This is part of an original serialized fiction project written and edited by the author. All story elements and characters are fictional.

The night inside the Esmeralda building was unsettlingly quiet, like even the walls were holding their breath. In Teodora’s apartment, Leo, Lucía, and the old woman were going over their plan again — to hide the fragment before Méndez could get anywhere near it.

The black crystal pulsed softly inside the box, almost as if it sensed the tension in the room.

“We can’t hide it anywhere in the building,” Teodora said, arms crossed, eyes fixed on the Esmeralda’s map spread out across the table. “Méndez knows this place too well.”

“What if we take it outside?” Leo asked.

Lucía shook her head immediately. “That would make it even more vulnerable. We still don’t know what kind of resources Méndez has.”

Teodora nodded slowly, thinking.

“Then we need to be strategic. There is one place in the building that could work — but only if we can seal it off for good.”

Leo leaned in, pointing at a small space tucked behind the central heating system.

“Here?”

A faint smile appeared on Teodora’s lips. “Exactly. It was built as a technical room but never really used. It’s been closed off for decades. If we reinforce the entrance, it might be the perfect hiding spot.”

Lucía raised an eyebrow. “And how do we get it there without anyone noticing?”

Teodora tapped a section on the map. “There’s a service tunnel that connects the basement to that room. If we take it, we avoid the main parts of the building.”

Leo and Lucía exchanged a tense glance. The weight of the decision sat heavily between them.

“Then we do it now,” Leo said.

They wrapped the box in thick cloth and descended into the basement without another word. Their flashlights cut through the gloom, lighting up damp walls and thick layers of dust. The air was cold, and every step echoed louder than it should have.

“Where’s the tunnel entrance?” Lucía asked, scanning the room.

Teodora stopped in front of a metal grate. With effort, she pulled it open, revealing a narrow passage that sloped down into darkness.

“Right here,” she said, slightly out of breath.

Leo peered inside, frowning. “You’re sure this leads where we need to go?”

“As sure as I can be,” Teodora replied, flicking on her flashlight. “Let’s move.”

One by one, they entered the tunnel, the walls closing in around them. Lucía, walking behind Leo, clutched the box tightly, as if it might slip from her grip at any moment.

“How much farther?” she whispered after several minutes.

“Almost there,” Teodora answered from ahead.

Suddenly, a noise behind them froze everyone in place — a metallic scrape, faint but distinct, like something shifting in the tunnel they’d just passed through.

“What was that?” Leo asked under his breath, turning to shine his light behind them.

Lucía pulled the box close to her chest. “Do you think it’s Méndez?”

Teodora shook her head, but there was tension in her voice. “Unlikely. No one should even know this tunnel exists.”

The noise stopped as quickly as it had started. For a moment, the only sound was their breathing.

“Let’s keep moving,” Teodora said, her voice tighter now, with a sense of urgency they all felt.