They left the auction without running.
Running made heads turn. Heads turning made witnesses. Witnesses made the system smile.
So they walked like normal people leaving a normal event.
Mara hated how easy it was to pretend.
The door man in the suit nodded as they passed. He did not say a name. He did not smile. He only watched.
Outside, the night air felt sharp and real. Mara breathed it in like water. Her hands still shook, but at least the air did not smell like perfume and quiet cruelty.
They walked two blocks before they stopped.
An empty parking lot. A dark corner behind a closed shop.
Theo turned his back to the street and pulled out his small camera. He checked the recording. His hands shook, but he nodded once.
Proof survived.
Nina stood with her arms tight around herself, like she was holding her body together. Tears sat on her lashes. She did not wipe them. She looked too tired.
Lark kept glancing at their foil pouch, like they were afraid the phone would start talking again.
Jace leaned against a wall, phone in hand, face calm in a way that made Mara angry.
Mara took out her notebook and wrote fast. She shoved the paper toward Jace.
GIVE IT TO ME.
Jace stared at the words. Then he shook his head once.
Mara's chest hurt. She wrote again, harder.
WHY?
Jace looked away for a second. Then he typed on his phone and turned it toward Mara.
I DID THIS TO SAVE YOU.
Mara's hands shook. She wrote back.
YOU BOUGHT MY PAIN.
Jace's jaw tightened. He typed again.
IF I DIDN'T BUY IT,SOMEONE ELSE WOULD.AND THEY WOULD USE IT AGAINST YOU.
Mara's throat felt tight. She wanted to scream, but she did not. Instead, she wrote:
THEN TRANSFER IT.
Jace's eyes flicked to his phone. His thumb moved once.
He opened a page and held it out so Mara could see.
OWNER TOKEN — LOCKEDTRANSFER BLOCKEDPAYMENT REQUIRED: BOND (MAJOR)
Mara's stomach dropped.
Bond major.
That meant the system would cut a relationship to move the token.
Nina stepped forward, shaking. She wrote on Mara's paper without asking, her pen pressing hard.
IT WILL PICK ELI.IF IT CAN.
Mara's heart sank.
Theo wrote on his own paper and held it up.
BOND (MAJOR) =IT CHOOSES THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON.
Mara stared at the words.
If she tried to take the token, the system would choose the person who kept her strongest.
It would cut that person.
It would call it "payment."
Mara looked at Jace.
So Jace was holding the token, but the token was also holding them.
A leash in the shape of "protection."
Nina's phone buzzed.
Nina flinched so hard she almost dropped it.
She looked at the screen, then her whole face broke.
She shoved her phone toward Mara.
A clean message sat there, calm and cruel.
FAMILY STABILITY NOTICEDependent bond: Eli P.Status: DUE SOONRecommendation: Confirm package to prevent degradation.
Two buttons sat under it.
CONFIRMNOT NOW
Nina's hands shook. Tears ran down her cheeks.
Mara grabbed Nina's wrist and pulled it down gently.
No buttons.
No feeding it.
Nina nodded, but her breathing was fast and scared.
Theo's phone buzzed too. A message from the Regret Market.
THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING.NEW LOTS WILL BE AVAILABLE WEEKLY.
Theo looked sick.
Lark's foil pouch vibrated once. A short buzz. Like the phone was trying to wake up inside the metal.
Lark froze.
Jace stared at the pouch, then wrote on his phone and showed Mara.
WE HAVE TO ASSUME IT RECORDED SOMETHING.
Mara's stomach turned.
Even when they tried to block signals, the system still left hooks.
Mara wrote one line.
WHAT DID THE SYSTEM OFFER YOU?
Jace's eyes tightened. He looked like he didn't want to answer.
But he did.
He typed slowly.
IT OFFERED ME A TRADE.
Mara wrote.
FOR WHAT?
Jace typed.
MY CLEAN SLATE.NO MORE PENALTIES.NO MORE PROXY TASKS.NO MORE GUARDIAN THREATS.
Mara felt cold.
A clean slate was the dream. That was what the system sold. "Fix your life."
Mara wrote again.
AND THE PRICE?
Jace's face went hard. He typed, then paused. Like the words hurt.
Then he typed again.
THE PRICE WAS YOU.
Mara stared, confused.
Jace kept typing.
NOT YOUR BODY.NOT YOUR LIFE.YOUR CONTROL.
Mara's chest hurt.
Jace typed again, faster now.
THEY SAID IF I BOUGHT YOUR REGRET,YOU WOULD STOP FIGHTING.YOU WOULD GIVE UP.YOU WOULD "STABILIZE."
Mara's hands shook with anger.
Mara wrote:
SO YOU DID WHAT THEY WANTED?
Jace flinched.
He typed quickly.
NO.I DID IT MY WAY.I KEPT IT OUT OF THEIR HANDS.
Mara wrote back:
YOU KEPT IT IN YOUR HANDS.
Jace looked at her for a long time.
His calm face cracked just a little.
Then he typed something else.
THERE WAS ANOTHER PART.
Mara's stomach dropped.
She wrote:
WHAT?
Jace typed:
THEY OFFERED ME YOUR SAFETYIF I HELPED ISOLATE YOU.
Mara's blood ran cold.
Isolate.
That was what the system always wanted. A person alone is easier to route.
Mara wrote, hand shaking:
IS THAT WHY YOU KEEP STANDING BETWEEN ME AND EVERYONE?
Jace's jaw tightened. He didn't deny it right away.
Nina stared at Jace like she wanted to hit him.
Theo's eyes widened.
Lark stood very still.
Jace typed again.
I DIDN'T SAY YES.I DIDN'T SAY IT OUT LOUD.BUT I…I LISTENED.
Mara felt sick.
Listening was still feeding it.
Then Jace typed the line that made Mara's skin go cold.
AND THEY TOLD ME SOMETHING ELSE.
Mara wrote:
WHAT?
Jace looked at Lark.
Lark's face went pale.
Jace typed, slow.
LARK ISN'T WHO YOU THINK.
Nina's breath caught. Theo stiffened. Mara's heart jumped.
Lark shook their head hard. They reached for paper fast, like they wanted to explain.
But Jace held up his phone again before Lark could write.
He showed them a message that had come right after he bought Mara's regret.
A system message. Clean. Cold.
FIELD ASSET: LARKOBJECTIVE: ISOLATE MARA
Mara's hands went numb.
Theo stared at the words like he couldn't believe them.
Nina's face twisted in rage and fear.
Lark's eyes filled with tears. They wrote fast, shaking, and shoved the paper toward Mara.
I DIDN'T CHOOSE IT.I WAS PRE-SIGNED.THEY TOLD ME TO DO IT.BUT I DIDN'T WANT TO.
Mara stared at Lark.
Mara wanted to trust Lark. Lark had helped them. Lark had warned them. Lark had drawn maps.
But the system could use truth and lies at the same time.
Lark wrote again, more desperate.
THEY PICKED ME BECAUSE I'M BLANK.BECAUSE NO ONE WILL MISS ME.I WANTED OUT TOO.
Mara's chest hurt at that last line.
Because it sounded like the kind of truth that could also be a tool.
Theo wrote on his paper, hands shaking:
WE NEED TO LEAVE HERE NOW.THIS PLACE IS NOT SAFE.
Jace nodded once.
Nina grabbed Mara's sleeve, begging with her eyes: Eli. Please. Don't waste time.
Mara looked at Jace, then at Lark, then at Nina, then at Theo.
Trust was breaking like thin glass.
And the system loved cracks.
Mara's phone buzzed.
A new message appeared, black screen, white text.
last seen online 3 seconds ago
Then a second line appeared under it.
THANK YOU FOR TRAINING ME.
Mara's blood ran cold.
Because it wasn't just watching their choices.
It was learning how to break them.
To be Continued
© Kishtika., 2025
All rights reserved.