Hide and Seek: The Mad Girl Sees All novel Chapter 77

Chapter 77

When Lyra and Lydia reached the basement, the iron door was already open.

Ambercat was crouched in front of the door, its front paws still resting on the slot, completely motionless, its eyes glazed

over.

Lyra glanced into the depths of the supermarket. There was only this iron door, and no other round slot.

Just one door, just one access.

Ambercat’s ears twitched.

Lyra bent down, slid her hands under Ambercat’s belly, and scooped it up.

‘Whoa, it’s heavy, Lyra thought.

‘Seriously, this cat is heavy,’ she muttered to herself.

Lydia blinked, a bit thrown. “Lyra? What’s going on?”

“We gotta take it back,” Lyra said, one hand under Ambercat’s butt, the other around its chest. The cat’s legs dangled, tail drooping. “The Book of True Names doesn’t have a set control time. If it wakes up here, we’re screwed.”

Lydia glanced at Ambercat’s glazed eyes. “Yeah, let me handle it. I’m quick.”

“Okay, hurry back,” Lyra said.

Lydia grabbed Ambercat and bolted upstairs.

1

Lyra stood at the iron door. “No one went in yet?”

“We were waiting for you,” Lina said, glancing inside. “Didn’t dare go in alone.”

Lyra walked up to the door, listened for a few seconds. It was way too quiet inside. “You guys wait here. I’ll go in and check it out first.”

“Alright. Goddess Lyra, you got this!” Lily cheered.

“Be careful, Lyra,” Lydia said.

“We’ll keep watch here. Just call if you need anything.” Sergei added.

Lyra carefully pushed the door open and stepped inside. It was still pitch black. She switched on her flashlight and froze both sides were lined with cat beds, climbing towers, and other cat supplies. Was this heavily guarded place really just a cat home?

‘Bruh, Lyra thought, totally dumbfounded.

Lyra wasn’t convinced, so she kept looking around. Sure enough, after a few steps, she spotted another door-no slot, no lock. She pushed it open.

What greeted her were rows of metal cylinders lining three walls, each about eighteen inches across, arranged neatly from floor all the way up to the ceiling.

Lyra leaned closer to one. At the bottom, colorful lights spun around like tiny whirlpools, the colors mixing and shifting-

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each cylinder had its own swirling palette.

“What is this? Lyra thought to herself. I have no clue, but it doesn’t seem dangerous

“Come with me, Lyra said, turning back to lead the others inside.

“Whoa!” Lily whispered, her eyes wide.

Lydia scanned the walls, counting the glowing cylinders. “Less than half of them are lit up.”

The place was packed with cylindrical containers-at least a hundred, easy. Less than half were glowing; the rest were just dull metal, their bottoms pitch black, no light at all.

“What are these?” Lydia asked, stepping closer to one of the glowing cylinders. She didn’t touch it, just leaned in to check out the swirling lights at the bottom.

Lyra shone her flashlight on the metal panel of the cylinder. There were some words on it, but she couldn’t make heads of tails of them.

“Anyone know what this says?” Lyra asked.

Lydia leaned in for a look, then shook her head.

Sergei checked it out too, frowning. “It’s not Ursarian, and it’s not English either.”

Lily stood on her tiptoes, stretching as far as she could, but she still couldn’t see a thing.

Lina leaned in close to the cylinder, staring at the writing on the metal panel for a few seconds. Her expression shifted.

“This is Marsupia,” Lina said.

Lyra turned to look at her.

Lina’s finger hovered over the cylinder, not daring to touch it. “I recognize the writing. It says ‘Marsupia-that’s the name of the country.”

Lyra glanced around the room, taking in all the cylinders. “Each one stands for a country.”

With that, she stepped away from the group, holding her flashlight high and sweeping it along the walls as she searched.

“Go find the one for your country,” Lyra said.

The four split up, each heading off in a different direction.

Lily was the fastest, but since she was short, she could only check the bottom row. She swept her flashlight along the base of the wall, passing seven or eight containers before suddenly stopping in her tracks.

“Goddess Lyra! Down here! It’s Draconia!” Lily shouted, her voice full of excitement.

Lyra hurried over. Right in the middle of the bottom row, a cylinder had two characters carved into its metal shell-in Draconian, spelling out “Draconia.”

The light at the bottom swirled, shifting between red and gold.

“Goddess Lyra, look! Draconia is glowing!” Lily crouched down, her face bathed in the red and gold light.

Lina quickly found the container for Southern Reach, tucked away in the corner. The glow at the bottom was weak, just a single pale blue light.

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Lydia spotted Ursaria’s container in the middle of the second row. The glow was bright, with three distinct colors swirling together.

Sergei stood silently in front of a container marked for Belsoria. The glow at the bottom was only slightly brighter than Southern Reach’s.

All five of them had found their country’s container, each standing in a different spot in the corridor.

Sergei spoke up. “We found them. Now what?”

Lydia turned to look at him.

Lina stared at the faint, almost fading light at the bottom of the Southern Reach container, her fingers clenched tight ather sides.

“Goddess Lyra, what does this mean?” Lily asked, looking up.

Lyra crouched in front of the Draconia container, her flashlight off. The red and gold light washed over her face as she stared at the swirling glow, saying nothing.

After a few seconds, she stood up.

“Lil Lily, go to the supermarket,” Lyra said.

Lily blinked, caught off guard.

“Just grab something to eat, anything’s fine. Hurry back,” Lyra added.

“Got it!” Lily said, spinning around and bolting out.

Lyra reached up and touched her right ear.

At Draconia Strategic Command, Lana was glued to the screen, watching Lyra’s every move.

Her hand rested on the desk.

“She just touched her car, Lana said.

The tech specialist from the communications team immediately turned around. “Chief Advisor?”

“Connect to Lyra right now,” Lana ordered.

The signal connected in less than two seconds.

Lyra’s voice came through the comms, fast and urgent. “Lana, get someone to the usual spot where we receive the System items. I need to run a test.”

Lana didn’t ask why. “How many people?”

“Just one for now. Make sure they have comms. Let me know when they’re there,” Lyra replied.

Lana raised her hand, making a gesture with three fingers toward the communications team, then pointed her index finger at the door.

The tech specialist got it instantly, pushed back their chair, and bolted out.

Garrett was jotting down notes nearby. He looked up. “Chief Advisor, did she find something?”

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Lana’s eyes went back to the screen, where Lyra was crouched in front of a glowing container, the red and gold light washing over her face.

“No idea. Let’s wait and see,” Lana said.

Lily dashed out and was back in under a minute, clutching a bundle of dried noodles.

“Goddess Lyra, here you go!” Lily said, handing them over.

Lyra took the noodles and weighed them in her hands.

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