(Y/N)'s POV:
I waited for what felt like hours for both of my parents to leave.
The second the door closed behind my mom I jumped out of my seat on the living room couch and rushed to my room. Since, the address the detective left me was only about an hour away, I didn't really need to pack much. There were, however, a few things I would need.
I tore through my room trying to find my old flash drive. I had used it once in my junior year for an English project and I had a feeling it would come in handy. After digging through the abyss of my closet, I finally pulled it out. "Gotcha," I smiled, holding up the USB. I wasted no time in connecting it to my laptop and quickly deleting everything on it to clear up space for more important things. I didn't know if I would actually find anything useful, but I had a gut feeling that I would find something.
Once the flash drive was cleared, I pulled it out and shoved it in my pocket, giving it a small tap with my hand for good measure.
"It's go time," I grinned.
Without a second thought, I scrambled for my car keys and raced out the door. I threw myself into the car and started the engine, then pulled out my phone and entered the address into my navigation app.
The clock was ticking.
The drive to the detective's house was fairly uneventful. As much as I wanted it to be like a scene in a movie where the main character is on their way to save the city, zooming past cars and making such harsh turns that the tires can't help but to screech, I wasn't in a movie.
I sighed and tapped the steering wheel impatiently. I had been in such a rush that I didn't even turn on any music. Would this be a bad situation to waste time finding the right playlist? Probably. I sighed again and turned on the radio. Some upbeat pop song started playing, but I didn't pay any attention to it. Instead, all I could think about was what was waiting for me at my destination.
What was waiting for me?
"In 300 feet, turn right," an electronic voice stated.
I shook my thoughts away and continued to follow the directions and eventually, I found myself in front of a house... if you could even call it that.
The building in front of me had definitely seen better days. Between the boarded-up windows, trash infested yard, and the decaying wood, I could tell no one had been to the house in a long time.
Did the detective actually live here at some point?
I parked my car and made my way closer to the house, watching my steps carefully as I waded through the overgrown and littered lawn. I began to question if I even had the right address, but the numbers hanging precariously next to the door confirmed I was in the right place.
"I guess this is it," I sighed.
Suddenly, I wasn't so sure I would actually find anything. Had the detective led me to a dead-end?
Then, the thought crossed my mind to message EJ. I thought about it for a moment, then decided it would be best for at least one person to know where I was. So, I grabbed my phone and sent him a message.
Me: Hey EJ, I just got to the house. It's real old and I'm not too confident I'm going to find anything.
To my surprise, he responded almost instantly.
EJ: Just do your best to look around.
Me: ok. I'll update you on what I find.
I put my phone away and stepped up to the door. Using the key that was given to me, I unlocked the door and slowly pushed it in, a cloud of dust kicking up from the floor and entering my lungs.
"Gross," I muttered, fanning at the air and coughing.
I quickly got over my disgust and rushed inside, shutting the door behind me. I didn't know how much time I had, so I needed to hurry.
I'm not sure how I was expecting the inside of the house to look, but it definitely didn't look like anyone had lived in it recently. The furniture was covered in sheets, and anything left uncovered had a thick layer of dust over it. I moved further into the house and began looking around, walking past numerous family photos and seemingly important items. It was as if whenever the people who lived here left, they had planning on returning.
I opened a door in the hallway and found myself in what appeared to be the office. A small desk sat at the back of the room and a bookshelf was tucked off to the side. I walked towards the desk swiftly, my eyes focused on the computer resting on top.
That was my target.
I slumped into the chair and stared at the computer. The computer stared back.
Did this place even have electricity? There was no way... right?
Despite that, I still attempted to power on the computer and to my surprise, it worked.
"Huh," I stated. "I guess the detective was still playing for the power bill in this place. Weird."
The computer started up slowly and then my heart sunk.
There was a password. A password I didn't know.
"Fuck!" I exclaimed.
I decided to message EJ. Maybe he would have an idea.
Me: The computer has a password. I don't suppose you know how to hack it?
EJ: I might know someone. Give me a minute.
He knew a hacker? I wanted to ask about his apparent hacker friend, but before I could even start typing, my phone started ringing.
"Hello?" I answered.
"(Y/N), it's EJ. I have my... acquaintance here with me. You're on speaker phone," he replied.
"Great! What do we need to do?" I questioned.
"BEN is going to track your location through this call, then use your IP address to locate any devices on the network. From there, he should be able to find the computer and hack into it," he explained.
"Okay. Got it."
A few seconds passed by and then a string of curses interrupted the silence.
"(Y/N)? Are you still there? BEN was able to get past the password, but there's some kind of advanced security measure even he can't hack. Are you able to get onto the computer at all?"
"Let me try," I replied, clicking the house a few times in an effort to wake the computer back up.
The screen restarted and I was met with the home page.
"I'm in."
I plugged my USB in and quickly transferred all the files, wondering what secrets might lie ahead.
But nothing could have prepared me for what I would eventually find.
•••••
1116 words
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