Going Digital

Going Digital
Sarah's POV

Once more, my phone buzzed. One more message.

"Detective Chen, give me an hour. In Denver, we just killed a college student. Amy Martinez was her name. Look at the news.

As I searched Denver news on Google, my hands were shaking. My stomach dropped when I saw the headline, "College Student Found Dead in Campus Parking Lot."

I muttered to Elena, "They're not bluffing."

Anger flared in Elena's silver eyes. "We must locate their website. At this moment."

Hayes continued to laugh uncontrollably. "You are unable to locate us. We make use of specialized software. Everything was encrypted. You will never be able to locate us in time.

At that moment, an incredible event occurred. Elena approached Hayes, who had his laptop open on his desk. As soon as she placed her hands on the keyboard, the screen began to glow with the same silver light that was shining in her eyes.

I said, "What are you doing?"

Elena gritted her teeth and said, "Something I've never tried before." "I can have an impact on more than just individuals."

The screen of the laptop flickered. More quickly than anyone could read, lines of code began to appear and vanish. Elena was somehow using her mind to control the computer.

"That's impossible," Hayes exclaimed.

Elena grinned, but her expression was tense. "Hayes, you forgot something. Your human rules don't apply to me."

Suddenly, a dark webpage with a skull logo appeared on the screen. "The Hunters" was written in red letters at the top.

Elena said, "Found it," but her face was dripping with perspiration. "I can't keep up this connection for much longer, Sarah. You must pick things up quickly.

I hurried to the laptop. The website appeared to be a perverted form of social media. People's profile pictures were displayed, but they were of crime scenes rather than ordinary photographs. Scrolling through the posts made my hands feel nauseous.

I pointed to the screen and said, "Look at this." "They have an entire forum devoted to exchanging victim information."

"Organizing a weekend hunt in Chicago," one post said. Does anyone know of any good places? "Just finished with a jogger in Seattle," said another. left her in Forest Park.

Like they were discussing weekend plans, these monsters were discussing murder.

Elena's voice was growing softer. "Sarah, find the list of members. We must ascertain the number of people we are coping with.

I selected the "Active Members" tab. My blood froze when I saw the top number.

"There are 127 active members, Elena. plus an additional 300 people they refer to as "supporters."

"Supporters?"

"Those who assist the murderers but do not commit murder themselves. They offer funds, information, and safe havens.

Elena was beginning to lose her hold on the laptop. Once more, the screen flickered.

"Hurry," she exclaimed. "Find the information about Colorado."

After searching for Colorado, I came across "Operation Silver Hunt," a private chat room. As I read the messages, my heart raced.

One message said, "The entity will come to save the hostages." "We'll have silver weapons and iron chains ready."

"Detective Chen has been tracked," read another message. We are aware of her address, the name of her partner, and even the veterinarian who treats her cat.

They were fully aware of me.

Then I noticed something that infuriated me. Someone named "Network_Leader" posted pictures of innocent people.

"We begin killing one hostage every hour tomorrow if the entity and her pet detective don't show up by midnight. Twelve innocent people are prepared to perish.

A young mother, an old man, a teenage boy, and others were depicted in the pictures. All bound together in what appeared to be a warehouse.

"They have hostages, Elena. actual people who didn't do anything wrong.

Suddenly, Elena connected to the laptop. She fell backward as electricity exploded from the computer.

"Elena!" She fell, and I grabbed her. She had extremely cold skin.

She muttered, "I'm okay," but it was obvious that she wasn't. "Technological control requires more energy than I anticipated."

Hayes was gaping at us. "How did she do that?"

"Shut up," I yelled at him. I turned back to Elena after that. "Is it possible for you to repeat? We require additional details.

Perhaps. However, it won't last long. Elena found it difficult to sit up. "What else did you find?"

I continued to read the posts on the forum. "This has been planned for months. They refer to it as "The Final Hunt." The plan is to murder us both before going deep underground."

"Underground?"

"They intend to discontinue using the website. Put an end to electronic communication. Return to being lone murderers who don't communicate with one another.

Elena's face turned white. "We'll never find them all if they vanish after this."

I discovered a map by scrolling down. Locations throughout the nation were indicated by red dots.

"Take a look, Elena. They are not limited to Colorado. Every state is home to some of their members.

Major cities were surrounded by red dot clusters on the map. There were fifteen members of Los Angeles. There were twelve in New York. Chicago had eight.

"This is bigger than we imagined," Elena uttered feebly.

My phone buzzed with a call at that moment. The number displayed as "Network_Leader."

I questioned, "Should I answer it?"

Elena gave a nod. "Put it on speaker."

I took the call. "This is Detective Chen."

A man's calm, icy voice could be heard. "Detective, I'm amazed at how fast you discovered our website. Your friend who is supernatural is very gifted.

"Let the hostages go," I insisted. "This is between us."

"Oh, but Detective, the hostages are the main focus. We've done a lot of research on Elena, you see. She only arrives when there is danger to innocent people. Therefore, we ensured that many innocent people would be in danger.

Elena bent toward the telephone. "What do you want?"

"Easy. Both of you travel to Colorado. Tomorrow. Midnight. The hostages are released if you come by yourself.

"And if we don't?"

"Twelve innocent people then perish. Twenty more that we have secured in other places come next. Then forty more. Detective, we can do this all day.

I was furious and my hands were shaking. "You're ill."

"We work effectively. To avoid falling into our trap, how many innocent people are you willing to let die?

The line died.

Elena and I gazed at one another. Both of us were aware that this was precisely what the murderers desired. They were forcing us into their trap by taking the lives of innocent people.

"We have to go," I said. "Those people cannot be killed by them."

"Sarah, it's suicide. Dozens of murderers will be waiting for us.

"Then what do we do?"

Elena remained silent for a while. Then her silver eyes glowed once more.

Slowly, she said, "We give them exactly what they expect." "But not in the manner they anticipate."

"What do you mean?"

Elena got up and made her way back to the laptop. When she touched it once more, silver light appeared on the screen.

"I want you to gain new knowledge, Sarah. How to use computers to track down individuals.

"I have no knowledge of hacking."

"Hacking is not necessary. You must go hunting. Elena's voice was growing louder. "One mistake was made by these murderers. They believe that technology will keep them safe. However, technology is merely an additional means of tracking prey.

A new page appeared on the screen. Real names, IP address lists, and location information began to surface.

"How are you doing this, Elena?"

"I can sense how their computers are connected electronically. similar to tracking footprints, but online.

My heart stopped when I saw something on the laptop screen. A real-time video stream from what appeared to be a warehouse.

I could see the hostages in the video. In a large, empty room, they were all strapped to chairs. A few were in tears. Others appeared to have lost hope.

But my blood didn't freeze for that reason.

At least thirty people were mask-wearing and standing behind the hostages. They were all armed. Crosses, iron chains, silver knives, and other objects I couldn't place.

And a person without a mask stood in the middle of the group.

Sheriff Morrison was the one.

Upstairs, he was to be paralyzed. However, he was in Colorado conversing with the other murderers.

"Elena," I muttered. "How is Morrison doing? He was frozen by you.

Elena glanced at the stairs as she turned around. Her face turned white.

"That wasn't Morrison upstairs, Sarah."

"What?"

"His face was being worn by someone else. Using his persona."

A new message flashed up on the laptop screen: "Surprise, Detective Chen. All day long, you have been conversing with a phony sheriff. The real Morrison has been in Colorado getting ready for your arrival with a welcome party.

My entire world swayed. Everything Morrison told us might have been false if he was a fake. The website, the Hayes information, and even the number of murderers.

"How many people are we actually dealing with, Elena?"

The laptop screen went black before Elena could respond. Then, in vivid red letters, came one last message:

"You have eighteen hours, Detective Chen. Tomorrow at midnight. Visit Col
orado or watch live television as innocent people are killed. Sarah, too? We have already entered your home.

From upstairs, I heard a sound.

In my kitchen, someone was moving around.