The figure in the armor towered over them, its hulking presence casting a long shadow that seemed to swallow the light from their faint escape. Its eyes were hidden beneath a helmet, but there was something cold, mechanical in the way it moved—a chilling sense of inevitability.Jeremy's heart hammered in his chest as he tried to steady his breath. Maya, beside him, was gripping her gun so tightly her knuckles were white. But she wasn’t aiming at the armored figure; her focus was on the creature they had just battled. It seemed disoriented, stumbling back under the masked man's assault, but it wasn’t done yet.The armored figure raised its weapon, and the low hum of its energy filled the air. It was unlike anything Jeremy had ever seen before, a weapon that buzzed with power, radiating a cold, calculated danger. He could feel the tension in the air, like the calm before a storm, and the ground beneath him seemed to pulse with the creature's energy. It wasn’t just a

Jeremy’s heart raced as the new figure emerged from the shadows, its presence suffocating. This one was even more menacing than the last—its body encased in darker, more intricate armor, its glowing eyes piercing through the darkness like twin beams of death. It moved slowly, deliberately, and the very air seemed to bend under its weight.Maya, still on the ground from when they’d been thrown into chaos, scrambled to her feet. Her gun was trained on the figure, but her hands trembled as she fought to steady herself.“What the hell is that?” she breathed, her voice hoarse, filled with disbelief.Jeremy didn’t answer immediately. He couldn’t. The figure’s presence was too overwhelming, and his mind raced to process everything that had just happened. He had destroyed the core—he was sure of it. But this... this was something else entirely. This wasn’t just another soldier. This was a command unit, one designed to lead the other machines. A machine that could

Darkness.The cold, impenetrable kind that suffocated everything. It surrounded Jeremy, clouding his thoughts, and leaving him disoriented, lost. The taste of dirt was thick in his mouth, and his chest ached with every shallow breath. He couldn’t tell if he was still alive, or if his body was simply a casualty of the destruction. His mind screamed for clarity, but the world around him refused to give him any answers.Then, a voice pierced the silence.“Jeremy… Jeremy, can you hear me?”It was faint, barely audible, but it was enough. His head spun as he tried to focus, his body instinctively reacting to the sound. He wanted to respond, but his throat was dry, and his lips felt numb.“Maya?” His voice cracked as he managed to rasp out her name, the word barely a whisper against the void.“I’m here,” she replied, the relief in her voice undeniable. “Are you okay?”Jeremy took a deep, shaky breath, trying to gathe

The deafening roar of the collapsing ceiling echoed in their ears, the ground shaking violently beneath their feet. Chunks of concrete and debris rained down, and the air was thick with dust and the stench of burning metal. Maya stumbled, her legs weak, as she tried to keep her balance under the onslaught. Jeremy grabbed her arm, pulling her away from the falling rubble, but the tunnel ahead had turned into a war zone.The door they’d been heading toward was now blocked by a pile of twisted metal and rock, leaving only the collapsing hallway behind them as an option. Jeremy’s heart pounded, the oppressive weight of their situation pressing down on him.“This way!” Maya shouted, her voice urgent but steady. She had already turned, heading down a narrow passageway on the side, one that had been obscured by rubble until the explosion.Jeremy hesitated for a fraction of a second, glancing back at the door, now completely obscured. But there was no time. He fol