The forest tore past them in a blur.
Branches slapped Alex's arms as he ran with Kayden held against him,Phineas sprinting ahead like a panicked chicken who'd achieved enlightenment through fear.
SRD voices echoed behind them—angry, metallic, growing louder:
"TARGET MOVING EAST— CUT THEM OFF—!"
APEX pulsed sharply inside Kayden's skull:
"Operator—left turn—immediate."
"Alex—left!" Kayden gasped.
Alex pivoted instantly.
They crashed through a wall of ferns—
And the ground dropped.
Phineas screeched.
"I DIDN'T SIGN UP FOR CLIFF—WAIT—WAIT—NOT A CLIFF—"
They didn't fall.
They slid.
Down a slope hidden beneath thick undergrowth,roots catching their feet,dirt cascading under their weight.
Alex wrapped both arms around Kayden, protecting his head.
APEX whispered:
"Brace."
They hit bottom.
Hard.
Alex groaned.Phineas face-planted so hard a leaf stuck to his forehead like a sticker.
Kayden blinked rapidly.
"A-are we okay…?"
Alex checked him quickly.
"You're good.Just shaken."
APEX hummed low.
"SRD distance increasing.Terrain obstructing sensors."
Phineas spat dirt.
"So we're alive!That's cool!Let's keep this trend going!"
Then he froze.
"…uh.Guys?"
He pointed.
Behind a curtain of roots hanging like old curtains,a dark metal surface glinted.
A hatch.Half-buried.Thick.Old.
Its edges covered with moss, leaves, and time.
Alex stepped closer.
"No way…"
Kayden's pulse stuttered.
APEX confirmed:
"Subsurface access detected.Designation: SRD Auxiliary Bunker 6-B."
Phineas gasped like someone punched the air out of him.
"A BUNKER?!LIKE A REAL BUNKER?!WITH WALLS AND NOT-TREES AND HOPE?!?"
Alex immediately crouched near the hatch.
"Kayden, stay behind me."
Kayden nodded, still unsteady.
Alex yanked at the handle—
Nothing.
He pulled harder.
The hatch didn't budge.
Phineas ran up beside him.
"Let me try—I've got genius-level desperation."
He grabbed the handle—
And immediately slipped on moss.
Alex caught him by the collar.
Kayden leaned weakly on a tree.
"APEX… can you open it…?"
APEX hummed.
"Control systems offline.Manual override required."
Kayden stared at the hatch.
"What kind of manual override?"
APEX answered simply:
"Operator resonance."
Kayden's throat tightened.
"I-I'm not strong enough…"
Alex turned instantly.
"Yes, you are."
Phineas pointed at the hatch like it had insulted him.
"KAYDEN.Buddy.Friend.Cosmic sonshine.Please open the door before SRD opens US."
Kayden stepped forward.
His legs shook.His chest hurt.His energy was a fraying thread.
But Alex stood behind him, hands on his arms.
"You don't have to push.Just touch it."
Kayden swallowed hard.
He placed both palms on the cold metal.
Nothing happened.
He closed his eyes.
Still nothing.
Alex leaned in, forehead touching Kayden's temple.
"Breathe."
Kayden inhaled.
Exhaled.
The seed inside his chest pulsed once—a soft, warm glow.
The hatch vibrated.
A seam of faint blue light traced its outer rim.
Phineas screamed:
"IT'S OPENING—IT'S OPENING—EVERYONE BE COOL—DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING WEIRD—"
KRRRRK—
The hatch groaned.
Then opened inward, coughing out a cloud of stale, metallic air.
Alex lifted Kayden in his arms again.
"Phin.Inside. Now."
Phineas scrambled into the darkness.
Alex followed with Kayden.
APEX whispered:
"Seal the hatch."
Alex kicked the hatch shut with his heel.
THUD.
Darkness swallowed them.
Then—
CLICK.
Lights flickered on.
Weak.Yellow.Buzzing like forgotten insects.
The bunker revealed itself piece by piece.
Narrow hall.Rust-streaked walls.Old equipment draped in cobwebs.Control consoles long dead.A small room branching off with bunks.
Kayden whispered:
"…this place is ancient."
APEX answered:
"Decommissioned 14 years ago.Maintained for anomaly containment overflow."
Phineas gagged.
"ANOMALY WHAT—EXCUSE ME—WE ARE LIVING IN A HORROR MOVIE—"
Alex ignored the fear.
He laid Kayden gently on one of the old bunks.
Kayden sagged into the mattress, breath shaky.
Alex cupped his cheek.
"You're safe.For now."
Kayden stared at the ceiling.
"…I opened a door."
Alex smiled faintly.
"You opened OUR door."
Phineas peeked out from behind a dismantled console.
"I swear something here is haunted.I can feel ghosts in my bones."
Kayden laughed weakly.
Then froze.
APEX pulsed urgently.
"Operator.Remain still."
Kayden's breath hitched.
"Why?"
Alex straightened.
APEX answered:
"Anomaly signature detected below us.Dormant…for now."
Phineas screamed into his sleeve.
"WHY DOES EVERYTHING HAVE A HIDDEN ANOMALY—WHY—"
Alex moved to stand between Kayden and the floor.
"What's down there?"
APEX paused.
Then answered with a tone Kayden had never heard:
"Something that once reacted to you."
Kayden's heartbeat spiked.
"…to me?"
Phineas shrieked:
"I KNEW THIS BUNKER WAS CURSED—"
The lights flickered.
Kayden's breath fogged slightly—just enough to show a shift in temperature.
APEX whispered:
"It is waking."
Alex placed a hand protectively over Kayden's.
"We're not going anywhere.Not leaving you."
Kayden's voice trembled.
"…APEX…what kind of anomaly?"
APEX answered softly, gravely:
"The kind that remembers you."
The bunker hummed.The floor vibrated.
Something below shifted.
Slow.Careful.Listening.
And Kayden realized—
They hadn't found shelter.
They had found another piece of his erased past.