2025-08-14 20:58:21
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PATTERNS IN THE STATIC
The void collapsed, and the palace began folding in on itself. Vincent’s tendrils lashed at him, desperate to hold him in place. Jayden forced himself backward, shoving through a storm of falling glass and curling ribbons of gold.The last glimpse he caught of Vincent was a single burning eye—narrowing before it was swallowed into a pinprick of light.Jayden’s body jolted violently in the real world. Helena yanked the neural leads free. The cage’s lights steadied, deepening into a calm, victorious blue. The hum dropped to a low purr.No one spoke.Carl broke the silence, his tone was easy, almost casual. “So… the Richmond lead is closed, then?”Only he and Jayden understood what was being said.Jayden’s gaze stayed fixed ahead. “He’s contained. That’s all that matters.”Mia folded her arms. “For now.”Helena’s eyes flicked between them. “You’re going to have to tell us everything. No more gaps.”Jayden didn’t respond. He just stared at the cage.And somewhere in the steady hum of its
PALACE OF SHADOWS
The control room shook like a living thing. Lights flickered, the cage’s frame groaned, and the floor trembled with Vincent’s attempts to tear himself free. Helena’s hands flew over the controls.“We’re losing him!” she shouted over the roar. “If we don’t stop the overload, the cage will blow—”“How?” Jayden demanded.Helena looked at him, jaw tight. “Only one way now. You go in.”Carl turned sharply. “In? Inside his head?”“Not just his head,” Helena said. “His world. His mindscape.”Mia frowned, still holding her blade ready. “That’s suicide.”“It’s worse if we don’t,” Helena snapped. “Once I open a bridge, you’ll be linked to his neural architecture. You’ll have minutes before he notices and tries to shut you down.”Jayden didn’t hesitate. “Do it.”Carl stepped in front of him. “And if he locks you in there?”“Then you make sure this place burns,” Jayden said. He didn’t smile. He meant it.Helena pulled a bundle of neural leads from her pack, snapping one end into the cage’s port a
THE CAGE AND THE MIND
The helicopter flew low over the dark northern sector. Below, mist covered the ground like a white blanket, hiding broken roads and dead trees. In the middle of it all stood the shape of Site Eleven — the old research facility, half-buried under years of dust and decay.Carl checked his wrist device. “Still has power,” he said, his voice low. “I don’t know what’s running in there, but it’s not dead.”Jayden leaned out the open side of the helicopter. The building was huge, silent, and full of shadows. “That means Vincent is inside,” he said. His jaw tightened. “We get in, plant the cage, and get out.”Helena was checking her scanner. The screen showed a pulsing red dot — Vincent’s signal. “It’s strong,” she said, “and it’s not moving. He’s waiting for us.”The helicopter touched down on a cracked rooftop landing pad. Rust ate at the metal, and weeds pushed up through the cracks. The smell of damp air hit them as soon as they stepped out.They formed a small circle. “Remember,” Jayden
STRAIGHT INTO THE DARK
The message still glowed on the screen: FOUND YOU.The words repeated in a steady, cold rhythm, sending a chill through the room.A heavy silence fell over the team. No one spoke, but all felt the weight of what it meant.Vincent’s mind was no longer distant—it was here, close, watching, waiting.Jayden rubbed his temples and took a slow breath. “This is it,” he said quietly. “We have to move now.”The team moved quickly. Helena’s hands shook a little as she checked the wires on the cage. It wasn’t finished yet. They still needed to make sure it would catch Vincent’s mind perfectly.Carl sat by the power box, making sure the energy was flowing right. “The cage needs to be fully powered before it can trap him,” he said, watching the screens closely.Mia was watching the data, typing fast on the keyboard. “The cage is stable, but if we don’t finish setting it up, it might not hold Vincent.”Jayden walked back and forth. “Vincent is close now. We don’t have much time.”Helena looked worr
RESONANCE TRAP
The sky was gray the next morning.A light mist hung over the Orion building, making everything look quieter than usual. The air smelled faintly of rain, though it hadn’t fallen yet.The team gathered in the courtyard behind the building. They stood in a small circle, heads bowed. In the middle was a simple wooden box—Liam’s.No one spoke for a while. The sound of the wind brushing past the walls was the only thing they could hear.Helena’s eyes were red. She kept staring at the box, her hands clenched at her sides. Carl’s face was hard, his jaw tight, as if holding back tears. Mia wiped her face quietly.Jayden stood with them, his own chest was heavy. He had seen people die before, but this was different. Liam wasn’t just a name on a list. He was their friend.After a long silence, Jayden finally spoke. His voice was steady, but there was a weight to it.“We lost one of our own. Liam was… more than just part of the crew. He fought for us. He fought knowing what we were up against. H
LOOPSTORM
A week had passed since the rail yard fight.The team hadn’t had much rest—every day brought news of new signals popping up, like weeds pushing through cracks in the street. But this time, the signal they were chasing wasn’t faint. It was bright, steady, and sitting right in the middle of Sector R.The place was a data warehouse—an old, grey building with broken windows and a metal roof that creaked in the wind.Jayden Cole stood outside with his team: Helena, Mia, Carl, Rafi, and two other EsperNet crew members. Everyone was tense.“This is it,” Jayden said, his breath making small clouds in the cool night air. “The node is inside. We get in, shut it down fast, and get out before Vincent can react.”Helena’s eyes scanned the dark building. “He’ll react,” she said quietly. “He always does.”They went in through a side door. The inside smelled of dust and metal. Rows of old server racks stood like shadowy towers. In the center of the room, faint red light pulsed from a small device on
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