Test

Miles away, in a high-rise overlooking the choking city, a laptop screen on a dust-covered desk flared to life.

I’m scared, Elias, Maya typed.

Using specific, inconspicuous symbols (like a notched tree or a stacked rock formation) to indicate a direction of travel.

On the high-rise desk, the screen glowed one final message.

If she typed it, she would cut the power to his life support systems—the air filtration, the reinforced locks. He was telling her it was okay. He was telling her that the Code—their pact—was more important than his survival.

With your world in place, it's time to create characters that inhabit it. Consider the following:

A word that sounds normal in conversation but signals "I am uncomfortable and we need to leave."