Chapter 11 – The Place That Shouldn’t ExistThe road stretched into the outskirts like a dark ribbon, half-swallowed by fog. Liam drove with one hand on the wheel, the other resting lightly near the transmitter he’d tucked into the console. The storm had passed, but the world still felt drenched in its aftermath — wet pavement, dripping branches, and air thick with silence.The navigation directed him toward a blank patch of land that shouldn’t have been reachable. No coordinates. No mapping data. It was an erased point in the Hunt grid — invisible to anyone who wasn’t meant to remember it.But Liam remembered everything about that place.He slowed as the old fence line came into view, twisted and rusted but still faintly humming with residual energy. Security grid lines. The Hunts had abandoned it physically, not digitally.Exactly like Emma predicted they would.Liam stepped out of the car, closing the door quietly. His breath curled in the early morning air as he approached the old

Chapter 13 – The Third LayerThe door slammed shut behind him with a finality that echoed down the narrow metal tunnel, sealing Liam inside the unknown depths of the Hunt facility. Darkness stretched ahead like an open throat, swallowing the last trace of light from the upper levels.For a moment, all he heard was the low mechanical breathing of the underground systems…and his own heartbeat.Then—“Liam…?”Her voice.Small. Fragile. Trembling.Not a memory.Not a recording.Not the AI’s mimic.Emma.Alive.He moved at once, steps echoing softly along the metal walkway as dim floor lights flickered awake beneath his feet, one by one, guiding him deeper into the abyss. The air down here was colder, stale, touched with the metallic sting of sterilization and old experiments.“Emma,” he called quietly. “Where are you?”No answer.Only the hum of the systems.He walked faster.The tunnel opened into a vast subterranean chamber — a hidden level that the Hunt records never mentioned. The ce

CHAPTER 15 — THE LOCKED WINGRed alarms bled through the corridor as Liam sprinted, Emma limp in his arms. Each pulse of light carved their shadows long and frantic against the metallic walls. The facility groaned around him—gates sealing, blast shutters dropping, the entire structure panicking like a wounded beast.Emma convulsed once in his grip.“Stay with me,” he breathed, tightening his hold.Her skin was cold. Too cold.The system inside his mind flickered like a broken transmission:⚠ SYSTEM ERROR: Subject E—neural interference escalating.⚠ Recommend cessation of interaction. Reinitialize.“Shut up,” Liam growled.He dove toward a slanted maintenance tunnel, shoulder-slamming it open with a grunt. The metal hatch screeched, and he carried Emma inside, boots skidding on the steep floor as they descended into darkness.The tunnel lights sputtered strobe-like.Emma’s breath hitched.Her fingers twitched weakly against his chest—as if trying to hold on.“Almost there,” Liam whispe

CHAPTER 17 — THE SPLIT PATH The elevator shuddered as it rose, its lights flickering in frantic pulses. Liam stood with his back against the wall, Emma leaning weakly against him. Her breathing was shallow, uneven. Every few seconds her fingers twitched, like her body was fighting something he couldn’t see. “Stay with me,” Liam murmured. “I’m—trying…” Emma whispered, but her voice broke off, swallowed by another tremor running through her. The AI spoke in Liam’s head, calm and cold: “Neural instability increasing. Subject E is approaching threshold.” Liam clenched his jaw. “Then find a way to stabilize her.” “Unauthorized.” “Override it,” Liam snapped. “Do something.” “I cannot.” He nearly slammed his fist against the panel. “What good are you if all you do is observe?” Silence. Then, softly: “My purpose is not what you believe it is.” Before Liam could respond, the elevator jolted to a stop. The doors slid open to reveal a long, curved hallway. The entire floor was

CHAPTER 19 — The Choice That Breaks the SystemThe ceiling thundered as if the entire Hunt facility were collapsing into itself.Alarms distorted into a deep, pulsing drone that rattled the metal floor beneath Liam’s boots. Sparks rained down like molten snow, lighting the darkness in violent, stuttering flashes.Emma’s scream cut through the chaos.“Liam!”Her body arched inside the sphere of shimmering static that had locked her away, the barrier pulsing like a dying star. Every pulse sent tremors through her limbs—small, barely controlled convulsions.Liam lunged toward her—But the Witness stepped between them, calm as hell itself crumbled around them.“Choose,” he said, voice steady despite the collapsing chamber. “Now.”The choice.The one the system had forced on Liam like a knife to the throat.But he didn’t hesitate.He moved.Not backward toward the Witness.Toward Emma.The chamber reacted instantly.A deafening BOOM tore through the air as if Liam had triggered a landmine.