Location: Louisiana Bayou, en route to Site Phoenix
Time: 10:13 p.m.
The moss-draped trees swayed like old ghosts as Ryan Bruce stood beneath them, saying goodbye.
Holly wrapped her arms around his neck, whispering, "Don't forget the walkie-talkie—even if it doesn't work. It's still ours."
Faith, gripping Frogbert tight, shoved him into Ryan's chest. "He needs someone brave to hold him. That's you."
Ryan smiled, barely. "Thanks for the promotion."
They climbed into the camouflaged van. Behind the wheel, Bella Castini adjusted her bandaged wrist, still stinging from the earlier attack. Emily sat shotgun, silent, eyes locked on the road ahead. Ryan gave one last look to the fading porch light of their destroyed home before it vanished behind a wall of fog.
10:35 p.m. – Black Route Alpha
The van rumbled over dirt paths mapped only in analog archives. Bella gripped the steering wheel tighter.
"Version Zero's reactivated the sleeper grid. Every checkpoint, every fallback bunker—he's turned them into weapons," she said.
Emily studied the map. "So what's between us and Site Phoenix?"
Bella's lip curled. "A cemetery. A minefield. And a haunted vending machine. Don't ask."
Ryan reached back and checked his sidearm. "Sounds like a date night."
11:02 p.m. – The Armory
What had once been an ONYX CORE safehouse was now a charred ruin. The walls bore scorch marks and glitch static. Dead silence smothered the air.
"Something's off," Ryan muttered.
The team spread out. Bella stepped over what looked like a pile of armor. Then it *moved.*
A cybernetic unit—old ONYX prototype—lunged from the debris. It wore Ryan's face, distorted, pixelated, voice skipping in feedback loops.
"You… were the mistake…"
Three more followed. One walked like a child. One had no eyes. One cried when it moved.
Ryan didn't hesitate. The fireplace poker was gone—but the crowbar in his hands made a new legacy.
Emily laid down covering fire. Bella, bleeding from her shoulder, shouted, "This one's mine!" as she cracked a skull with a rusted oxygen tank.
When it ended, Ryan stood over the wreckage of himself.
"Not mistakes," he whispered. "Warnings."
11:38 p.m. – Van, en route
Bella hissed as Emily stitched her arm in the back seat.
"Version Zero… he's not after your tech. He wants your life. He thinks you stole it."
Ryan leaned forward. "Then he'll come for my girls. And that's where he loses."
Emily looked over. "He didn't earn what you have. He never will."
11:55 p.m. – Perimeter Fence, Site Phoenix
The van stopped. Static ran through the air like invisible vines. The fence ahead was rusted, chained, and hissing like it hated being seen.
The countdown on Ryan's wrist dipped to 46:00:00.
A voice crackled through the wind. Glitching. Echoing. Familiar.
"Welcome home."
Ryan adjusted his vest, looked to Emily, then to Bella.
"Let's burn this place into history."
(TO BE CONTINUED...)