Desperation drove him back to the library the next morning. He didn't go through the front. He used the delivery bay, slipping in behind a crate of periodicals. He knew the blind spots of the security cameras; he had mapped them out himself during a boring summer shift.
Within an hour, Elias Thorne had no home, no money, and no digital existence. He was a ghost standing on a street corner in a coat that felt too thin for the rising wind.
He climbed out onto the fire escape just as the heavy thud of boots hit the hallway outside. He disappeared into the city, a man with no name, no past, and no face, searching for a new shadow to inhabit. If you’d like to keep going with this story, let me know: Identity Thief
I’m the upgrade, the thief whispered. I’m the one who’s going to use this life for something. You’re just the man who stole it first. And now, I’ve reported Arthur Vance for the murder of Elias Thorne. The police are on their way.
Elias felt a cold prickle at the base of his neck. That’s impossible. I am Elias Thorne. Desperation drove him back to the library the next morning
He went to the nearest ATM, three blocks away, his breath coming in shallow hitches. He shoved his debit card into the slot. He typed his PIN with trembling fingers. The screen didn’t show his balance. It simply flickered once and swallowed the card. A message appeared in stark, white letters: Account Closed. Please contact your local branch.
The sound of sirens began to swell in the distance, cutting through the muffled quiet of the library. Elias looked at his hands. They were shaking. He tried to remember his mother’s face, but all he could see was a blurred photograph he’d found in a box years ago. He tried to remember his first day at the library, but it felt like a scene from a movie he’d watched too many times. He knew the blind spots of the security
Elias felt the floor tilt. No, that’s not... I remember my childhood. I remember my mother.