The attacker at the far end of the tunnel collapsed without a sound.
Scarlett lowered her weapon and continued advancing, but I saw her free hand travel by inertia toward her side. The bloodstain had grown, soaking the fabric down to her hip.
"Scarlett," I called.
"Later," Scarlett said.
"You’re losing too much blood," I insisted.
"Later, Gabriel. Move," she replied.
I didn’t argue further. I quickened my pace.
We reached the end of the corridor. The route died in front of a heavy maintenance hatch reinforced with steel bars. It was hermetically sealed.
"Shit," Jonah muttered, leaning Lena against the wall.
I invoked the scanner on the metal.
MAINTENANCE HATCH
Status: Mechanical lock engaged.
Overall structural damage: 34%.
"The mechanism is jammed, we need to force it open," I indicated.
Elias cautiously approached the wall adjacent to the door. He closed his eyes again, sweating profusely.
"There’s energy behind that wall. A lot," Elias said.
"Dangerous?" I asked.
"Yes. I feel it burning my nerves just being near it," Elias replied.
"How much energy?" I asked.
"I don’t know, I don’t have numbers, I just know it’s lethal," Elias said.
I observed the door mechanism. There was a rusted manual control lever connected to jammed gears. I grabbed it with both hands and pulled with all my strength. The veins in my neck throbbed, but the metal didn’t budge a millimeter.
Nothing.
Scarlett pushed me aside.
"Let me," Scarlett said.
"No," I interposed.
"What the hell are you doing?" Scarlett asked.
"You’re wounded. You’ll tear the muscle," I replied.
"And you don’t have enough strength. Move," Scarlett countered.
She was right. We had no hydraulic strength, no tools. I yielded the space, but she didn’t just pull the lever. She extended her hand toward the hatch, concentrated a contained kinetic pulse, and released it right on the locking mechanism.
The structure groaned, resisting. The gears screeched.
Elias, who was watching the wall, opened his eyes suddenly, terrified.
"Now! Release it!" Elias shouted.
Scarlett dropped backward just as a violent discharge of bluish energy shot through the exposed pipe beside the mechanism. Sparks flew, devouring the rust, and the mechanical lock burst from the overload.
The hatch gave way with a dull blast, opening outward.
"Everyone out!" Marcus shouted.
We stumbled out one after another. The blinding outside light, filtered by the dead trees, struck our eyes like a whip. We had emerged from the back of the service station.
Marcus had been foresighted; he had moved the vehicles near the wooded perimeter. Maya and Evelyn ran toward us from the rear, weapons raised.
Upon seeing the wounded woman, Evelyn holstered her pistol instantly.
"Lena!" Evelyn shouted.
The medic slid across the dirt and knelt immediately beside the woman. She tore the fabric of the pants and assessed the wound in seconds.
"She’s alive. The artery isn’t compromised, but we need to stabilize her now," Evelyn said.
Jonah released all the air he had held in his lungs and dropped to his knees, exhausted. Elias remained standing beside Lena, trembling from the effort.
I turned and saw Scarlett. She was leaning against the truck’s body, breathing shallowly and pressing one hand against the hemorrhage on her side.
Evelyn looked up from the tourniquet and examined her with a critical eye.
"You’re wounded too," Evelyn said.
Scarlett tensed her jaw.
"I’m fine," Scarlett said.
Evelyn pulled a clean compression bandage from her kit.
"If you say that stupidity in front of me again, I swear to God I’ll hit you in the wound," Evelyn said.
To everyone’s surprise, Scarlett raised an eyebrow and the corners of her lips curved a millimeter.
"I like you," Scarlett said.
Evelyn smiled without humor.
"Then sit down and shut up," Evelyn said.
Scarlett obeyed, sliding down the vehicle’s metal until she sat on the ground.
While Evelyn treated the wound and injected a coagulant, I looked toward the station structure. The sounds of combat in the underground had ceased. The enemies were still inside, regrouping or searching for our trail, but they wouldn’t take long to find the destroyed hatch.
"We have to go. Now," I said.
Marcus nodded dryly, climbing into the driver’s seat.
"Everyone on board. Evacuation," Marcus said.
We climbed in urgently. Jonah helped Lena lie down in the back of the truck. Elias sat beside her, holding her hand. I took the passenger seat, closing the door with a metallic slam.
The engine roared, and the truck took off, kicking up clouds of dust and dirt as we abandoned the sector.
During the first minutes of escape, no one uttered a word. Only the hum of the tires on the cracked asphalt and the heavy breathing of the wounded could be heard. Elias stared out the window, watching the mutated forest pass at full speed, assimilating his new reality.
Finally, he broke the silence.
"Where are you going?" Elias asked.
Marcus answered without taking his eyes off the rearview mirror:
"Outside the limits of this damn city. We’re looking for resources and a secure perimeter," Marcus said.
Elias turned his face toward me, with a somber curiosity in his eyes.
"And what are you looking for?" Elias asked.
I kept my gaze forward.
"I’m looking for answers," I replied.
"About the synchronization?" Elias asked.
"Among other things," I said.
Elias smiled weakly, a crooked, exhausted smile.
"Then it seems we have something in common," Elias said.
At that instant, I felt a cold, almost electric vibration, deeply rooted behind my eyes. The scarlet holoscreen unfolded spontaneously.
[NEW NETWORK CONNECTION REGISTERED.]
[Synchronized user: Elias Ward.]
[Synchronization: 4%.]
[Resonance compatibility with primary user: 71%.]
[Note: Such a high compatibility level with a stranger is statistically aberrant. Normal compatibility between synchronized individuals is below 20%.]
I frowned. Such a high compatibility level with a complete stranger was statistically aberrant in such a hostile environment.
But below, a second line appeared, blinking with urgency.
[System Warning.]
[Link compatibility is not bilateral.]
I looked at Elias through the side mirror. He shifted in his seat, uncomfortable, noticing my scrutiny.
"What’s wrong?" Elias asked.
"My System just processed an analysis on you," I replied slowly, assessing his reactions.
"And what does it say?" Elias asked.
"It says we have a resonance compatibility of seventy-one percent. It’s unusually high," I said.
Elias paled, and his expression turned rigid.
"That... that’s not possible," Elias said.
"Why not?" I pressed.
"Because when I tried to analyze you in the bunker room..." He paused, swallowing. "I didn’t get any percentage. My ability bounced off you like you were a black wall," Elias explained.
The System updated again before my eyes, injecting new scarlet text into the screen.
[Structural interference detected.]
[Origin: Passive connection between users.]
[Status: Unstable.]
[Note: The interference suggests an incompatibility at a fundamental level. The cause is unknown. Further data required.]
Elias stopped smiling. Real fear surfaced on his face.
"What does that mean?" Elias asked.
I looked at the blinking red screen, feeling a chill run down my spine. I didn’t have the answer, and my System didn’t intend to give it to me either.
The truck kept devouring kilometers along the cracked road while, in the distance, the service station and its secrets disappeared, swallowed by the thick forest.
The System issued one final silent notification, sealing the mystery in my mind.
[Resonance compatibility: 71%.]
[Risk of future interference: High.]
I looked at Elias one more time. He was staring at me with a mixture of fear and fascination. And I knew, with absolute certainty, that whatever was happening between us was only the beginning.
Then the truck hit a pothole, and Lena let out a cry of pain. Evelyn’s voice cut through the cabin.
"She’s bleeding again. I need to stop the truck."
Marcus cursed, but pulled over.
We were still in the forest. Still exposed. But Lena wouldn’t survive another hour of driving.
"Five minutes," Marcus said. "Then we move."
Evelyn didn’t answer. She was already working, her hands moving with surgical precision.
I stepped out of the truck, scanning the perimeter. The forest was silent. Too silent. But the System showed no immediate threats.
Elias stepped out beside me.
"I need to tell you something," Elias said, his voice low.
"What?" I asked.
"About the White Room. About what they did to me." He swallowed. "They didn’t just study me. They tried to replicate my synchronization. They failed. But they learned something. Something about the towers. About the Bearers."
I turned to face him.
"What did they learn?" I asked.
Elias looked at the dark tree line. Then back at me.
"They learned that the Bearers aren’t just chosen. They’re made. By someone. By something. And that someone is still out there," Elias said.
Before I could ask more, a shot rang out from the trees.
BANG!
The bullet struck the truck’s hood, inches from Evelyn.
"Get down!" I shouted.
Elias threw himself to the ground. I raised my weapon, scanning the tree line.
The System exploded in red.
[AMBUSH DETECTED.]
[Multiple hostiles. Estimated: 8.]
[Direction: North-Northwest.]
Eight. More than us. More than we could handle.
"Back in the truck!" Marcus roared. "Now!"
We scrambled. Evelyn grabbed Lena. Jonah grabbed Elias. Scarlett covered us.
The engine roared. The truck lurched forward.
And the bullets started flying.