The echo's last whisper still clung to the stale bunker air when the world above them shifted.
A faint vibration.A crack of twigs.A low electronic chirp.
APEX pulsed sharply.
"Operator.SRD has located the access point."
Kayden jerked upright in the bunk, breath catching.
"A-already…?"
Alex stood instantly, muscles tense, hand on Kayden's shoulder.
"We need to move. Now."
Phineas peeked up from behind a dusty metal cabinet.
"MOVE TO WHERE? WE ARE IN A BOX. UNDERGROUND. WITH A GHOST IN THE FLOOR."
APEX corrected:
"The echo is dormant.SRD is not."
A metallic clank thundered from above the hatch.
Kayden's heart slammed into his ribs.
Alex whispered, voice tight:
"They're right on top of us…"
BOOM—!
Dust fell from the ceiling in a choking cloud.
The hatch above buckled inward.
Phineas screamed:
"OH GOOD, THEY BROUGHT A BATTERING RAM—OF COURSE THEY DID—"
APEX flashed another alert:
"Omega squad: three units.Breaching…"
Another BOOM
This one harder.Closer.The hatch hinges groaned.
Kayden clutched Alex's hand.
"I can't—Alex, I can't fight again—I'm drained—I'll lose control—"
Alex cupped his face.
"Then we don't fight.We escape."
APEX interrupted, unusually sharp:
"Escape route detected.North wall."
Phineas's head whipped around.
"THE WALL?? THERE IS NO DOOR IN THE WALL—"
APEX clarified:
"…behind the wall."
Phineas groaned.
"I KNEW THIS PLACE WAS A MAZE OF NIGHTMARES."
Alex dragged Kayden toward the northern wall while Phineas frantically searched for an access panel.
He scraped away moss—dirt—dust—
And found a square metal plate.
"I FOUND SOMETHING!PROBABLY A PORTAL TO HELL!"
Alex hissed:
"Open it."
Phineas pried his fingernails at the panel.
It didn't budge.
"WHY IS EVERYTHING MADE OF TITANIUM—?"
Kayden pushed himself forward.
"Let me."
Alex grabbed his wrist.
"Kayden, no—you're too drained—"
Kayden shook his head.
"I can do this."
He pressed his palm to the panel.
A soft shimmer crawled underneath his hand.The seed inside him pulsed once—not violently,just a warm flick of identity.
click.
The panel opened.
Behind it—
A tunnel.Dark.Narrow.Descending like a throat into deeper forest bedrock.
Alex exhaled.
"Yes.That's our way out."
BOOM—!!
The hatch above caved halfway inward—metal bending under Omega force.
A voice through the gap:
"VISUAL CONFIRMED.BREACHING IN TEN—"
Alex shoved Phineas headfirst into the tunnel.
"GO!"
Phineas scrambled like a panicked crab.
Alex turned to Kayden.
"I'll lower you in—just hold onto my arms—"
Kayden nodded, breath shaking.
Then the hatch above exploded.
KRRRRAAANG—!!
Shards of metal rained across the bunker.Light burst through the opening — harsh, white, cold.
SRD Omega armor gleamed above them.
"TARGET LOCKED!"
Kayden screamed.
Alex grabbed him around the waist and lifted him toward the tunnel entrance—
A beam of resonance energy fired past them, shattering a console and showering sparks.
Phineas shrieked from below:
"HURRY HURRY HURRY—THEY'RE COMING—"
APEX shouted:
"Operator—down!NOW—!"
Kayden dropped into the tunnel—Alex sliding down after him just as a second Omega leapt through the hatch.
The tunnel was so narrow Alex had to twist sideways, dragging Kayden deeper, their shoulders scraping rock.
Above them—
"FIRE SUPPRESSION FIELD—DEPLOY—!"
A giant whoosh shook the bunker.
Phineas screamed:
"WHY ARE THEY SETTING THE ROOM ON FIRE— OR FREEZING IT— OR WHATEVER THAT IS—?!"
Alex muttered through clenched teeth:
"They're trying to flush us out."
Kayden's breathing turned ragged.
The tunnel sloped downward.Steep.Disorienting.Claustrophobic.
APEX guided:
"Continue.Tunnel length: 40 meters.Exit leads beneath the northern ridge."
Phineas shouted from ahead:
"GOOD BECAUSE MY ARMS ARE GETTING TANGLED WITH MY LEGS AND EVERYTHING HURTS—"
Alex supported Kayden carefully, one hand braced on the tunnel wall.
"You okay?"
Kayden nodded weakly.
"I'm—I'm fine—I just—don't know how long I can—"
A metal clang echoed above.
Then—
Someone dropped into the tunnel.
Alex froze.
A beam of red light grazed his shoulder.
"GO!" he barked, shoving Kayden forward.
Kayden stumbled forward on all fours.
Phineas shrieked:
"HE'S IN THE TUNNEL—ALEX THERE'S A MAN IN THE TUNNEL—"
Omega armor scraped against the walls, forcing its way through the narrow descent.
Alex twisted, using his body to block Kayden.
Another flash—the tunnel wall scorched inches from Kayden's head.
He cried out.
The resonance seed inside him pulsed—
Hot.Instinctive.Fearful.
APEX shouted:
"Operator—STOP—your heart rate—"
Kayden didn't stop.
He couldn't.
He felt cornered.Pressed.Trapped.
The same way he felt as a child.
And the seed answered.
Blue light flared along his fingers—
Not a blast.
Not a pulse.
Just a flicker of raw resonance bending the space around his hand.
Alex noticed instantly.
"Kayden—don't—not here—this tunnel will collapse—!"
Kayden choked.
"I'm trying—to stop it—I can't—I can't—"
APEX surged into his mind:
"Operator.Focus on one breath.Just one.In—out—In—out—"
The Omega soldier reached Alex—
Alex twisted—blocked—and kicked him backward.
"GO, KAYDEN!"
Kayden scrambled forward, heart hammering, the seed pulsing erratically.
Phineas down the tunnel screamed:
"I SEE AN EXIT—GOD, PLEASE BE AN EXIT—"
Kayden saw light ahead.
Dim, bluish, wet-looking.
A cave opening.
Alex crawled behind him, dragging a disoriented Omega soldier by the visor until the soldier wedged against the narrow rocks.
"MOVE—MOVE—MOVE!"
They burst out of the tunnel into a small underground cavern —moonlight bleeding in from cracks above,roots hanging like dripping curtains.
Phineas sprawled on the ground like a defeated swimmer.
"Ow…Everything hurts in alphabetical order…"
Alex collapsed beside Kayden, breathing hard.
Kayden trembled violently.
Alex cupped his face.
"You're okay.We made it out."
But Kayden shook his head.
"No…we didn't."
APEX pulsed urgently:
"Operator correct.SRD will breach secondary exit in 15 seconds."
Phineas wailed.
"FIFTEEN SECONDS? HOW MANY SECONDS DO NORMAL PEOPLE GET—?!"
Kayden clutched Alex's sleeve.
"I can't…I can't fight again—"
Alex touched his forehead to Kayden's.
"You don't have to.You just have to breathe."
APEX cut in:
"Correction.He must decide."
Kayden's eyes snapped up.
"Decide what?"
APEX pulsed slow.Heavy.
"Whether to run deeper…or call the Agent."
Kayden's blood froze.
Alex's breath caught.
Phineas fainted for half a second.
SRD was seconds away.
The cavern shook.
Kayden looked between Alex—
—warm, terrified, determined—
—and the forest trail behind himwhere faint Citadel markers glowedsoft,patient,inevitable.
Kayden whispered:
"…I don't know what to do."
Alex grabbed his hands.
"I do."
He looked into Kayden's eyes with absolute clarity.
"You choose us.We run."
The cavern trembled again—
SRD was almost through.
Kayden exhaled.
And nodded.