2026-02-19 18:40:20Cyrus gripped the door handle as Carrie turned the truck around on the dusty road.
Dust swirled behind them like smoke from a bad memory, the dashboard clock blinked 14:32, and everything is the same again.
Carrie’s hands shook a little on the wheel, but her voice stayed steady.
“We remember. Both of us, that’s new.”
“Yeah,” Cyrus said. “Means the loop is catching more people, or maybe it’s because we were together when it reset.”
“Or maybe we’re just lucky.” She glanced at him. “Or unlucky.”
They sped back toward Depot 7, the gate came into view, same chain-link, same two guards.
Riley was already walking out to meet the truck, the same grin starting to form on his face.
Cyrus opened the door before the truck even stopped. “Riley! Get everyone out now! East road, full speed!”
Riley blinked, a smile dropping. “Woods? What the hell—”
“No time!” Cyrus jumped down, boots hitting gravel hard.
“The sky's about to crack, shadows drop, beams, people turn into puppets. We’ve seen it twice, move!”
Riley looked past him to Carrie, who was already out of the truck yelling into the PA system from the open window.
“All hands! Emergency evac! East gate! Grab weapons and water only! Go go go!”
Workers stopped, crates hit the ground, confusion turned to panic fast.
Cyrus grabbed Riley by the arm, “You die first if you stay. Beam hits the pad, needle in the chest. You walk like a zombie after, I’m not watching it again.”
Riley stared at him. “You’re serious.”
“Dead serious.”
Riley swallowed. “Okay. Let’s move.”
They ran toward the main building, Carrie met them at the door, toolkit slung over her shoulder.
“I’m grabbing the jammer prototype from the shed. Might block their signals for a minute, buy us time.”
“Good,” Cyrus said.
“We get everyone to the trucks, three rigs in the lot. Load fast, no hero stuff.”
Inside, people were already grabbing bags, some grabbed rifles from the rack, "Smart."
Cyrus pushed through to the back.
“Listen up! Sky anomaly in minutes, drones drop, they scan, tag, and take over.”
“Don’t shoot unless you have to, bullets bounce. Run east to canyon road, there is a bunker there, move NOW!”
A young worker, maybe twenty, raised his hand. “What about the fuel cells? We need…”
“Leave them,” Cyrus snapped. “Being alive matters more.”
The kid nodded, grabbed a water pack instead.
Carrie came running back, a small black box in her hands , wires sticking out, lights blinking green.
“Jammer’s live. Short range, but it scrambles drone comms, and should blind them close up.”
“Perfect…mount it on the lead truck.”
They herded people outside, everything kept happening fast .
Three trucks lined up, workers piled in, some in the beds, gripping rails.
Riley took the wheel of the second rig a woman named Mara climbed in with him, rifle ready.
Cyrus and Carrie took the lead truck, and this time, Cyrus was behind the wheel, eyes sharp on the road ahead. Carrie rode shotgun, the jammer resting on her lap as she adjusted dials and monitors, ready for anything.
Cyrus floored it toward the east gate, the other two trucks tailing close behind.
The ground trembled under them, and lights in the depot flickered like a warning.
Somewhere in the back, a voice screamed, “It’s happening!” Cyrus didn’t need to look up, he already knew.
The sun darkened, and fire trails streaked across the sky, followed by a blinding white flash.
Screams ripped through the trucks as shadows fell, then Black, knife-shaped shapes slicing through the air.
One passed low over the convoy, and a sudden cold slammed into them like ice water.
Cyrus kept his eyes on the road. “Hold on!”
A purple beam lanced down, hitting the empty landing pad behind them, sparks flew, the drones dropped next, insect legs clicking on concrete.
Red lights swept, locked on the last truck.
Cyrus cursed. “They’re targeting the rear!”
Carrie flipped a switch on the jammer, a low hum filled the cab, lights on the box pulsed faster.
The red scan on the last truck flickered, then died. The drone tilted its head, confused,It didn’t fire.
Carrie let out a breath. “It worked, They’re blind to us…For now.”
“Keep it running,” Cyrus said. “Don’t let it overheat.”
They smashed through the east gate, they didn’t bother slowing.
The chain snapped, trucks roared out into open wasteland, behind them, the depot burned.
Beams carved through buildings, screams echoed, then cut short.
Cyrus glanced in the mirror, Riley’s truck was right behind.
Mara leaned out the window, watching the sky, more shadows dropped, one hovered over the convoy now, massive, blocking the sun.
Cyrus swerved left onto the canyon road, it is narrow, rocky, but it dropped low fast, walls rose on both sides.
The sky felt too tight, crowded by the looming shadow above.
Behind them, the massive machine gave chase, its beam charging, a dangerous purple glow intensifying.
Carrie yelled, “Jammer at max!”
The beam fired, It missed, hit the canyon wall instead, the rock exploded and dust rained down.
The drone wobbled, jammer messing with its aim, Cyrus pushed the truck harder, the engine screamed.
They dropped deeper into the canyon, shadows couldn’t follow easily now, the big one hovered above the rim, scanning and then the pulse hit.
Invisible waves from the sun, trucks shuddered, engines coughed and all three died at once.
Silence.
The world stopped, then restarted, Cyrus blinked.
Same road, same 14:32 on the dash.
This time, all three trucks sat side by side, engines off, everyone inside was frozen, and staring.
Carrie turned to him slowly. “We all remember.”
From the back seat, somehow the kid from earlier had jumped in during the chaos, a whisper came: “I saw the depot burn, i saw Riley get tagged but we got out… then nothing.”
Riley’s voice crackled over the radio. “Woods? You copy?”
Cyrus grabbed the mic. “Yeah, everyone remember?”
Mara’s voice crackled. “Hell yeah, we almost made it.”
Cyrus looked around, faces in the other trucks are all pale, wide-eyed, but awake.
They are fully aware, the loop had caught the whole convoy and he let out a slow breath.
“Okay, New plan… we don’t run blind this time, we know the jammer works, and we know the canyon hides us.”
“We stock better weapons, food, med kits, and we spread out... don't clump up, harder for them to tag everyone.”
Carrie nodded. “I can build more jammers, the depot has parts,If we get there early enough…”
Cyrus looked at the sky, thin white streaks again, clock ticking.
“We go back,” he said.
“One more time, save the depot, save everyone we can.”
“Then we head for the bunker with a real convoy.”
Riley’s voice came back. “You’re crazy, Woods, but I’m in.”
Mara laughed;short, shaky. “Same.”
The kid in the back seat gripped his water pack. “Me too.”
Cyrus started the engine, and it roared to life on the first try.
They turned toward Depot 7 again, same road.
But now they weren’t alone in the nightmare.
They remembered, they fought and this time, they might win the day.
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter 12: Cracks in the Armor
Cyrus stood at the head of the whiteboard, marker in hand, while thirty-five pairs of eyes followed every stroke. The two groups had merged into one uneasy circle....old bunker crew on one side, Crowe’s ridge walkers on the other. Harlan Crowe leaned against a crate nearby, arms folded, letting Cyrus run the briefing, the master dampener cube sat open on the table between them like a fragile truce token, its green pulse steady but faint.Cyrus tapped the rough sketch he’d drawn of the vault approach..... tunnels branching like veins, red X’s marking sentinel positions from Crowe’s memory.“We hit the vault in two days,” he said. “But first we need to know exactly what we’re facing, Crowe......your best run, tell us about the sentinels.”Crowe stepped forward, his voice carried the weight of thirty-seven deaths.“Four legs, Eight meters tall when fully extended, Turret head rotates 360, no blind spots, Armor plating.....kinetic rounds bounce, energy weapons barely scratch. They don’t
Chapter 11: Terms in the Dust
Cyrus kept his pistol low but ready as Harlan Crowe stepped through the bunker door, the older man moved with the careful gait of someone who had spent decades walking battle lines—shoulders squared, eyes scanning corners without turning his head, behind him, his twelve followers waited outside in disciplined silence, weapons pointed at the ground, no one rushed or fidgeted.Inside, the air thickened, twenty-three of Cyrus’s people stood at stations, rifles half-raised, jammers humming, eyes locked on the newcomers. Vaughn stayed at Cyrus’s right shoulder, dampener glowing steady green, Riley flanked left, shotgun cradled easy but finger near the trigger, Mara held position at the window slit, scope trained on the line outside.Crowe stopped in the center of the main room, he lowered his hands slowly, palms open.“I appreciate the hospitality,” he said, voice gravel-rough but calm. “Not many places left where strangers get invited in before bullets fly.”Cyrus didn’t smile. “You said
Chapter 10: The Approaching Line
Cyrus led the way down the narrow trail, boots sliding on loose gravel but never losing balance. The four of them moved in a tight diamond formation, Vaughn at point, Cyrus behind her, Riley covering the left flank, Mara sweeping the rear with her rifle already scoped and tracking. The ridge walkers were still visible below, moving faster now across the basin floor, heading straight for the bunker’s hidden entrance like they had a map.No chatter on the way down, only the soft crunch of boots, controlled breathing, and the occasional scrape of rifle slings against jackets.Halfway to the bottom Vaughn slowed, raised a fist. Everyone froze, she pointed low—three small shapes detached from the main group of ridge walkers. Scouts, moving ahead, low and quick, using boulders for cover, they weren’t stumbling, they weren’t panicked, they were hunting.“Recon,” Vaughn whispered. “They know we’re up here or they suspect.”Cyrus crouched beside her. “How long before the main body reaches the
chapter 9: Dawn Patrol
Cyrus woke to the faint buzz of emergency lights and the smell of instant coffee someone had managed to brew on a portable stove, his neck ached from sleeping upright against a crate, but the pain felt almost normal now like background noise he could ignore. He checked his watch....05:47, no reset had come overnight, and the fifth day was stretching longer than any before, he stood, rolled his shoulders, and walked into the main room.The group was already stirring, Carrie sat at the jammer table, final tweaks done, four units lined up and glowing steady green, Riley was checking shotgun shells, Mara sighted down her rifle scope at nothing in particular, and Tomas tested a small handheld scanner scavenged from the armory trying to detect residual drone signals.Vaughn Keller stood near the door, coat on, dampener clipped to her belt. She had cleaned up as much as cold water and a rag allowed, The scar under her eye looked sharper in the low light.Cyrus met her gaze. “You ready?”“Bo
Chapter 8: Shadows She Carried
Cyrus leaned against the cold concrete wall of the main room, arms folded, watching Vaughn Keller sit at the edge of a metal table.She ate slowly, methodical bites from the MRE packet, chewing like every mouthful might be her last for a while.The group had given her space, not out of kindness exactly, but caution, new people in a world like this carried risks bigger than bullets.Riley sat across from her, shotgun resting easy on his lap but within easy reach, Mara stood nearby, rifle slung, eyes never leaving Vaughn’s hands, Carrie worked quietly on the jammer table, but Cyrus knew she was listening to every word, Tomas hovered at the whiteboard, pretending to update the supply list while stealing glances.Vaughn finished the last bite, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and set the empty packet aside, she looked straight at Cyrus.“You want the story,” she said, not a question.“Fair, I’d want it too if some stranger walked into my hole-in-the-ground fortress.”Cyrus didn’
Chapter 7: The Stranger at the Rim
Cyrus stood at the narrow window slit, arms crossed, staring into the black canyon basin.Night had settled deep, there is no moon, or streaks in the sky, just thick darkness pressing against the armored glass.The emergency lights inside the bunker hummed low, but out there nothing moved, no drones, beams or reset pulse and time felt stuck, like the harvest had paused to catch its breath.He hadn’t slept, couldn’t because every time he closed his eyes, he saw the purple glow building in a drone’s belly, felt the needle burn through his chest from loops one through three, though the fourth loop had ended different—safe, for now but the quiet made him twitchy.Behind him the main room stayed active but hushed, Carrie worked on tweaking the fourth jammer’s range, Riley and Mara had just finished their watch shift and were eating cold MREs at a table, Tomas slept on a bunk, curled tight like he was still expecting the next beam and the rest of the group rotated rest and small tasks—clean
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