Subject Ten stepped from the darkness
as the lights behind it flickered and died.
It wasn't human.
Or maybe it used to be—
before the Academy tore the humanity out.
Tall.
Broad.
Wrong.
Built like a shadow wearing skin.
Its head tilted,
the motion unnervingly soft.
Lucian whispered:
"…Elleanore…
do not react to its voice."
But it was too late.
Subject Ten inhaled sharply—
and the air rippled.
Not like heat.
Not like wind.
Like resonance.
"…Elle…"
That broken whisper pierced everything.
Rowan screamed.
"No—NO—
STOP SAYING HER NAME—!"
Chandler stepped forward, weapon raised.
Horace blocked him instantly, voice low and sharp.
"Do NOT provoke it."
Sev collapsed to the floor, shaking.
Len grabbed my arm, pulling me back with trembling hands.
The Phase Zero children scattered like startled birds.
But Elliot—
Elliot stood.
Between me and the monster.
His shoulders shook.
His breath came out in ragged bursts.
"…Elle…
don't…
look…"
Subject Ten took another slow step forward.
THOOM.
A metal grate trembled.
Another step.
THOOM.
The lights buzzed.
Lucian's tablet vibrated violently.
"It's imprint-locking—
it identified the anchor—!"
Chandler cursed under his breath.
"Meaning her."
Rowan clung to my sleeve, trembling violently.
"Elle—
step back—
step back—
PLEASE—"
But Elliot seized my arm with feral strength.
"No!
If she moves—
if she leaves—
it'll go after her—
it'll TAKE HER—"
His voice cracked at the last words.
Subject Ten reached out—
one long, unnatural hand—
toward me.
Horace lunged.
Chandler lunged.
Elliot roared.
"DON'T TOUCH HER—!!"
Subject Ten froze.
Its head turned sharply toward Elliot—
recognizing him.
Comparing him.
Rejecting him.
"…wrong…"
Chandler's eyes widened.
"It thinks Elliot is wrong?"
Lucian nodded.
"Because Elliot was the prototype.
Subject Ten was the final version."
Rowan gasped.
"S-So it…
it sees Elliot as competition?"
Lucian swallowed.
"Worse than that—
it sees him as a failure."
Elliot's stance shifted.
He trembled.
Hard.
Painfully.
"Elle…"
His voice shook.
"I can't…
stop shaking…
I can't—
fight it if—
if you're too far—"
I stepped closer.
Horace grabbed my wrist, panicked.
"Elleanore—NO—"
But I broke free.
Subject Ten's head SNAPPED in my direction—
a puppet pulled by instinct.
Everyone froze.
Rowan's voice broke.
"Elle—
what are you doing—?!"
"I'm anchoring him."
Elliot's breath caught—
like someone had finally given him air.
"…Elle…
yes…
stay…
stay—"
Subject Ten inhaled again.
The air pulsed.
My knees buckled.
Rowan screamed.
"ELLE—!!"
But Elliot caught me before I fell.
His arms wrapped around me tightly.
Not possessive.
Not instinct-driven.
Protective.
Subject Ten stepped closer.
Lucian choked out:
"It's entering imprint override—
it's trying to CLAIM HER—
Elleanore, DO NOT make eye contact—!"
Subject Ten reached again.
Rowan sobbed into Chandler's shoulder.
"Stop—
STOP—
please don't take her—"
Chandler bared his teeth.
"I swear if that thing touches her—"
Horace steadied his stance, ready to intercept.
But Elliot…
Elliot moved.
Fast.
Faster than Subject Ten expected.
He grabbed its reaching arm
and SLAMMED it into the ground.
The entire lab shook.
Subject Ten roared—
a sound that didn't belong to a throat.
Chandler stared.
"Holy—
he's fighting it?!"
Lucian whispered:
"He can't win.
Subject Ten was engineered to overpower him."
But Elliot didn't let go.
He snarled—
a sound raw with instinct, pain, and terror.
"STAY.
AWAY.
FROM HER—!!"
Subject Ten twisted violently, throwing Elliot back.
He hit the ground hard.
Rowan screamed.
"ELLIOT—!!"
I ran to him—
"ELLEANORE—NO!"
Horace grabbed my arm—
but Elliot caught it first, voice breaking:
"Elle—
stay—
don't leave—
don't—"
Subject Ten's head turned toward me again.
Lucian scanned frantically.
"Elleanore—
Ten is built to respond to you.
Move the wrong way and—"
"I know."
I knelt beside Elliot.
His hand shot up and gripped the back of my neck—
desperate, shaking.
His forehead pressed against mine.
"…Elle…
don't let it…
take you…"
"I won't."
I whispered back.
"Fight with me."
Something inside his eyes shifted.
Not instinct.
Not fear.
Recognition.
Lucian gasped.
"It's working—
her proximity is destabilizing Ten's directive—!"
Subject Ten staggered.
Its resonance flickered.
Chandler lunged.
Horace did too.
Together, they pinned Subject Ten's arms for one precious second.
Rowan yelled:
"NOW, ELLE—!!"
I cupped Elliot's face and whispered:
"Come back to me."
He inhaled sharply—
once—
twice—
Then his eyes changed.
Clearer.
Brighter.
Human.
"…Elle…"
He pushed off the ground, using the last of his strength,
and slammed Subject Ten into the floor.
The lab shook violently.
Lucian screamed:
"THE SYSTEM IS COLLAPSING—
WE NEED TO GO—NOW—!!"
Chandler grabbed me.
Horace grabbed Elliot.
Rowan held onto Sev and Len.
The children followed Elo.
We ran.
Subject Ten roared behind us—
but its body didn't follow.
It convulsed.
Collapsed.
Destabilizing.
Lucian yelled:
"IT CAN'T LEAVE B8—
RUN—!!"
The floor vibrated.
Metal groaned.
The door began to close automatically.
I turned back—
just for a second—
Subject Ten reached toward me
with a single trembling hand.
"…Elle…"
I whispered back:
"I'm not yours."
The door slammed shut.
Run
The B8 door slammed shut with a metallic shriek—
the kind that vibrated in your bones.
Elliot lurched forward as if to collapse with it,
but Horace caught him just in time, hauling him up by the shoulder.
Lucian grabbed the rail.
"GO—
GO NOW—
THE FLOOR IS LOCKING DOWN!"
The alarms blared above us—
sirens layered over warning tones:
"CONTAINMENT FAILURE."
"SYSTEM PURGE ACTIVATED."
"ALL PERSONNEL EVACUATE."
Red lights spun wildly along the walls.
Then the ground trembled.
Not lightly.
Like the entire level was preparing to swallow itself.
Chandler snapped around.
"MOVE!"
Rowan grabbed my wrist with both hands.
"Elle—
don't let go—
don't let go—!"
Sev clung to my leg, whimpering.
Len pressed into my side, breathing in terrified bursts.
The Phase Zero children huddled together behind Elo.
Elliot reached for me blindly.
"…Elle…
stay close…"
"I'm here."
I grabbed his hand—
my fingers closing around his trembling ones—
and we ran.
THE COLLAPSING CORRIDOR
Lucian took the lead, sprinting down the hallway.
"The emergency stairs are this way!
HURRY—!"
The entire corridor vibrated, lights flickering violently.
Rowan covered his ears, eyes wide.
"W-Why is it collapsing?! It didn't collapse on the way down—!"
Lucian shouted over the alarms:
"BECAUSE WE TRIGGERED A FULL OVERRIDE!
THE SYSTEM IS WIPING B8—
WHICH MEANS B7 IS NEXT!"
Chandler cursed loudly.
"So this ENTIRE FLOOR is about to fold in on itself?!"
"YES!"
Horace hoisted Elliot's arm over his shoulders and forced him forward.
"Then we climb.
NOW."
Elliot tried to keep up, but his legs dragged.
I squeezed his hand tighter.
"Elliot—
you have to stay awake—"
He shook his head weakly.
"…Elle…
I'm tired…"
"Stay with me."
He nodded faintly.
Behind us, the metal screamed.
A massive arm of machinery slammed down from the ceiling—
BOOM—
missing us by inches.
Rowan yelped.
Chandler grabbed him by the back of his jacket and shoved him forward.
"EYES FORWARD, ROSEN! WE'RE NOT DYING HERE!"
Rowan stumbled but kept running.
Sev and Len darted under my arms, small bodies clinging as we sprinted.
Elo led the children, pointing to every safe pocket of space.
They followed like frightened ducklings.
THE FASTER THE SYSTEM FAILS, THE HARDER THE RUN
Lucian skidded around a corner.
"Stairs—
THERE!"
The emergency stairwell door blared red.
LOCKED.
Rowan screamed.
"NO—NO NO—
WE CAN'T BE TRAPPED—"
Lucian jammed his keycard into the panel.
Nothing.
Chandler slammed his fist against it.
"Lucian—OPEN IT!"
"I'M TRYING—THE SYSTEM IS OVERRIDING EVERYTHING—!"
Another deep metallic CRACK thundered behind us.
Horace shoved Elliot forward, voice hard:
"Lucian.
NOW."
Lucian's hands shook—
then he pulled out the tablet.
Typed.
Swiped.
Overrode three warning screens.
The lock clicked.
Chandler kicked the door open.
"GO—!!"
UPWARD
We surged into the stairwell as the floor dropped behind us.
Literally dropped.
A section of B7's hallway tore away and fell into the dark.
Rowan screamed.
Elo pulled the smallest child back.
Sev wailed.
Chandler slammed the stairwell door shut.
Horace locked it.
Lucian shouted:
"STAIRS—UP TWO FLOORS—NOW!"
We climbed.
Not gracefully.
Not evenly.
Elliot stumbled every few steps.
Horace lifted him by the waist.
Chandler pushed from behind.
I stayed at his side, letting him lean on me whenever his legs gave out.
Rowan climbed right beside me, refusing to let go of my sleeve.
"Elle—please—please don't stop—please—"
"I'm not stopping."
Sev and Len climbed on all fours.
The children followed in wide-eyed silence.
Another explosion echoed below.
Lucian shouted upward:
"DON'T LOOK BACK—
B7 IS COLLAPSING!"
The staircase shook so violently I thought it would break.
Elliot's grip tightened on me.
"…Elle…"
"I'm here—keep going—"
We climbed.
Up.
Up.
Up.
Every step was a miracle.
Every breath tasted like metal and dust.
We burst through the first landing—B6.
Lucian didn't slow.
"KEEP GOING—
B6 IS COMPROMISED TOO—!"
Rowan gasped for breath.
"Elle—
my legs—
I—
I don't—"
Chandler grabbed him by the back and shoved him upward.
"You're climbing, Rosen! MOVE!"
Rowan yelped but kept climbing.
Horace shoved the children ahead.
"Faster."
Len tripped—
I grabbed him.
Sev stumbled—
Elo grabbed him.
Elliot collapsed onto one knee.
"No—
Elliot—UP—!"
I grabbed his shoulders.
Horace scooped Elliot up entirely, throwing him over his shoulder.
"We're NOT losing him!"
Elliot didn't even fight it.
He just reached toward me weakly.
"…Elle…"
"I'm here."
The stairs trembled again.
Lights flickered.
Lucian yelled:
"B5!
WE'RE ALMOST THERE—!"
Chandler reached the door first and kicked it open.
We spilled onto the floor—
B5.
And the stairwell behind us collapsed.
Rowan screamed.
Sev sobbed.
Len hid behind me.
Elo held the children close.
Lucian gasped:
"We made it—
WE MADE IT—"
Chandler ran a hand through his hair.
Horace lowered Elliot gently to the ground.
Elliot's head drooped against my shoulder.
His breath was shallow.
Lucian scanned him quickly.
"He's stable—
barely—
but stable."
Rowan collapsed to his knees.
"Elle—
we…
we're alive—
we're alive—"
I nodded, trembling.
"We're going home."
Elliot's fingers curled into my shirt.
"…Elle…
stay…?"
I squeezed his hand.
"I'm not leaving you."
Not now.
Not ever again.