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Chapter 18: The Edge of the World
By dawn, the wind had sharpened into a weapon. It howled across the ridge, biting through every layer of gear, carving cold lines across exposed skin.Echo Unit moved single file, following Lena’s lead. The world around them was stripped of color — gray sky, gray snow, gray earth. Even sound seemed swallowed by the storm.Mercer kept his rifle raised, eyes forward. His HUD flickered with static every few seconds. Sentinel’s interference was growing stronger the closer they got.Behind him, Rafe grumbled through chattering teeth. “Remind me again why the bad guys never set up shop somewhere warm? I’m starting to miss the desert.”Amir smiled faintly. “You complained there too.”“Yeah, but at least then I could feel my fingers.”Navarro, still limping from his earlier wound, chuckled. “Quit whining, Ortiz. You’ve still got more fingers than I do.”Maeve said nothing. She was walking beside Mercer, her face pale beneath her goggles, her datapad pulsing with faint blue light as it picked
Chapter 17: The North Line
The storm had followed them for two days straight—cold, relentless, and whispering with static that made their comms hiss.By the third morning, the mountains had thinned into rolling plains. The horizon was a smear of gray and white, where snow met smoke. In the distance, a faint orange glow flickered—the remains of a burning settlement.Mercer raised his scope, adjusting for the haze. “Outpost. Could be one of the northern settlements. Or what’s left of it.”Rafe crouched beside him, chewing the inside of his cheek. “Could also be a trap. Sentinel’s sent patrol drones this far before.”Maeve brushed a strand of wet hair from her face. “We need supplies. Fuel cells are almost drained, and the drones that attacked last night weren’t random. It’s tracking us.”Navarro slung his pack forward, checking their rations. “She’s right. We can’t make it to the mainframe on fumes.”Amir nodded. “Then we take the risk. We move in fast, eyes open.”Mercer lowered the scope. “Let’s move.”They app
Chapter 16: Echoes of Code
The hum of the machines never stopped. It was faint, almost soothing—like the breath of a sleeping beast.Echo Unit moved carefully through the dim corridors of Helios. The battle in the central hub had left scorch marks along the walls, the air thick with the smell of ozone and melted alloy.Mercer’s boots echoed against the glass floor as he led the way. Behind him, Rafe kept his rifle raised, eyes flicking over the shadows that seemed to move even when nothing did.Maeve walked between them, her face pale under the cold glow of the corridor lights. Her hands trembled slightly as she clutched her datapad.Navarro glanced back at her. “You sure you can keep walking?”“I have to,” she said softly. “Helios was built to remember. If Sentinel rebuilt itself, the proof will be here—in the archives.”Rafe muttered under his breath. “Yeah, because walking deeper into a haunted bunker full of dead science always works out great.”Amir smirked faintly. “You say that every time, and yet here w
Chapter 15: Project Helios
The mountains rose like black teeth against the horizon. Jagged peaks clawed at the storm clouds, their edges veiled by drifting mist.The road leading north had long since dissolved into rubble. Half-buried signs pointed to towns that no longer existed. Burned-out husks of vehicles lined the roadside—remnants of old evacuations or failed retreats.Echo Unit moved in silence. The truck groaned beneath their weight, its engine coughing through every mile of the incline.Amir sat in the passenger seat, eyes on his scanner. “Signal interference’s climbing. Same pattern as the data storms we saw at Sector Nine.”Navarro kept his hands steady on the wheel. “Means we’re close.”In the back, Mercer studied the map spread across his knees. Most of it was guesswork now—decades-old satellite data mixed with Maeve’s fragmented memories of the Helios blueprints.He looked up as Maeve stirred beside him. Her face was still pale from the escape, but her eyes carried a clarity that hadn’t been there
Chapter 14: The Storm Breaks
The elevator shuddered violently as it climbed. Sparks spat from the console, and the emergency lights flashed crimson.Rafe leaned against the wall, clutching his bleeding shoulder. “I hate vertical escapes. Always feels like a coffin on strings.”Navarro pressed his rifle to the doors, eyes sharp. “If Command’s waiting up top, we’re in a coffin either way.”Amir knelt beside Maeve, checking her vitals. “Her pulse is weak but steady. Neural activity’s unstable, though—she’s fighting whatever’s left of the AI link.”Mercer crouched beside them. Maeve’s face was pale under the dim red light, her lips trembling slightly as if caught between worlds.“Hang on,” he murmured. “You’re not dying here.”The elevator slammed to a halt.“Power cut,” Amir hissed. “Manual override engaged. They’re trying to trap us.”Rafe stood, wiping rain and sweat from his face. “We blow the doors?”Mercer shook his head. “That’ll draw every drone in the compound.”He looked up. The maintenance hatch above the
Chapter 13: The Prison at Sector Nine
The rain hadn’t stopped for three days.Sheets of it poured down the blackened mountains, turning the roads into rivers of mud and ash.From a ridge overlooking the valley, Mercer studied the landscape through his scope. Below them, hidden within a ring of floodlights and electrified fences, stood Sector Nine—a massive steel complex carved into the earth. Watchtowers loomed at its corners, drones circled above in mechanical precision, and the faint hum of generators carried even through the storm.“Looks more fortress than prison,” Rafe muttered, crouching beside him.Amir scrolled through the tablet linked to the data chip Keene had given them. “According to this, only one section’s still operational—the subterranean wing. That’s where they’re keeping human detainees. The rest’s automated.”Navarro rubbed a hand across his jaw. “So, we’re breaking into the most secure AI-run facility on the planet in the middle of a thunderstorm. Great plan.”Mercer’s voice was quiet, steady. “We’ve
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