guess what—worked at BANKS Corp. That gave him access to tokens and keys he and I both needed to pull off the hacks. Frank didn’t bother covering all his tracks; he pointed the digital tracker at me, so he and my mom could get away. That’s when I chose self-preservation over a nonexistent dysfunctional family.

Then what, Rylan? Where are you going after? Because the fallout will be nuclear!

No one ever talks about the after. What occurs after you erase yourself, exist no more, but are still alive, just as a new individual.

Damn. Life is stressful.

My music fades as I lift my headphones. I shove more of my long brown hair back behind my ears, annoyed by the weight of it clinging to my face.

I’m only just an adult; twenty-four years old. I don’t even know who I am yet.

Rylan never had a chance.

Anticlimactic, but that’s what I want, right?

Safety. Love. Control. I want all of it. I want to love myself, but how can I when I haven’t discovered who I am? I’ve always followed orders—until tonight.

I slide my headphones back into place. Qveen Herby’s song ‘Overnight’ blasts into my ears. It’s the song I picked for the final act.

“Fuck it.” I smash my finger down and watch the detailed email send. It’s filled with all the metadata, timestamps, and proof it was Frank who stole the money and not me.

“Fuck you, Frank,” I mutter. “I hope you enjoy the show,” I sing.

Some hackers like to party after the job is finished. Over-analyzing is a habit for some—like me. My mind acts as a screen where I review every breach. I double-check that I turned off alerts, even though the job is finished.

I regret not taking my headphones, but I don’t want anything from that house—not memories or a change of clothes. My running provides the soundtrack as my shoes hit the pavement. With every step, I move farther from my family’s home, and I feel lighter, braver. Like I’ve grown an inch. No one is going to fuck with me again.

Hey, girl, you’re still in town, let’s calm our tits until we get on that bus.

One final stop before I disappear. I have to get rid of my laptop, hidden at the university library. Frank was stupid to use his personal computer and leave it behind.

Does he honestly think the founding families won’t hunt him down and skin him alive? If they catch me first, I’ll rat; there is a code amongst hackers, but Frank lost that loyalty long ago. I’ll point my finger at him like an elvish warrior aiming a bow.

Did my love of Lord of the Rings go too far there? Hell no, there is no such thing as too much Legolas.

I race toward campus, passing kids returning from a 2 a.m. pancake run after destroying their livers. My back feels like shower tiles: slick, soaking wet, and grimy. I’m sweating so much it’s both concerning and fascinating that my body still functions under this much anxiety.

I slow to a walk, not intentionally. I can’t breathe, but I can’t risk an Uber. Rylan is gone now, there’ll be no more tracks. I paid cash three days ago for that bus ticket. After that, I have no idea; maybe a tornado will sweep me to Oz. With my luck, the Wizard will be some fucked-up hybrid of my mom and Frank.

The sudden buzz in my hoodie pocket feels like Mount Saint Helens erupted again. I just lost a part of myself.

Nope. I breathe a sigh of relief. I didn’t piss myself, but my heart is in my stomach, being churned and digested.

Buzz. Buzz.

I pull out my phone. A text flashes on the screen. “Shit!” I hang my head.

Bre8kMe:

You’re late. Should I be concerned?

Bre8kMe is a hacker like me. We met on a dark web server, we just clicked, and now we chat all the time. Occasionally we hack into questionable places… or governments.

We’re not bad; we’re not Frank. On the contrary, Bre8kMe is more white hat, and he’s determined to get me to wear one. He started a hacking business and asked me to help him when I can. Businesses hire us to find holes in their systems, ensuring they can be fixed and not exploited by real villains.

That’s why he’s texting me. I forgot we had a job tomorrow, and we always talk about it the night before.