Apocalypse System: Zero-Day

The Gauntlet

Silver’s POV

The GPO training hall was a massive, sterile cube of reinforced steel.

I stood in the center, stripped of my cloak and mask, wearing a standard-issue gray combat suit. The energy-dampening cuffs were gone, but I could feel the heavy gaze of a dozen sniper rifles tracking me from the catwalks above.

Director Vance stood safely behind a thick pane of bulletproof glass, his hands clasped behind his back. Ayana stood beside him, her clipboard clutched to her chest. She hadn't looked at me once since the hallway.

"Every anomaly must prove its worth," Vance's voice echoed through the intercom. "If you can survive this simulation, Silver, you will be granted a place in my elite guard."

I didn't answer. I just tightened my grip on the standard-issue combat knife they had given me. My Viper Dagger was gone, confiscated at the door.

The floor hissed, and a massive holographic construct materialized ten feet away.

It was a Cyber-Hound. A sleek, four-legged machine with razor-sharp claws and a glowing red visor. It didn't have a physical body, but the simulation tech in this room was advanced enough that if it killed me here, my brain would believe I was dead. My heart would stop.

[TARGET: CYBER-HOUND.]

[LEVEL: 12.]

[THREAT: HIGH.]

Twelve. I was Level 3.

The Hound lunged.

It was impossibly fast. I threw myself to the side, the machine's claws tearing through the fabric of my shoulder. I hit the metal floor, rolling to my feet.

"Too slow, Silver," Vance's voice chided over the speakers.

I activated System Vision. The world turned into a wireframe. I saw the Hound’s internal code, the energy pathways fueling its limbs. But it was heavily shielded. An Error Strike would bounce right off its outer armor. I needed to hit the exposed joint beneath its neck.

The Hound circled me, its mechanical growl vibrating in my chest. It lunged again, jaws snapping at my throat.

I didn't dodge this time. I dropped to my knees, letting the jaws snap shut on the empty air above my head. I drove my combat knife upward, using the last reserves of my stamina to channel a micro-burst of corrupted code into the blade.

[ERROR STRIKE: MINOR.]

The knife pierced the joint, injecting the virus. The Hound spasmed, its red visor flickering violently. It collapsed to the floor, its code unraveling into static.

I was breathing hard. My shoulder was bleeding. My stamina was completely depleted.

[SIMULATION COMPLETE. HOST SURVIVED.]

I expected the glass to open. I expected Vance to clap.

Instead, the room went dark.

[WARNING: SYSTEM OVERRIDE.]

[PROTOCOL: EXTERMINATION.]

The floor hissed again. This time, ten Hounds materialized.

My blood ran cold. "We had a deal!" I shouted at the glass.

Vance didn't look surprised. He looked bored. "A glitch is a glitch, Silver. I needed to see your limits. Now I know them. You're useless to me."

He turned his back and walked away. Ayana hesitated, looking at me through the glass. For a fraction of a second, I saw a flash of guilt on her face. Then it was gone. She followed Vance.

The ten Hounds lunged.

I ran.

I sprinted toward the heavy blast door that had closed behind the Hounds. I wasn't going to fight them; I was going to hack the door. I slammed my bleeding hand against the control panel.

[ERROR STRIKE: ACTIVATED.]

[ACCESS DENIED—]

[ERROR CORRUPTED—ACCESS GRANTED.]

The blast door slid open just as the first Hound’s claws scraped my back. I tumbled through the opening, hitting the emergency override button. The heavy steel door slammed shut, crushing the head of the leading Hound.

I lay on the cold floor of the service corridor, coughing up blood. The sirens were blaring.

I forced myself to my feet. I couldn't escape the facility, not yet. I needed a weapon and I needed to expose Vance.

I navigated the dark maintenance shafts, using my System Vision to avoid the patrols. The facility was in a state of chaos. The System override had triggered a lockdown.

I found myself in an administrative sector. Through a glass window, I saw a familiar face.

Cassian.

He was wearing a GPO uniform, but it was covered in dirt. He was sitting behind a desk, frantically trying to type on a dead terminal. He looked terrified.

I slipped through the unlocked door.

Cassian spun around, his eyes widening in pure terror when he saw me. I was covered in blood, my eyes wild, the red static of my code still flickering around my fingers.

"Silver?" he squeaked, falling backward out of his chair. "How—how are you alive?"

I walked toward him, picking up a heavy metal stapler from the desk. "Where is Vance?"

"I don't know! He went to the command center! Please, don't kill me!"

"You're working for the man who tried to execute me," I said, my voice dead.

"I didn't know! Ayana got me this job! She said we were safe here!"

I looked at the pathetic, cowering young master. The man Ayana had chosen over me.

"Where's the armory?" I demanded.

"Down the hall, sector 4," he stammered. "Please, Silver. Ayana is looking for you. She wants to help you."

"Help me?" I laughed, a cold, bitter sound. "She left me at the gates to die. She's just trying to save her own skin."

Before I could say another word, the lights flickered.

The intercoms crackled. But it wasn't Vance's voice. It was a synthesized, mechanical voice. The voice of the System.

[WARNING: ANOMALY DETECTED IN SECTOR 4.]

[INITIATING DELETION PROTOCOL.]

The door behind me slammed shut.

Cassian screamed, diving under the desk.

I turned around. The wall of the office crumbled inward.

Standing in the dust and debris wasn't a Cyber-Hound. It was an Enforcer.

But not a human one. It was an eight-foot-tall, armored monstrosity made of black metal and blue energy. A true System executioner.

[TARGET: SYSTEM REAPER.]

[THREAT LEVEL: EXTINCTION.]

It raised a massive energy cannon, pointing it directly at my chest.

I had no stamina. I had no weapon. I was standing in the middle of Director Vance's trap, and the System had just sent the executioner.

I looked at Cassian, who was sobbing on the floor.

"Looks like we're both dying today," I muttered.