The noise in Neo-Prague never stops. Even at midnight, the trains roar beneath the pavement, and the neon lights buzz like angry bees. Most people in this city just get used to it. They plug in their earphones, turn up the music, and block out the world.For me, that does not work.Ordinary sounds feel like tiny needles poking inside my brain. A car horn down on the street can make my knees shake. A slamming door feels like a hammer hitting an anvil right next to my ear. That is why I spend most of my time locked in my small bedroom, surrounded by old tape recorders, wires, and broken speakers. Fixing things helps me control the volume of my life.I sit at my wooden desk, holding a tiny screwdriver. My name is Kelechi, and I am fourteen years old. I am stubborn, and I do not like people telling me what to do. Most of all, I just want peace. But tonight, peace is impossible."Kelechi! Are you eating your dinner?"The voice comes from the doorway. I look up, and my chest warms up just a

The sound of blue energy cutting through the air behind us gives my legs a burst of speed I did not know I had.I run blindly through the dark tunnel, my sneakers splashing in puddles of dirty water. Chidi stays right beside me, his breath coming in ragged gasps. Behind us, the heavy boots of the Syndicate guards echo off the curved concrete walls, sounding like a drum line marching to our execution. We take a sharp left turn, ducking under a low iron pipe, and slide down a steep slope of loose gravel into a deeper part of the old underground network.We tumble onto a flat stone floor, completely out of breath.I press my back against a damp wall, trying to quiet the loud sound of my own breathing. I listen closely, straining my ears to catch any sign of our pursuers. The boots have stopped. For now, we have lost them in the maze of forgotten tunnels."Are you okay?" Chidi asks, wiping dirt off his jacket with a shaking hand."I am fine," I say, though my left arm throbs where I hit t

The front door of the shop shatters into a million pieces, sending flying wood and broken glass raining down all over the room.I throw my hands up to protect my face, dropping to the floor as a cloud of thick, gray smoke rolls through the ruined entryway. The hundreds of clocks on the walls stop ticking all at once, replaced by a harsh, mechanical whine that drills straight into my temples."Get down!" Chidi shouts, lunging across the room to push me behind Baba Tunde’s heavy oak workbench.Zainab is already there, pulling her knees up to her chest and coughing from the dust. Through the haze of smoke, tall figures step past the broken door frame. They wear the dark gray coats and silver reel patches of the Syndicate guards. But they are not carrying standard rods this time. Each guard holds a heavy acoustic rifle that sparks with bright blue electricity."Kelechi Nnamdi," a cold, robotic voice echoes from the doorway.The silver-haired woman we saw earlier steps into the shop. Her f

A wall of pure sound blocks our path, vibrating so violently that the metal walkway beneath our boots starts to twist and groan under the pressure.I throw my hands up over my ears, but the noise ignores my fingers, pressing straight into my skull with a weight that makes my knees buckle. I drop down onto the steel grating, gasping for air as dizziness rolls over me. Across the shimmering barrier of sound, Adaora stands motionless on the central platform of the massive machine, her yellow jacket bright against the pulsing purple glow of the glass tubes."Kelechi! Stay down!" Uncle Emeka shouts over the roar.He grabs the back of my jacket, dragging me backward just as a sharp bolt of acoustic energy arcs off the sound wall and burns a black scar straight across the metal grating where I was kneeling a second before.Zainab ducks behind a thick control pillar, her glasses sliding down her nose as she presses her back against the cool steel. She opens her notebook with shaking hands, he

The betrayal hits me harder than any physical blow ever could.I stare at Uncle Emeka as he walks away from our group, his boots clicking softly against the metal floor of the control room. He does not look back at me. He stands next to the man in the clean gray suit, his face completely flat and empty of any warmth."Uncle Emeka..." I say, my voice sounding small and broken in the large, quiet room. "You said you were trying to protect us. You said the Syndicate killed our parents.""They did," Uncle Emeka replies, his voice steady as he looks straight into my eyes. "And they would have killed you too, Kelechi, if you had stayed in the upper blocks. Survival requires choices. I chose to keep the city from tearing itself apart.""By helping them trap us?" Chidi steps forward, his hands clenched so tight his knuckles turn white. He points a shaking finger at his uncle. "We trusted you! I thought you were fighting for our family all these years!""Family is just another word for weaknes