I BUILT THE LAST SANCTUARY

Chapter 2: The Price of Compassion

Chapter 2: The Price of Compassion

“Sixty seconds?” Adrian barked, looking at the blinking red countdown on his interface. “System, are we talking sixty seconds until impact or sixty seconds until it arrives and asks for tea?”

[ System: Projected arrival of Anomaly in 52 seconds. Recommended action: Relocate high-value asset. ]

“High-value asset? You mean Seraphina?” Adrian looked down at the unconscious woman. “Right. She’s bleeding on my boots. This way, come on!”

He hooked his arms under her shoulders, grunting as he dragged her across the uneven concrete.

“You’re heavier than you look,” Adrian panted. “Is this combat gear made of lead or just sheer stubbornness?”

[ System: Asset weight: 64kg. Gear weight: 15kg. Logic suggests: Exercise more. ]

“Shut up and help me with the door!” Adrian kicked the medical bay override. “And don't give me sass about my cardio!”

The automatic doors hissed open—thankfully, this part of the facility still had auxiliary power. He hauled her into a sterile, white-tiled room that smelled faintly of ozone and ancient bleach.

“Identify emergency medical protocols,” Adrian commanded, laying her onto a sleek, metallic gurney.

[ System: Emergency stabilization initiated. Consumables required: 1x Nanite Patch. ]

“I don’t have a Nanite Patch! I barely have a screwdriver!”

[ System: First-time Lord Bonus: Welcome Kit unlocked. 1x Nanite Patch added to inventory. ]

“Use it! Quickly!”

Adrian watched as a small, silver disc materialized in his hand. He pressed it against the deep gash on her side.

“Check the anomaly status,” he said, his heart hammering against his ribs.

[ System: High-level anomaly is bypassing the main gate. Distance: 20 meters. ]

“Twenty? But we locked the—”

A low, mechanical hum vibrated through the floor tiles. Adrian held his breath, staring at the closed med-bay doors. Then, through the small reinforced window, he saw it. A hovering, spherical object with a single, rotating blue eye drifted past the corridor.

“Is that a drone?” Adrian whispered. “Wait, I thought you said an anomaly.”

[ System: To current tech-level understanding, it is an anomaly. Correction: Identified as Scout Drone (Raider Class). ]

“Great. So it’s not a monster, just a flying eye belonging to people who want to kill me,” Adrian muttered. “Even better.”

He crouched behind the gurney as the blue light swept through the door’s narrow window.

“Why isn't it coming in?”

[ System: Optical camouflage partially active. Energy remaining: 2%. ]

“Two percent? System, fix that! Divert power from the coffee machine or something!”

[ System: This facility does not have a coffee machine. It does, however, have a non-functional heated toilet seat. ]

“Divert it!” Adrian hissed.

The blue eye outside flickered, paused for a moment longer, and then drifted further down the hallway. Adrian let out a long, shaky breath.

“That was too close. Way too close.”

“Move… and I’ll put a hole in your neck.”

Adrian froze. The voice was raspy, cold, and very close. He turned his head slowly to find Seraphina sitting upright, a jagged piece of glass she must have swiped from a tray pressed against his jugular.

“Whoa, hey!” Adrian raised his hands. “Relax! I’m the guy who saved you from the wolves, remember? Iron pipe? Hydraulic door? Any of this ringing a bell?”

“You’re a settler,” she spat, her eyes darting around the room. “Which faction? Knox? The Iron Skulls?”

“None! I’m Adrian,” he said, trying not to lean into the glass. “I’m an architect. I design bridges! Well, I did. Now I apparently design ways to kill wolves with furniture.”

“Architect?” Seraphina’s grip tightened slightly. “You have a Lord interface. You own this Dome. You’re lying.”

“Look at this place!” Adrian gestured vaguely with one hand. “Does it look like I’m in charge of anything besides the dust mites? I got the deed to this dump ten minutes ago!”

[ System: Lord Adrian is telling the truth. Note: His pulse is currently at 140 BPM. Assessment: Fear. ]

“Shut up, System!” Adrian yelled.

Seraphina blinked, her brow furrowing. “You have a voice-active System? A high-tier one?”

“It calls me names and complains about my cardio,” Adrian muttered. “Can you lower the glass? You’re bleeding again. Or you will be if you keep tensing up like that.”

Seraphina looked down at her side. The nanite patch was glowing a soft green. “Wait. A high-grade healer? Where did you get this?”

“Welcome kit,” Adrian said. “Listen, there’s a drone outside. If it hears us, we’re both dead. Can we call a truce? At least until the eye-ball leaves?”

Seraphina stared at him for a few seconds, her gaze sharp. Slowly, she lowered the glass. “One mistake, ‘Architect,’ and I’ll finish what the wolves started.”

“Yeah, nice to meet you too,” Adrian grunted, sliding away from her. “I’m Adrian. You’re Seraphina. Let’s try to stay not-dead.”

“How did you hide from that drone?” she asked, swinging her legs over the side of the gurney. “Knox’s scouts have thermals. This bay should be lit up like a signal fire.”

“Optical physics,” Adrian said, regaining some of his confidence. He stood up and pointed to the layout of the room. “Look at the angle of that window. If I shift these surgical mirrors to a forty-five-degree intersection, I can create a blind spot that bounces their LIDAR right back to the hallway.”

“Mirrors?” Seraphina looked skeptical. “You think simple mirrors can fool a Raider drone?”

“It’s not just mirrors. It’s refraction index management,” Adrian explained, moving toward the equipment. “Trust me. Buildings stay up because of math. People stay hidden because of logic.”

He adjusted the large, overhead dental mirrors, tilting them with precise clicks.

“There,” Adrian said, satisfied. “Now, even if it looks directly at the door, it’ll just see the empty wall on the other side.”

“You’re either a genius or an idiot,” Seraphina whispered, watching the shadows outside.

“Usually both,” Adrian agreed. He checked his holographic screen. “System, status update?”

[ Alert: Raider Drone has exited the facility perimeter. Distance: 150 meters. ]

“See? Logic wins,” Adrian grinned.

[ Warning: Settlement Heat Score has increased (+100). ]

[ Trigger: New Inhabitant registered. ]

“Hundred?” Adrian’s smile vanished. “Why did it double?”

[ System: Seraphina has officially joined the settlement roster. Role: Scout/Combatant (Inactive). ]

“Wait,” Seraphina stood up, her hand on her hip. “Join? I didn't join anything! I’m just waiting for my wound to close!”

“System!” Adrian shouted. “What did you do?”

[ System: Settlement stability increased due to presence of military-grade asset. Drawback: Recognition by rival factions has accelerated. ]

A deep, metallic clang echoed from the far end of the settlement, louder and more deliberate than the wind.

“What was that?” Seraphina grabbed a nearby scalpel, her posture rigid.

“Sounds like the main gate,” Adrian swallowed hard. “And I’m pretty sure drones don't knock.”

[ Notification: Incoming Transmission detected. ]

A static-filled voice filled the med-bay speakers.

“This is Commander Knox. To the new squatter in my sector: You have my scout, and you have my attention. I’ll give you until sunrise to open the dome, or we’ll see how your ‘architecture’ handles a demolition charge.”

Adrian looked at Seraphina. She looked at him.

“Is sunrise far off?” Adrian asked quietly.

“About twenty minutes,” Seraphina replied, her voice dead serious.

[ New Objective: The First Defense. ]

[ Penalty for failure: Liquidation. ]

“Great,” Adrian sighed, checking the structural data of the room. “Does anyone know if Knox is allergic to hydraulic doors?”