Home / Urban / MICHAEL SULLIVAN: NEW DYNASTY / — 119 —

— 119 —

Author: C. Sygil

2025-09-13 06:47:56

Three days had passed since Frank's death. The group had found a storage area with a malfunctioning cryogenic unit that they had managed to repair enough to preserve his body. It wasn't a proper burial, but it was respectful, and it gave them a sense of closure.

Now they sat in what had once been a conference room in Level Four, trying to figure out their next move. The reality of their situation was becoming increasingly clear. They had food and water for perhaps a few days, but no clear way to escape their underground prison.

"I still think we can find a way to override the blast door controls," North said, studying a facility schematic they had found in one of the offices. "If we can get to the main power distribution center, we might be able to reroute enough energy to force the doors open."

"The power center is on Level Two," Korvich pointed out. "That's where Octavian and his forces are concentrated. We would have to fight our way through dozens of guards just to reach it."

"The

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XX
Carter woke in the medical center alone. The antiseptic smell was still there but Dr. Mora was gone. On the small table beside his bed sat discharge papers and a handwritten note on expensive stationery."Three months. Don't waste them."Carter folded the note and shoved it in his pocket. His body still ached but the medication had worn off enough that he could think clearly. The IV was out, leaving just a small bandage on his arm.The Protocol booted up. Not the glitchy, stuttering version from before. This was smooth, responsive, like it had been rebuilt from the ground up. A notification appeared immediately.SYSTEM REBOOT COMPLETE. ALL FUNCTIONS RESTORED. POWER POINT SELECTION PENDING.The four options appeared in his vision, each one with detailed descriptions he hadn't seen before.NEURO SURGE: Enhanced cognitive processing and tactical analysis. Allows rapid evaluation of complex social situations and identification of optimal strategies. Duration: 5 minutes. Cooldown: 2 hours.
XIV
Carter woke to sterile white walls and the smell of antiseptic. His head was pounding but the pain was distant, muffled by medication. An IV was in his arm, taped down with medical gauze. The room was small and private. A hospital room.Dr. Mora sat in a chair beside his bed, watching him with those cold eyes. She looked exactly the same as always. Professional. Detached. Like Carter was a specimen to observe rather than a person."You're awake," she said. Not a question, just an observation. "Good. We need to talk."Carter tried to sit up. His body protested, muscles weak and uncoordinated, but he managed it. The IV pulled slightly and sent a sharp sting through his arm. "Where's Reginald?""He wanted to come personally but academy policy forbids family visits during active sessions unless there's a medical emergency requiring parental consent. I'm here as the Grace family's personal physician, which the academy permits." She stood and walked to the window. "Your Protocol crashed. Co
XVIII
The Evaluation Hall was massive, designed to hold the entire student body of Star Academy. Stadium seating rose up in curved tiers around a central stage where Professor Kane and the evaluation committee sat behind a long table. The Beacon's rankings were projected on enormous screens all around the room, numbers constantly shifting and updating as students entered and found their seats.Carter walked in and the noise level dropped. Just for a second. Then it rose again, louder than before. Laughter rippled through the crowd. Whispers spread like wildfire. Phones came out everywhere, hundreds of them, all pointed at him.He found a seat in the back corner, as far from the stage as possible. Sebastian sat next to him without being asked, his jaw set tight. He glared at anyone who looked their way too long or pointed their phone in Carter's direction.The Unity Collective was in the front row, all sitting together. Amaya glanced back over her shoulder, caught Carter's eye, and waved. Ac
XVII
Carter woke to sunlight burning his eyes. His head was pounding like someone who'd been hit with a sledgehammer. His mouth tasted like chemicals and regret, dry and bitter. He was in his bed, still fully clothed in the same outfit from yesterday. His shoes were still on.How did he get here?He tried to sit up and immediately regretted it. His body felt wrong, heavy and uncoordinated like his limbs were filled with sand. There was something on his face. He could feel it, sticky and strange, dried into his skin. His hair felt crusty and stiff.Carter stumbled out of bed and barely made it to the bathroom. He flipped on the light switch and turned to look in the mirror.His reflection made him freeze.His face was covered in drawings. Crude marker scrawls in thick black lines. Someone had drawn a schlong on his face, along with some insulting words across his forehead. Degrading images that made his stomach turn. The word FAKE was written across his forehead in capital letters. LOSER on
XVI
After the incident and the laughter died down, the group started to relax. The tension that had filled the courtyard during the Unity Drink challenge dissolved into something lighter. Rex pulled out a bluetooth speaker from his backpack and connected his phone. Music started playing, something with a heavy bass line that made the air vibrate. Milo started dancing badly on purpose and making exaggerated moves that had Clara cracking up while filming him.More students drifted over, drawn by the music and the energy. Someone brought out a frisbee and started tossing it around. Juno sat on the edge of the fountain with his laptop, editing footage but bobbing his head to the beat. The whole scene felt weirdly normal, like a regular college hangout instead of the content obsessed pressure cooker that Star Academy usually was.Carter stood off to the side, still feeling the awful taste in his mouth and the heavy weight of the drink sitting in his stomach. He watched the others laugh and jok
XV
Carter arrived at the studio the next afternoon with his stomach churning with anxiety. He had barely slept. Every time he closed his eyes he saw clauses from the contract floating in the darkness. He tried to research initiation rituals at Star Academy using the Protocol's database access. He found almost nothing useful. Just vague mentions on old forum posts, usually deleted within days. References to challenges, pranks, loyalty tests. Nothing concrete. Nothing that told him what to expect.The Unity Collective was waiting for him when he walked in. They were all smiling but there was something different in the air now. A tension that wasn't there yesterday. The studio felt smaller somehow. The ring lights seemed brighter, more invasive."Ready for your big day?" Amaya asked. She was wearing different clothes than usual. More formal. A blazer over her usual casual style."I guess," Carter said. His throat felt dry. "What exactly am I doing?""Three tasks," Juno said and for once he

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