The elevator rattled upward through the dark shaft—old gears grinding,air rushing past the cabin walls like a whisper trying to get in.
Kayden leaned against Alex, eyes half-open, breath shallow.Phineas hugged a support pole like it could save him from gravity.
APEX hummed urgently:
"Omega squad above.Interception predicted in thirty-five seconds."
The words echoed in Kayden's skull.
He whispered:
"I'm so tired…I don't know if I can—Alex—"
Alex brushed a hand through his hair.
"You don't have to fight them alone.We're with you."
Phineas nodded violently.
"And we don't DIE in elevators.I refuse. I refuse that plot twist."
Kayden gave the weakest hint of a laugh.
Then—everything changed.
A click sounded overhead.
Soft.Precise.
Alex tensed.
"That wasn't… mechanical, was it?"
APEX answered immediately:
"No."
The elevator jerked.
Not stopped.
Redirected.
Kayden's stomach lurched as the entire cabin tilted—not dangerously,but unnaturally,like gravity had been politely asked to angle itself differently.
Phineas screamed:
"WHY IS THE FLOOR SLANTED—WHO DO I PUNCH—WHAT IS HAPPENING—"
APEX pulsed sharply.
"External override detected."
Alex's eyes widened.
"Override? From who—SRD?"
APEX's tone dropped.
"Negative."
Kayden felt cold spread through his hands.
He whispered:
"…it's her."
And then it happened.
The lights flickered—not like a malfunction,but like a blink.
A deliberate blink.
The elevator stopped rattling.
The hum of the machinery shifted pitch.
The emergency indicators on the panel glowed white.
White like the Agent's doorway.
White like the slit she always stepped through.
Alex held Kayden tighter.
"No—no—she can't be redirecting the WHOLE ELEVATOR—"
Phineas slapped the wall.
"SHE CAN'T JUST UPDATE OUR DESTINATION LIKE A GPS—THIS IS A GOVERNMENT SHAFT, NOT A SILENT HILL PORTAL—"
Kayden swallowed hard.
He could feel her.
The way you feel pressure before lightning strikes.The way you feel watched through a keyhole.
APEX confirmed:
"Agent has taken control of ascent route.Destination altered."
Alex's voice cracked.
"To where?"
APEX answered after a beat too long.
"Unmapped coordinates."
Phineas panicked.
"That's NOT AN ANSWER. ANSWERS HAVE WORDS LIKE 'THE SURFACE' OR 'FREEDOM' OR 'STARBUCKS.' NOT 'UNMAPPED COORDINATES.'"
Kayden's knees gave out.
Alex caught him before he fell.
"Kayden—stay with me. Please stay—"
Kayden's eyes flickered with faint static.
"She's…she's pulling us somewhere…I can't feel… the normal path anymore…"
APEX's hum roughened:
"Operator resonance dampened.Agent is masking our exit trajectory."
Alex lifted his head toward the ceiling.
"HEY!IF YOU CAN HEAR ME—LEAVE HIM ALONE—HE SAID NO—HE'S STILL SAYING NO—STOP!"
Kayden trembled.
"She's not taking me.She's not.She's…she's just changing the elevator route—she's not grabbing me—"
Phineas yelled from the corner:
"OH GREAT!WE'RE BEING KIDNAPPED POLITELY!"
The elevator slowed.
A deep groaning noise rolled through the shaft—as if the elevator had shifted onto a track that shouldn't exist anymore.
APEX spoke again, quieter:
"Operator.Prepare for contact."
Kayden's breath hitched.
"Contact…?From who?"
APEX did not answer.
The lights dimmed to a faint glow.
The cabin vibrated once—a soft tremor.
And then—
It stopped.
Not gently.
Like a command had frozen every bolt mid-spin.
Phineas whispered:
"…we didn't reach the surface, did we."
Alex shook his head.
"No. We didn't."
Kayden pressed a shaking hand to the mirror beside him.
His reflection glitch-flickered—just for a moment—like the elevator cabin wasn't reflecting properly.
Then the lights shut off.
Total darkness.
Kayden gasped.
"A-Alex—"
Alex held him instantly.
"I'm here. I'm right here."
APEX's voice became a whisper in Kayden's skull.
"Operator.The Agent is outside the cabin."
Phineas's soul left his body.
"NO.NO.NO.WE CAN'T DO THIS.WE'RE NOT READY."
Alex positioned himself in front of Kayden reflexively, fists clenched.
"Kayden—stay behind me."
Kayden shook his head weakly.
"No…Alex…she's not here to attack."
A faint ring of white light formed at the elevator door edges.
Small.Controlled.
Not forcing entry.
Just…
present.
The Agent's voice passed through the darkness, calm and inescapable:
"Variable."
Kayden's breath broke.
"…why…why did you bring us here?"
A pause.
Then—
"To show you what your refusal has changed."
Alex snarled.
"He doesn't WANT your 'lessons'—stop dragging us around like—"
The Agent ignored him completely.
"When you denied extraction,the sequence diverged."
Kayden trembled.
"What sequence?"
The white glow sharpened.
"Your next path."
A shiver ran through Kayden's bones.
"What are you saying…?"
The Agent's voice held no emotion.
Just certainty.
"I did not bring you to take you."A beat."I brought you to show you what happens if SRD reaches you first."
Alex froze.
Phineas stopped breathing.
Kayden stared at the glowing outline of the door—
terrifiedand unable to turn away.
The Agent's final words pierced the silence:
"Look carefully,Variable.This is the future you refused."
The elevator doors began to open.
Slowly.
Soundlessly.
Revealing whatever she wanted Kayden to see.