The door handle twisted slowly.
Kelvin stood frozen in the middle of the room, his breath trapped in his chest. The sound of metal turning against the lock felt painfully loud in the silence. His eyes stayed fixed on the door as his heart pounded wildly.
Knock. Knock.
"Kelvin," a voice called softly. "Open up. It's me."
The voice was familiar.
Kelvin hesitated, fear and relief fighting inside him. Slowly, he moved toward the door and looked through the peephole. His shoulders relaxed when he saw his friend standing there, looking nervous and sweaty.
He unlocked the door and pulled it open.
"You almost gave me a heart attack," Kelvin whispered.
His friend rushed inside and closed the door behind him."You shouldn't be here," he said. "Someone came looking for you. They were asking too many questions."
Kelvin felt cold.
"So it's true," he murmured. "They really are after me."
His friend nodded."I don't know what you did, but whoever they are… they don't look like people you want to mess with."
Kelvin reached into his pocket and pulled out the flash drive."This is why," he said quietly. "It belonged to my father."
His friend stared at it."Then you need to disappear."
A loud bang suddenly hit the front door.
Both of them jumped.
"They found you," his friend whispered.
Kelvin's chest tightened."What do we do?"
His friend looked around the room, thinking fast."There's a back door, right?"
Kelvin nodded.
Another bang came, louder this time.
"Go," his friend said. "Now!"
They slipped out through the back just as angry voices echoed from the hallway. Kelvin could hear someone shouting his name.
They ran into the dark street, their footsteps echoing as they disappeared into the night.
Kelvin knew one thing for sure.
There was no turning back.