CHAPTER 5

The subway tunnel was suffocating. It wasn’t just dark — the Black Mist had seeped down from the surface, turning the air thick and metallic. Our headlights cut two white paths through it, bouncing off rusted tracks and abandoned train cars.

Inside the BearCat, every sound echoed. Debris under the tires felt like gunfire.

[DING!]

[Mutation Level: 0.19%]

[Warning: Enclosed space detected. Hive Sense sensitivity increased.]

“Eyes up, Zahir,” I muttered. My hand was still on his shoulder. He was tense, vibrating.  

With Hyper-Awareness, this place had to be overwhelming. “The System says there are Mimics down here. They don’t fight fair.”

Zahir didn’t look away from the road. “I can hear them. Sounds like static.” He shifted gears. “And it’s Commander. Or sir.”

I gave a short laugh. “Look around, Commander. The chain of command just got firebombed.  

Out there the city’s burning. In here it’s just us and whatever’s hunting. I think we’re past ‘sir’.”

He didn’t answer. His jaw ticked.

Fifty yards ahead, our lights caught a figure on the tracks. A woman in a torn suit, hair a mess, waving both arms.  

“Help! Please!” she called out. Her voice was thin, breaking. “My baby’s trapped in the car!”

Zahir’s foot hovered over the brake. “Eladia. Survivor.”

“Don’t,” I hissed, gripping his vest. “Look at her feet. Look at the shadow.”He squinted. In the LED glare it was obvious. She wasn’t quite touching the ground. And her shadow had too many joints.

[WARNING!]

[Target Identified: Tier 3 Mimic]

[Note: Uses emotional triggers to lure prey. Do not engage.]

“Please!” the figure shrieked, face twisting into something too perfect to be real.  

“Zahir, go,” I said. “That’s not a person. That’s bait.”

“But what if—”

“There is no ‘what if’,” I cut in. Heat flared in my blood. Violet light flickered at the edges of my vision.  “In this life, I don’t fall for traps. Drive.”The thing dropped the act. Its face split wrong, too wide. The “baby” in its arms pulsed and let out a sharp, psychic wail.

Zahir didn’t wait. He slammed the gas. The BearCat surged. The engine roared over the sound.  

Impact. A heavy thud. Then dragging, then nothing.

[DING!]

[Tier 3 Mimic Neutralized. +200 SP.]

[Bonus: Predator’s Trap Denied. +50 SP.]

“...It sounded human,” Zahir said quietly, hands tight on the wheel.

“That’s the point,” I said, leaning back, breathing hard. My meter read 0.22%. I was too amped.  

“The Black Sun didn’t just make monsters. They made copies. They use what we care about to get close.”

Zahir glanced at me. “And you? How do you know all this?  You talk like you’ve lived through this for years. The Mist dropped this morning.”  I looked out at the dark walls.  

How do you say: I died once already and now I have a System in my head?

“I learn fast,” I said. “And I’m not dying twice.”

Ten minutes later the tunnel opened into a maintenance hub. Massive iron doors with the Hawthorne Physics logo. Power was out.

“That’s it,” I pointed. “But we’ll need a jump to get those doors open.”

Zahir parked, rifle ready. “I’ll check the breaker. Stay in the truck.” “Not happening,” I said, pulling my machete from the Warehouse. “You’re the Anchor. I’m the map. We go together.” I stepped out. The air was stale, with a low hum under it that set my teeth on edge.

[DING!]

[Quest Update: The Birth of New Eden]

[Objective: Secure the Lab. Eliminate all 'Squatters'.]

“Squatters?” I whispered.

A light snapped on in the guard booth. A man stepped out with a shotgun.  

Lab coat, stained, eyes too bright. Humans. But wrong. “Private property!” he shouted. “No guests! The Mist is a gift! You can’t come in!”

Behind him, more movement. Staff. Moving in sync. Not Shamblers. Not us either. Half-Awake. People who got exposed but didn’t have the genes to become Architects.

“Zahir, down!” I yelled.

He raised the shotgun.  I moved. The 20% boost hit my legs. I wasn’t running — I was moving.  

No blade. Just force. I hit him shoulder-first and sent him back into the booth. The shotgun clattered.

“Eladia, stop!” Zahir shouted.

I stood over him. My hand was glowing faintly. I could hear his heartbeat, fast and scared.  

The System whispered: [Assess. Secure. Control.]

“Who’s ‘The Doctor’?” I asked, voice low.

“He... he stayed,” the man stammered. “He’s making us better. He’s the Architect.”

My blood went cold. Another Subject. Already here. This wasn’t a move-in anymore. It was a takeover.I looked at Zahir. He was watching me, and for the first time he wasn’t seeing the girl from the gate. He was seeing what I was becoming.

“Change of plans,” I said, letting the man go. “We’re not just securing a lab.  

We’re taking it.”

[SP Earned: +150]

[New Target: The Mad Doctor (Subject 009)

“Let’s go,” I said, walking toward the iron doors. “I want my house back.”