Page 45 of Dig Your Grave

I blinked in confusion.“Sabotage the library?Why?”

Sophie gave a languid shrug.“Does the reason matter?We want to prove your loyalty and your skill.The library’s security network is a key point of campus integrity, records, rare manuscripts, financial documents.We want it vulnerable.”

A sinking feeling spread in my stomach.I worked at the library.Margrett, the head librarian, had always been strict but fair.She’d lose her mind if she discovered us tampering with the new security cameras and digital locks.

Anubis’ jaw tightened.“There must be dozens of ways to do that.What exactly do you want us to do?”

Sophie’s smile was razor-sharp.“We’re not your babysitters, Captain.Figure it out.You have three nights to deliver evidence the system is compromised, screenshots, printouts, something tangible.If you fail or refuse, we’ll know how to handle you.”

She turned toward me.“Better not let your sentimental attachment to that library deter you, Nubia.Sentimentality kills.”

Cold dread settled around me.I forced myself to nod.

The hooded Skulls member stepped forward, passing us a small plastic bag with a flash drive inside.“Consider this a…tool.Use it carefully if you must.”

Sophie brushed invisible dust from her coat sleeve.“We’ll expect results.That’s all, novices.You may go.”

With that, she turned, motioning for the hooded figure to follow her out.Their footsteps echoed down the spiral stairs, leaving Anubis and me alone in the tower, a swirl of unpleasant tension in their wake.

He exhaled, combing his fingers through his brown hair.“Sabotaging the library.Great.”

I swallowed past the lump in my throat.“We can’t just break the system.It’d hurt so many people and my job depends on it.”

He slid an arm around my waist, pulling me close.I realized how shaky I was.“We’ll find a way to do it partially,” he said, voice firm but soft.“Cause minimal damage.Enough to fool the Skulls but not enough to truly harm the library.”

I nodded, relief warring with anxiety.I had to trust Anubis on this one.He was the computer science major.“Yes.That’s our only choice.”

The metallic ticking of the clock mechanism filled the silence between us.We lingered a moment, gazing out the tinted clock face at the campus below.Even though the world looked peaceful, I felt as if everything had changed.

“Let’s get out of here,” Anubis whispered finally.

By the time we returned to the caretaker’s cottage, it was past one in the morning.We sat around the desk, heads close, whispering.

“Security system sabotage,” I muttered, flipping through some technical manuals we’d dug up.“Margrett installed new cameras and digital locks just last semester.They’re on the campus intranet, which is also connected to the student records.That’s probably what the Skulls want, access to grades, transcripts, financial stuff.”

Anubis scratched his chin.“Could we do a partial infiltration?Make it seem compromised but not give them the real keys?”

I thought back to my work shifts in the library.“We might create a dummy login for them.They’d see what looks like a wide-open door, but really it’s just a small slice of data that we control.”

He nodded.“That way we’re technically sabotaging the system while limiting the Skulls’ actual power.We can feed them nonsense or partial info.”

“But will that be enough to fool them?”I worried.

His gaze flicked to the flash drive Sophie had given us.“This drive might install a backdoor.If we run it on the library’s main computer, they’ll see the infiltration.But if we add our own failsafe first, we can block them from deeper layers.They’ll only see what we let them see.”

Our eyes met, and a tiny ember of hope flickered.“Let’s do it,” I said.“We’ll need to be stealthy.”

He set a hand on mine.“We have three nights, right?Let’s pick a time when the library is deserted.Possibly very late, after your shift ends.”

I let out a shaky sigh.“Okay.Tomorrow’s Saturday, so the library closes earlier.That could work.”

“We have a party first, remember?”

I rolled my eyes.But I’d said I would go.

We spent another hour drafting a plan, deciding which computers to target, how to disguise ourselves from the cameras, and how to slip in and out without triggering suspicion.By the time we finished, my eyes burned from exhaustion, and dawn was only a few hours off.

“Come to bed,” Anubis said softly, nodding toward the small cot we kept in the back room for stolen naps.His voice was laced with concern.“We can’t think clearly if we’re dead on our feet.”

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