2025-08-27 10:07:05
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Chapter 118
The breakout The air was heavy with static and smoke — the kind that clung to the back of your throat, making every breath feel like swallowing metal. The underground facility trembled with each explosion, a wounded beast collapsing on itself. Clara’s fingers tightened around Ethan’s arm as the alarm blared overhead, shrill and merciless.“Move!” she yelled, yanking him down the corridor just as a section of the ceiling caved in behind them.Ethan grunted, his hand pressed to his side where blood seeped through his shirt. “I can still walk—”“You’re barely standing,” she shot back, dragging him toward the exit sign flickering weakly through the haze.Every step echoed against the concrete like a ticking bomb. The sound of boots thudded behind them — Kane’s men were closing in. Clara’s pulse thundered in her ears, the fear sharp and bright, but beneath it was something else — a desperate resolve.They turned a corner and stumbled into a dimly lit chamber — rows of broken test tubes gl
Chapter 117
Bound by BloodThe rain didn’t stop. It never did when everything was falling apart.By the time Clara and Ethan reached the old service tunnel, they were soaked, shivering, and silent. Water dripped from their clothes, echoing through the narrow corridor like a slow heartbeat. The walls were carved with age — a relic of the old city, half-forgotten and swallowed by roots and time.Clara held the flashlight steady while Ethan checked the generator panel. The dim yellow glow flickered to life, painting his face in ghostly light. His eyes were distant, focused but elsewhere — still trapped in the hologram they’d seen.Her voice broke the silence first. “You knew.”Ethan froze mid-motion. “Clara—”“You knew my name was in that file,” she continued, her tone sharp but trembling underneath. “That’s why you didn’t want to go near it. You knew it was connected to you.”He sighed, leaning against the wall. “I didn’t know how. I swear it.”“But you knew something.”“I suspected,” he admitted.
Chapter 116
The FileThe forest had gone quiet. Too quiet. Even the insects seemed to know what the chip had shown them — something that rewrote the rules of everything Clara and Ethan thought they knew.Ethan stood by the edge of the dying campfire, staring into the ashes. The faint blue glow from the deactivated chip rested in his palm like something poisonous, a secret you could never unsee. His shoulder still bled from the wound he’d sustained days ago, but he didn’t care. Pain grounded him. It reminded him he was still here, still breathing, still trying to stay human in a world that was trying to turn him into something else.Clara sat a few feet away, her knees drawn to her chest, the wind threading through her hair. She hadn’t spoken since the hologram ended. There was nothing left to say — only questions with no answers. The words “SUBJECT: CLARA BERNETT” still pulsed in her mind like a wound that wouldn’t clot.She turned to him finally.“What aren’t you telling me?”Ethan didn’t look u
Chapter 115
Smoke and MirrorsThe forest burned in the distance — a jagged orange wound bleeding against the horizon. Clara and Ethan stumbled through the smoke, lungs rasping, adrenaline the only thing keeping their legs moving. The smell of metal and ozone hung in the air. The world had become one long stretch of survival.“Down,” Ethan hissed, pulling her into the shadow of a crumbled outpost wall. A faint hum echoed — mechanical, high-pitched. Clara’s eyes darted upward just in time to catch the gleam of a drone sweeping through the trees.Ethan lifted his weapon and fired once. A clean shot. The drone exploded midair, scattering embers like dying stars. Silence followed — almost holy.Her pulse thudded in her ears. “That was close.”He nodded, still breathing hard, scanning the tree line. “Too close. They’re not guessing anymore — someone fed them our coordinates.”Clara frowned. “You think Kane found us again?”“No,” Ethan said flatly. “He’s not guessing. Someone told him.”His gaze hardene
Chapter 114
The WarningThe morning light filtered weakly through the blinds, slanting dust motes across the floor of the safe house. Clara sat at the edge of the bed, phone in hand, rereading the message from last night. Her fingers trembled slightly.“Coordinates tied to… my father’s old facility,” she whispered, tracing the numbers with a fingertip.Ethan stirred from the couch, bandaged shoulder aching but eyes sharp. “You’re still thinking about that message?”Clara didn’t look up. “I have to. It’s connected to Kane. I can feel it.”Ethan ran a hand over his face, then leaned back. “And you’re going alone, right? Just like last time?”“No,” she snapped, irritation and fear mixing. “We go together.”Ethan’s gaze softened, but there was steel in it. “Good. Because I won’t let you run into his trap alone again.”She looked at him, her expression open, her eyes searching. “Then tell me. What do you know about this place? The facility?”He leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “Not much. Only what
Chapter 113
The MessageRain pattered against the roof of the safe house, soft but insistent. Clara sat cross-legged on the floor, knees pressed against her chest, staring at the small chip Ethan had recovered from Victor.Ethan leaned against the wall opposite her, one hand pressed against his shoulder where the bullet wound still throbbed, eyes scanning the room as though danger could emerge from the shadows.“You really think this will tell us anything?” Clara asked, voice quiet.Ethan didn’t answer immediately. His jaw was tight. “It has to.”She looked at him, studying the tension in his face, the way his fingers drummed against the table. “It’s Kane, Ethan. You think he leaves anything for us to just… find?”Ethan’s eyes flicked to her. “You think I don’t know that? You think I’m not expecting a trap?”Clara’s lips pressed together. “Then why touch it?”Ethan exhaled sharply. “Because I have to know what he’s planning next. Because he’s trying to get into my head.”Clara leaned forward. “An
