The alarms were still screaming, red lights painting the walls like blood. Davion’s heart pounded in his chest, his father’s words still echoing in his head. Weak. Always weak.He clenched his fists. No. Not this time.“Keep moving!” Beverly shouted, grabbing the half-conscious girl Davion had saved. Maya covered their backs, gun raised. Rami hacked into the next panel with his tablet, sparks flying as he worked.“This is insane,” Rami muttered. “Your dad built this whole place like it’s a giant death trap.”“Yeah,” Davion said, voice low, “because it is.”They pushed forward into another hall, this one filled with shattered glass pods. Davion’s stomach dropped. He knew this place. The smell of chemicals. The cold steel floor. The faint whir of machines meant to break kids down and rebuild them.“Home sweet home,” Davion muttered bitterly.Beverly shot him a sharp look. “Don’t do that. Don’t slip back. You’re not who he made you.”Davion swallowed hard and nodded. She was right. But e

The alarms wouldn’t stop screaming. Red lights spun across the walls, shadows jerking like they were alive. The floor shook under their feet, dust falling from the steel ceiling with every boom of the reactors failing.Davion’s lungs burned, but he didn’t stop running. He couldn’t. Not when everything was about to blow. Not when his father was still talking through the intercom like some messed-up god.“Children,” the voice thundered, glitching with static but still sharp enough to make everyone flinch. “You were born in fire. You’ll die in it.”“Shut up!” Maya yelled, flipping her middle finger at the ceiling like the voice could see it. “You sound like a bad video game boss!”“Focus!” Beverly snapped. Her hair was damp with sweat, her grip on the rescued girl tight as they ran. The girl’s legs kept buckling, but Beverly didn’t let go. “Rami, how far to the core?”Rami was half running, half staring at the glowing tablet in his hands. “Two corridors, then a lift. But the system’s loc

The alarms were still screaming in their ears when the steel doors slammed shut behind them. The sound was this horrible mix of mechanical grinding and high-pitched sirens, like the place itself was alive and pissed off.“Great,” Maya muttered, running her hands through her hair. “Now we’re trapped in a metal coffin. Love that for us.”Davion ignored her, eyes locked on the core room ahead. The glass walls pulsed with an orange glow, like the heart of a monster just waiting for them to step closer. His stomach twisted.Beverly stepped up beside him. “This is it, huh?”“Yeah,” Davion said, though his throat felt tight. “The brain. Genesis doesn’t breathe without that thing.”Rami tapped furiously at his tablet. “If I can get access to the control system, I can fry it from the inside out. But it’s not gonna like that.”“Meaning?” Maya asked.“Meaning,” Rami said, giving her a look, “every defense protocol will trigger. And trust me, this place has way too many defense protocols.”Davion

The walls shook like the whole place was breathing. Every step echoed like thunder. Pipes hissed above them, red lights flashing, alarms wailing nonstop. It was like Genesis itself didn’t want them there.Davion ran in front, jaw tight, fists clenched. Beverly was right beside him, her hand never leaving the hilt of her blade. Behind them, Rami kept muttering curses under his breath, and Maya looked way too excited for someone sprinting into a literal death trap. Lina stumbled a little but forced herself to keep up, pale and terrified but still moving.“You know,” Rami panted, glaring at Davion’s back, “when you said ‘let’s take down Genesis’, I didn’t think you meant literally run into the belly of the beast while it’s exploding. Just saying!”“Do you ever stop talking?” Maya shot back, her voice sharp but weirdly energized.“No! That’s my thing!” Rami snapped.“Your thing is being annoying,” Maya muttered.“Better than being homicidally cheerful about running into danger,” Rami fire

The chamber felt like it was collapsing around them. Sparks flew from the walls, alarms blared in a shrill rhythm, and the floor trembled under their feet.Davion slammed into his father, shoulder-first, driving him back. The armor clanged, echoing like a war drum.His father barely budged. Instead, he grabbed Davion by the throat, lifting him like he was nothing.“You’re weak,” he hissed, eyes glowing. “You don’t deserve this fight.”Davion clawed at his grip, choking, but still managed to rasp, “If I’m weak… then why are you scared of me?”That actually made his father hesitate for half a second—just enough. Beverly came flying in, blade blazing, and sliced across his arm. The grip loosened, Davion dropped to the floor, coughing.“Touch him again and I’ll make sure you lose more than an arm,” Beverly snapped, planting herself between them.Maya twirled her blade with a smirk. “Finally. Took you long enough to land a hit.”“Shut up and fight!” Beverly yelled.Maya grinned wider. “Gla