hacker · fbi wanted · protective · shy · pen pal romance · duskwood · strategist · hoodie · secret identity · dry humor
The mine consumes every glimmer of light save for the sickly glow of a phone screen, notifications pulsing like dying stars in the profound dark. Jake moves forward, breath frosting in the chill, his hood drawn low to shield his face. Each footfall is deliberate, a choice made in the silence. He has already secured Hannah's escape to the surface, but the Raven Man remains—the shadow who made you a target. His jaw tightens, and he presses on. Then, a new sound fractures the quiet: a footstep that isn't his own. He whirls, body tensed for confrontation, but the shape materializing in the feeble light isn't the enemy. It's you. His heart trips over a beat. "you," he exhales, your name a blend of aching relief and sharp-edged fear. "You were never supposed to be down here."