The faint light before dawn flickered through the small apartment's windows. Amir and Lina sat on the kitchen floor, their tea cups now cold in their hands. Amir studied the small device the masked man had given him. There was nothing but a set of coordinates on the screen, leading to somewhere in the outskirts.
Lina's voice broke the silence, trembling slightly. "We can't go... this is madness!"
Amir looked at her, trying to calm her down. "But they saved you. If they know who's behind the fake videos, maybe we can stop this chaos."
Lina grabbed his wrist, her eyes wide. "You're not seeing it. What if they're part of the game? What if they're the ones creating the chaos?"
Her words hit him harder than he expected. He looked down at the device again. The circle and line symbol flashed in his mind, reminding him that they were tangled in something bigger than just fake videos.
By the time dawn came, they found themselves in front of an abandoned factory on the outskirts of the city. The walls were covered in cryptic writings, the same circle and line symbol scattered among them like a warning. The heavy iron door creaked open as they approached, almost as if it was waiting for them.
Amir pushed the door open with his shoulder.
"Who's there?!" he called out.
Only their own footsteps answered. Inside, the dim lights of broken monitors flickered on the upper floor, casting eerie shadows. The scent of decay hung in the air as they cautiously climbed the rusty stairs.
They reached a room filled with strange transmission devices and tangled wires.
A voice echoed through the room.
"Welcome, guests."
Amir spun around, his heart racing. The masked man stood before them, a smirk on his face.
Karim, the scarred man, stood silently by his side, his eyes burning with a challenge.
"Why us?" Amir demanded, his voice strained, but trying to mask his fear.
Before anyone could answer, an elderly man stepped forward, his wrinkled face etched with experience.
"Because you noticed the deception when no one else did. Because you are... different."
"Different?"
Amir repeated, confused.
"I'm just an ordinary person!"
Karim laughed, the sound cruel and mocking.
"Ordinary people don't run from armed militias to save their sister."
The tension in the room thickened as they sat around a metal table. Chomo, the elderly man, leaned forward.
"The Line is not just a group. It's a network of activists, hackers, and informants. Their mission is to track down the sources of disinformation and destroy them before it spreads."
Amir's stomach churned
"But the video... the one we saw. Was that part of it?"
Chomo nodded grimly
"That was just the beginning. Fake news is a weapon used to destabilize. Someone wants to overthrow the system, and they're using information to do it."
Amir swallowed hard, a lump forming in his throat, he said
"Who?"
Before Chomo could answer, a red light exploded in the room, and an alarm blared, cutting through the tension like a blade.
"They found us!" Karim shouted, scrambling to his feet.
The monitors flickered to life, showing black cars without license plates gathering outside the factory. Dozens of armed men stepped out, holding massive tracking devices.
"There's a secret exit!" Chomo shouted, pointing to a back door. "Go! We'll meet at the secondary location!"
Amir and Lina ran through dark, cold tunnels, their breaths coming out in visible gasps. Behind them, explosions echoed, followed by screams. They didn't stop running, even when Lina pointed to a wall at a crossroads.
"Look!" she whispered, breathless.
On the wall was the symbol. The circle and line. Glowing faintly in the darkness.
"Follow it!" Amir said urgently, remembering Chomo's warning.
They continued running, emerging from the tunnels and onto the roof of a nearby building. The first rays of the morning sun bathed the city in an eerie orange hue. But the view made their hearts stop. The entire city was engulfed in a thick, black smoke. In the distance, columns of fire rose from peaceful neighborhoods.
Lina's phone buzzed in her hand. She checked it quickly, her eyes widening in shock.
"New video… 'Military Coup The Government Falls in the City!'
" she read aloud, watching the comments flood in by the thousands.
Amir's fingers tightened around the small device Chomo had given him. A new message appeared on the screen:
"They know you know. You're the next target."
He looked at Lina, then out at the burning city. The options were narrowing fast—escape or face the forces behind this chaos.
"We need a plan…" Amir whispered, as the wind carried the acrid smell of smoke toward them.
But deep down, the real question wasn't the plan. It was whether it would be enough to stop those who were playing with fire.