Chapter 20 · Blackout Ledger - Chapter 20: The First Entry

"That wasn't your brother."

Kael's voice cut through the dark before I could catch my breath. He was on his feet, one hand braced against the cracked terminal, the other still holding that blood-streaked reader.

"The hell it wasn't." I wiped my hand on my pants. The cut from the biometric lock was still bleeding. "I know his voice."

"You know a recording." He turned the reader toward me. The screen pulsed red. "The Ledger doesn't keep people alive down here. It keeps their last words on loop."

I wanted to hit him. Wanted to grab that reader and throw it into the dark until it stopped talking.

"Then why did he warn me?" My voice came out too loud. "Why say don't open it if he's already gone?"

"Because whoever put him in there knew you'd come looking." Kael's jaw tightened. "And they knew you'd hesitate."

The air was getting thinner. I could feel it in my lungs, the way each breath took more effort than the last. The sublevel was sealed. We both knew it. The vents had gone quiet an hour ago.

"So what do you want me to do?" I stepped closer.