POV: Danny The lab smelled of blood and burnt fuel.Alyssa still held the shock rifle tightly, her fingers white from gripping the holster. Raj was taking deep breaths, his eyes fixed on Lena.“You bitch,” he spat, his voice raspy and injected with venom.And then, Lena dropped to her knees.“I didn’t do it to hurt you,” Lena cried, blue tears streaming down her face and dripping onto the metallic floor. “Please understand. His methods might be questionable. But the purpose…”Alyssa laughed, a sharp sound that echoed in the cramped room.“What purpose, slut? Watching us die? Turning the planet into his little castle?”“HE DOESN’T WANT PEOPLE TO DIE.” She looked at me, her eyes pleading for understanding. “Kovac doesn’t intend to use the weapons against anyone, he just wants to have ultimate military power. He’s trying to PREVENT wars, to stop the injustices plaguing the world. And he can do it. Through helium-3, there’s a chance we can finally bring peace to Earth, permanently. Don’t

POV: DannyThe lunar base creaked like a corpse writhing in its final spasms.Every step I took echoed through the empty corridors, blending with the constant hum of the crystals growing along the walls. Raj was hunched over the capsule’s panels, his left arm completely stiff and bluish.“How much time do we have?” I asked, wiping a sweaty hand across my face. My skin felt sticky, as if the sweat already carried traces of the poison consuming us.Raj didn’t look up. His still-human fingers typed commands with feverish urgency.“If the ignition system isn’t as screwed as we are, six more hours. If it is… well, then we’re going to be permanent decoration in this dump.”Lena walked into the room carrying a vial of murky liquid. From the smell, it was our last batch of synthetic “coffee.” She glanced at Raj’s petrified arm and then at me, her deep blue eyes dark as black holes.“You should be resting,” she said, handing the vial to Raj. “Every bit of energy you save now is more time later

POV: Danny“Alyssa! Alyssa!!!”The silence after the explosion was the most absolute I had ever experienced. Not even the music in my ears, not the hum of the crystals could reach the abyss of defeat taking hold of my heart.Lena and I stood in front of the reactor doors for too long, as if we were waiting for Alyssa to appear on the other side, laughing at the cruel joke she had played on us.She didn’t appear.“We need to go back,” Lena finally broke the silence, her voice as dry as the filtered air we breathed. “Raj must be finishing the repairs.”I didn’t move. My hands still pressed against the cold door, as if they could feel the warmth of the life that had been extinguished on the other side.“It’s my fault,” I whispered, feeling the tears streaming down my face.“It’s not your fault, Danny.”“She was under my responsibility. I should have—”She silenced me with a tight hug. I should have pushed her away, but instead, I stayed in her arms. My whole body was trembling from head

POV: LenaThe impact of the capsule hitting Droven’s surface made me tremble from head to toe.When the hatch opened, the air—thick with industrial smoke—burned my lungs. I couldn’t stop a small coughing fit.“Lena.”The voice made my heart race before my vision had even focused. Kovac stood there, his command uniform immaculate as always, his eyes darkened with a concern only I knew how to read.His arms wrapped around me with familiar ease before I could even attempt to get up.“You’re hurt,” he murmured against my hair, his hands running down my arms searching for injuries. The touch was firm, professional—but the almost imperceptible tremble in his fingers told me everything I needed to know.“The baby’s fine,” I replied, placing my hand over his and guiding it to my belly. “Your son is strong, Elias.”His eyes sparkled for a second before the Commander returned to the surface.“The doctor will examine both of you. After that, we need to talk.”. . .The exam room was spacious, wi

POV: DannyThe sound of footsteps behind me was metallic, rhythmic, as if whoever was back there wasn’t human, but a machine programmed to hunt.I ran.My lungs burned, my injured leg throbbed with every step, but I couldn’t stop. The complex’s walls narrowed ahead of me, blue roots pulsing like veins beneath a corpse’s skin."You sing like us."The boy's voice from the tank still echoed in my head, mixed with the deafening hum of synesthesia. My watch kept flashing: 4:23, 4:23, 4:23.Shit. Shit. Shit.I turned left into a narrower corridor lined with rusty doors. Some hung open, revealing rooms overtaken by blue crystals. Others were locked shut with rust.Where the hell was I? Somewhere near Droven? A hidden territory no one had access to, except for the madmen behind this project?The footsteps drew closer.I slipped into a lab and shut the door behind me. There was no lock, so I pushed a steel table in front of it, the legs screeching across the floor.My breathing was ragged. My