Codex:Silver Wheel

Noah hurried to the site via GPS. He stood before a four-story crumbling stone building. The building, now abandoned, once served as a hostel. How could Joshua Preston live in a run-down apartment like this?

"I should tell the police," Noah muttered.

The problem with telling the police was that he had no concrete evidence and could get charged for hacking a game and invading the privacy of another person."

"I don't have time to take this leisurely," Noah muttered.

Noah looked around the empty streets before sighing in frustration. He jumped into the building through the broken window. Once inside, he turned on his cellphone's flashlight and walked further into the building.

Creak...Creak

The floorboards bent under the depression as rats scurried past him. Large swarms of cockroaches fled into tiny holes, escaping the blinding light.

Noah searched the rooms. He knew there was something he was meant to find, but he had no idea what it was. After a few minutes of searching, he soon found himself on the second floor.

He found nothing out of the ordinary, so he decided to check the coordinates a second time. He leaned on a relatively clean door.

"As I thought." There is nothing wrong with the location.

Noah turned to the door he was leaning on. "What a minute, why is this door so clean?". He exclaimed

Noah pushed the door, but it was sealed tight. Taking a deep breath, he turned to his side and slammed against the door repeatedly.

Dum!

Dum!

Crash!

The lock shattered forcefully, swinging the door open. Noah illuminated the room with his cellphone. The room was old and vacant; dust collected on the floor and cobwebs cascaded downwards. Apart from these minor features, there was nothing special about it. He turned to study the walls. The walls were adorned by old hazel-coloured wallpaper. 

Noah observed the walls keenly, not wanting to miss out on any details.

"Hmm...". Noah furrowed his brows. He grabbed the hazel-coloured wallpaper and began peeling back. Behind a conspicuous carving loomed, it looked fresh. Someone had left this here intentionally, but why?

The text read. "Silver wheel"

"Silver wheel?". Noah uttered his mind riddled with questions.

After some hours of scrutinising the building, Noah walked out, avoiding the gazes of passersby. He had found nothing else.

The golden sunlight just emerged bathing the world in its radiance; it was 7:00. Noah sat under a tree, trying to collect his thoughts.

The silver wheel is a symbol that represents the moon, but what connection does the moon have with Joshua Preston?

Noah took out his phone and called someone. His cell phone rang repeatedly before someone picked it up.

"Noah, thank God you're still all right; people have been dropping like flies." A panicked voice echoed.

"Yes, I am aware; I went digging into the whole codex situation and I found something," Noah explained, keeping his composure.

"I also found something." The voice chimed in.

"I discovered a place with the word's silver wheel etched on it; something tells me Joshua Preston is a factor in this incident." Noah relayed his findings.

The voice was silent for a few seconds before it added. "I discovered a barcode with coordinates attached to it; I was just about to check it out; I was wondering if you would like to tag along; we were in the same boat after all." The voice rang out almost like a plea.

Noah sighed, "Where are you?".

Noah opened the door to a cafe and scanned the area. He saw a hand waving at him. A blonde, chubby man around 23 smiled at him. His eyes were blue, and he donned a plain blue shirt.

Kyle is ranked No. 2 in the Codex rankings and is an avid gamer who is also studying engineering. We have been close friends since childhood. 

Noah sat opposed to Kyle. He was about to speak before Noah interrupted him. "Wait, I haven't had breakfast yet."

Kyle was dumbfounded; his eyes were saying, "This isn't the time for food."

Noah ordered scrambled eggs and toast with a cup of coffee. He rubbed his eye, then spoke. "So Kyle, You were you saying." 

"Okay, so yesterday, after Chris Hanson and the others started dying, I knew it was just a matter of time before something happened to the rest of us.

So I cracked the game; it wasn't too difficult since I had been attempting it for a while." Kyle explained. Noah narrowed his eyes and stared at him before nodding.

"I discovered a barcode in the data of the game; the barcode pointed to a location that's just a few miles from here. Along with a GIF of that 'Silver Wheel' you mentioned.

Kyle handed his phone to Noah, who scrutinised it. He munched on his bread and pondered for some seconds before speaking, Have you contacted the police yet?" Noah spoke plainly.

"Were on our own on this one. There isn't enough proof." Kyle shook his head and sighed.

"Okay, so where do the coordinates point?." Noah probed Kyle

"An old warehouse just south of here," Kyle answered.

Noah gulped down on his coffee before responding. "Okay, let's get going." Kyle's eye's widened.

"What? ...We can't just go barging in there; that's trespassing." Kyle explained 

Noah stared at Kyle intently. "Kyle, people are dying."

Kyle gritted his teeth, then sighed. "Okay, let's go."

He rose from his seat and accompanied Noah as they walked out of the café.

Noah and Kyle stood in front of a large concrete building. The warehouse was completely empty; no one was even guarding the entrance.

"I was meaning to ask, why are you attempting to crack the game?" Noah enquired

Kyle ruffled his hair and chuckled, "Oh, nothing, just a personal project.".

Kyle hastened, going ahead of Noah. While Noah stared back for a while, he continued walking.

Noah and Kyle steeped into the warehouse. The interior was dark and empty; however, some light filtered into the buildings through the glass windows.

At the corner of the room stood an object draped in a white shroud. Unlike the rest of the building, the object was dust-free. Yellow light poured on the side of the object, half illuminating it.

Noah and Kyle stared at the object in an eerie silence. There were no footprints leading up to the object.

Noah walked toward the object while Kyle followed closely behind. He approached the object, placing his palm on it. "It is warm; was someone using it? Then how come the floor is still covered in dust?

Kyle grabbed the shroud and pulled at it with effort. Whoosh! wind displaced from this scattered dust in all directions.

Noah covered his face with his palm, preventing it from entering his eyes. He pulled his palm away and stared at the object. What stood in front of him was a huge piece of technology. It was a curious object; something about it was out of place; it looked like...

"A supercomputer." Kyle cried out.

"What is something like this doing here of all places? It's a bit odd." Noah chipped in.

Maybe we can get so much actual information from this, Noah pondered. "Can you turn it on?" He enquired of Kyle.

"Impossible. There is no power source." Kyle shook his head vehemently

"Hmm, that's odd; I could have swore that I felt warm from it." Noah adjusted his glasses.

"It's probably heat from the sun." Kyle responded.

Beep...Beep...

The computer that was originally inactive began booting. Kyle and Noah simultaneously step back, ready to run.

The computer began displaying images of seven individuals sitting in a tall tower, overlooking a city. Symbols of a Chalice, Three Orbs, A Raven, A Cherry Blossom, A Withered Hand, and A Seal Tag: the symbols turned to blurry colours, and the colours converged into a silver wheel.

The computer screen suddenly turned black, then displayed a certain text:

Time till Data Extraction: 4:39:59

Noah stared at the monitor, sweat forming on his temples. While Kyle stood there in shock, he was as pale as a ghost. 

"What the hell is this?" Kyle exclaimed, staring at Noah.

Thump!

Noah's mind drifted, his gaze locked on the computer. Fractured memories of the dreams he had been having flashed into his mind.

Thump!...Thump!...Thump!

His heart began pounding faster and faster, and suddenly he grabbed his chest and shut his left eye.

No gasping for breath "Am I, am I dying?"

"Hey man, are you alright?" Kyle called out to him.

Noah couldn't hear anything.

Plop!, Noah collapsed on the floor. 

Several hours later, Noah opened his eyes slowly; his vision was blurry. He gazed to the side and saw that his arm hooked up to some machines; the beeping sounds filled his ears. He was in the hospital.

Noah groans slightly and raises his head; his eyes meet with those of his mother; she was sitting beside his bed, holding his arm. Noah reached out to the desk beside him and grabbed his glasses.

"Mom..." Noah called out 

"Am sorry, I can't even take care of myself." Noah smiled selflessly.

His mother grabbed his arm tighter. "I'm just glad your alright." Tears were welling up in her eyes as she spoke.

Noah stared at the clock hung on the wall. "It was 2:30 am; I have been asleep for over three hours." 

"Just rest, Noah; you're going to be alright." She reassured him.

Noah sank back into his bed and stared at the ceiling. "What about dad?" He enquired of his mother.

Noah's mom stared at the floor. "He is..." 

"Not here, as usual." Noah's voice grew cold suddenly. 

"Noah, It's not like that, your father; he cares a lot about you." She reached to grab his arm. But he moved his arm away hers.

Tick...Tick...Tick

A tense silence filled the room. Time moved slowly as neither Noah nor his mother uttered a word to each other. "2:39".

Noah stood up from his hospital bed. He hadn't completed his investigation. He smiled at his mom and spoke, "Mom, Thanks a lot for visiting, but..."

Thump...Thump...Thump

Beep...Beep...Beep

Noah grabbed his chest and crouched down to the floor. "It's happening again." Noah groans in pain. He began gasping for air. He soon found it had to breathe; his lungs were failing.

Noah's mother rushed to his side, grabbing his shoulder. 

"Doctor! she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Beep...Beep

5...4..3

Noah's psyche was fading swiftly "This time, I really feel like..."

2...1

Thud!

Noah's pulse ran cold. His mother screamed his name but to no avail.

Data Extraction Complete