The radio sank into a heavy silence, leaving the threat floating in the station’s dimness. The transmission’s final sentence resonated in my mind with the force of a fatalistic verdict: the tower knew our exact coordinates.
Maya kept her arms crossed in a defensive posture, but the imperceptible trembling of her fingers betrayed her control. Evelyn broke the stalemate.
"Maya, you mentioned that frequency isn’t unfamiliar to you," she said cautiously.
The Awakened avoided eye contact for a second before nodding heavily.
"It happened shortly after my Awakening. I was trapped in an apartment trying to connect a call with my brother. The radio emitted exactly the same tone."
I straightened, closing the distance between us.
"We need the exact details of that event."
"The transmission gave me a clear directive: run north." Maya let out a bitter laugh. "I accepted the order without question because minutes earlier I had witnessed the execution of three civilians on the sidewalk. Any instruction sounded like salvation at that moment."
"What triggered your escape?" Evelyn asked.
"The building collapsed because a creature broke in. If I had stayed there, I would have died buried. But when I reached the northern coordinates, I discovered a massive nest of beasts. The voice saved me from immediate death only to throw me into a hunting ground."
The revelation confirmed my suspicions: the voice manipulated the environment to its convenience.
"The message seeks to fracture our alliance," Evelyn assessed, keeping calm.
Maya observed her with evident caution.
"Or it represents a real diagnosis about the risks of keeping her by your side."
I turned to Evelyn.
"Do you think I should doubt you?"
"I consider that evaluation to be entirely yours," the doctor replied with pragmatic coldness.
I held her gaze. Evelyn could have abandoned me in the desolate building or fled when the light column targeted us. She didn’t. In previous confrontations, we had both risked our lives for each other. An anonymous frequency had no weight against that certainty.
"I will not break my trust in you over the words of a phantom transmission."
Evelyn nodded slightly, while Maya watched us in silence.
"In that case, the division maneuver has just failed," the Awakened concluded.
I summoned the System over the transmitter’s chassis. Evelyn handed it to me without objection, and I held it in front of me.
[BASIC ANALYSIS.]
[TRANSMISSION EVALUATION IN PROGRESS.]
The blue lines scanned the circuit board.
[Energy pattern detected.]
[Origin: Energy structure associated with Tower.]
[Note: The energy signature is consistent with the Rupture network. The System cannot determine if the voice is directly from the Tower or an external entity using the Tower’s energy as a conduit.]
A chill ran down my neck.
"The transmission emanates from the tower’s signature," I announced.
"Does that structure possess the ability to articulate human language?" Maya inquired.
I formulated the query in my mind, but the interface returned a dry response:
[The formulated premise is incorrect.]
I frowned. The System did not confirm that the voice came directly from the tower, only that the energy signature matched. Something was relaying the signal using the structure’s energy as a conduit.
"The energy trace belongs to the tower, but the voice doesn’t necessarily," I said. "Something is using the tower as a relay. A middleman."
Maya nodded, processing the distinction.
"That complicates the origin of the emitter even further."
I forced a new search on the emitter’s trace.
[Energy residue located.]
[Distance: 3.2 kilometers east.]
[Warning: The signal is moving. The origin is not static.]
"The signal is moving," I said. "It’s not a fixed emitter. It’s mobile."
Maya’s expression hardened.
"That means whatever is speaking to us is alive. Or at least, it’s moving."
I adjusted my grip on the steel bar.
"I have the coordinates of the signal’s origin. We can track it."
"That route is equivalent to walking straight into a trap," Maya warned.
"It represents our only concrete lead."
"Gabriel..."
"Staying still guarantees our capture."
A metallic creak echoed in the depths of the tunnel, interrupting the dispute. Marcus and his trackers were closing in on the perimeter. Maya switched off the flashlight instantly.
"We must leave through the maintenance access," she whispered.
We abandoned the station through a side corridor that Maya knew perfectly. The night received us with a silence charged with threats. The blackened streets stretched before us, transformed into a treacherous territory where every snap of broken glass or creak of sheet metal announced a lethal threat.
"I know a medical center a few blocks away," Evelyn whispered. "We need supplies to clean your laceration."
We moved in tactical formation. Maya led the way, her kinetic senses alert. Evelyn covered the right flank. I brought up the rear with the steel bar ready to strike.
I activated the scan.
[Potential threat detected.]
I raised my hand, ordering a full stop. Seconds later, a shapeless mass crossed the front intersection without detecting our presence. I held my breath as the creature moved away. Maya offered me a nod of approval.
We advanced one more block. A second specimen blocked the sidewalk, sniffing the remains of a corpse. Maya picked up a glass bottle and threw it toward a side alley. The sound attracted the beast, which veered into the shadows, clearing our path.
"Efficient," I murmured.
"Distraction is cheaper than ammunition," she replied.
We crossed the shattered façade of the medical center. The pungent stench of industrial disinfectant and rancid blood saturated the air. While Evelyn and Maya searched the cabinets for antiseptics and bandages, I went deeper inside looking for something else.
I discovered a back consultation room turned into an improvised shelter: filthy mattresses, empty rations, and a black engraving on the main wall. A perfect circle crossed by three jagged lines.
I recognized the symbology immediately. It was the same that appeared in the margins of Marcus’s folder, on his maps and notes. The drawing reproduced exactly the patterns of the Ruptures.
[BASIC ANALYSIS.]
[Unknown symbol. Pattern compatible with Rupture energy.]
[Note: The symbol appears in multiple locations. It predates the current Rupture event. Further data required.]
"Someone established a research base here," I murmured.
A crash of shattered metal cut off my words. Three creatures emerged from the shadows of the hallway. They advanced fanning out, flanking the exits with terrifying military coordination.
[ANOMALOUS BEHAVIOR DETECTED.]
[Tactical pattern identified.]
"They’re executing an encirclement maneuver," I warned, raising the bar.
The first entity lunged at my position. I blocked the claw with the steel, delivering a dry impact to its ribcage that sent it against the doorframe. Maya dodged the second creature by pivoting on her axis with preternatural speed, while Evelyn used a surgical tray to strike the face of the third.
"Get out of the building now!" Maya bellowed.
I seized the opening to land a heavy blow against the side of the injured specimen, cracking its bone structure, and cleared the way to the street.
We took refuge in the depths of an abandoned underground parking garage, catching our breath in the semidarkness. The echo of the creatures faded into the distance.
With my heart hammering against my ribs, I took the transmitter Evelyn handed me and activated the frequency.
KRRRSHHH.
Maya paled and clenched her fists, as if the mere timbre of the voice provoked a visceral fear in her.
"Gabriel, turn off that device..." she pleaded.
The distorted voice broke through with chilling clarity:
"Gabriel Bowman. If you wish to understand the reason why the System selected you as a host... present yourself at the East Tower."
The signal died instantly.
Through the broken windows of the parking garage, the colossal silhouette of the black obelisk rose against the night sky, emitting an oppressive presence.
The System deployed a red notification in my visual field.
[NEW OBJECTIVE DETECTED: EAST TOWER.]
[SUGGESTED DIRECTIVE: AVOID APPROACH.]
[Note: The System does not recommend this course of action. The entity’s motives are unknown.]
I let out a bitter laugh. The System ordered me to flee; the mysterious voice demanded my presence. For the first time since the disaster began, the chaos offered a clear destination.
I tightened my grip on the metal bar, fixing my gaze on the cosmic structure.
Time to find out which of the two entities is lying, I thought.
Evelyn stepped beside me, her arms crossed, her gaze fixed on the same distant obelisk.
"You’re going to go, aren’t you?" she asked.
"Eventually," I admitted.
"Even though it’s obviously a trap?"
"Especially because it’s obviously a trap."
She studied me for a long moment. Then she nodded.
"Then we go together. Or not at all."
Maya, who had remained silent, let out a heavy sigh.
"You’re both insane," she said.
"Probably," I replied.
"Definitely," Evelyn corrected.
Maya shook her head, but a faint, tired smile appeared on her face.
"I’ll guide you as far as I can. But I won’t enter that thing’s radius. I’ve seen what happens to people who get too close."
"What happens?" I asked.
Maya’s smile vanished.
"They stop being people."