The cavern trembled again —stones rattling,roots quivering,dust drifting like falling ash.
APEX pulsed warning signals across Kayden's nerves:
"Omega breach in ten seconds."
Alex didn't waste a breath.
"We're not calling her.We're not standing here.We're LEAVING."
Phineas flopped upright from his half-fainted heap.
"LEAVING WHERE, ALEX?! WE ARE IN A ROCK CLOSET WITH ANGER ISSUES—"
Kayden swayed as he tried to stand.
Alex caught him instantly.
Kayden whispered, voice thinning:
"I can't… run much more…"
Alex brushed a thumb across Kayden's cheek.
"Then I'm carrying you."
Before Kayden could argue—
CRRRK—KRAAANG—!!
Stone split.The tunnel behind them burst open.Red SRD visors glowed through the crack.
Phineas shrieked:
"WE NEED A MIRACLE.OR A MAP.OR A MIRACULOUS MAP—"
Kayden blinked weakly through the dust.
Then—
He heard it.
A faint rush.
Like the sound of breath through a long lung.
Water.
Kayden pointed at the cavern floor.
"There…is something…under us…"
APEX confirmed instantly:
"Hydrological anomaly detected.Subterranean river beneath surface layer."
Alex's eyes snapped wide.
"How deep?"
"Minimum drop: three meters.Rapid flow."
Phineas stared.
"THREE METERS?!THAT'S NOT A RIVER.THAT'S A VERTICAL WET DEATH SENTENCE—"
Kayden stumbled toward the far wall.
Something glowed under the roots—a fissure,thin but widening,and beyond it—
A violent undercurrent of rushing water.
Alex grabbed his arm.
"Kayden—hold on—don't step too close—"
Kayden whispered:
"It's… our way out."
Alex stared at the river.
"…are you sure?"
Kayden nodded shakily.
"It's fast.Random.Chaotic.SRD scanners can't follow water."
APEX pulsed agreement:
"Correct.Pursuit likelihood reduced by 87%."
Phineas slapped both cheeks with his palms.
"I vote NO on being flushed like a goldfish—"
But SRD's final breach answered for them:
BOOM—!!
The cavern wall disintegrated.
Omega soldiers surged through with rifles raised.
"TARGET LOCATED.CONTAIN IMMEDIATELY—!"
Alex pulled Kayden close.
"PHIN.NOW OR NEVER."
Phineas looked at the river.
Then at the soldiers.
Then at the river.
Then at Alex.
"…I HATE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS PLAN—"
Alex shoved him.
"GO!"
Phineas screamed:
"AAAAAAHhhhh I REGRET EVERY BIRTHDAY I EVER CELEBRATED—!!"
And he disappeared into the water.
Alex didn't hesitate.
He lifted Kayden —one arm under his knees,one behind his back.
Kayden clung to him, breath trembling.
"A-Alex—I'm scared—"
Alex pressed his forehead to Kayden's.
"I know.I've got you.I'll never drop you."
SRD shouted:
"FIRE—FIRE—FIRE—!!"
Red bolts crashed against the cavern walls.
Kayden squeezed his eyes shut.
Alex tightened his grip.
And jumped.
WHOOM—!!
Cold water swallowed them instantly—a violent rush pulling them into darkness.
Kayden gasped as the river spun them through a narrow stone throat.Alex held him like a lifeline, turning his body to shield Kayden from the impact of rocks and roots.
Water roared around them, a crushing current forcing them through the twisting underground channel.
Kayden struggled for breath.
Alex yelled over the noise:
"KAYDEN—KEEP YOUR HEAD UP—BREATHE—!"
Kayden clung to him, terrified.
"I—I can't—Alex—help—"
APEX surged through Kayden's mind:
"Operator—hold breath.Three—two—NOW."
Kayden inhaled sharply—
—just as the river pulled them under.
Black water engulfed them.
Pressure slammed into Kayden's chest.His ears rang with the force of the current.
Alex kicked hard, fighting upward, one arm locked around Kayden's waist.
Kayden's lungs burned.
He wasn't going to make it—he couldn't—the water—
Then—
SUNLIGHT.
They burst through a break in the stone—splashed into an open river pool beneath the forest canopy.
Kayden gasped in air so hard it hurt.
Alex held him, coughing, pulling him to the riverbank.
Phineas floated nearby, face down.
Alex dragged him out by the collar.
"Phin—PHIN—wake up—"
Phineas rolled over, coughing violently.
"MY SOUL LEFT MY BODY—THAT RIVER STOLE IT—I NEED A REFUND—"
Kayden collapsed onto the grass, trembling but alive.
Alex knelt beside him, brushing wet hair from Kayden's forehead.
"You okay?"
Kayden whispered:
"You didn't let go."
Alex smiled weakly.
"I told you I wouldn't."
APEX hummed in Kayden's skull.
"Operator vitals stabilizing.SRD units remain upstream.They cannot follow this route."
Kayden exhaled, shaking.
"…we made it."
Phineas yelled from the grass:
"I'M NEVER TOUCHING WATER AGAIN!"
Alex laughed breathlessly.
Then his expression shifted.
Gentle again.
Soft.
He helped Kayden sit up.
And Kayden saw something in Alex's eyes he hadn't seen since before the Orientation.
Hope.
Alex whispered:
"We're finally ahead of them."
Kayden looked at the sunlight filtering through the trees.
For the first time, it felt real.
He squeezed Alex's hand.
"…thank you."
Alex kissed Kayden's temple.
"Always."
But APEX cut through the warmth with calm urgency:
"Operator.Be advised.The Citadel trail resumes ahead."
Kayden blinked.
"Even after all this…she's still guiding us?"
APEX answered:
"Yes.And the next marker is close."
Alex and Phineas stopped breathing.
Kayden looked ahead into the glowing patches of forest—
And felt the resonance seed pulse once in his chest.
The Agent wasn't done.
The forest wasn't done.
And neither was he.