Chapter 103: The Silent Tunnel

The Royal Academy field trip bus drove into the long, dark tunnel under the city.

Alex was sitting in the back row, typing on his wrist-computer. Mia was braiding Aurora’s hair in the seat next to him.

"This is boring," Mia sighed. "Why do we have to go to a History Museum? I want to go to the Mall."

"History is important," Alex mumbled. "But Dad is overreacting. He sent three security cars to follow a school bus."

Alex pointed out the rear window. Three black SUVs from Sterling Security were tailing them closely.

"I feel safe," Aurora hugged her teddy bear. But her eyes were darting around nervously. "But... the bad static is back. In my head."

"Static?" Alex frowned. He checked his signal meter.

Suddenly, the signal bars dropped to zero.

Then, the bus lights flickered and died. The engine groaned and shut off completely. The bus coasted to a halt in the middle of the dark tunnel.

"Hey!" The bus driver tried to restart it. "Dead battery?"

Behind them, the three security SUVs also died. Their brakes locked, and they skidded into the tunnel walls.

Absolute darkness. Even the emergency lights didn't turn on.

"It's not a battery," Alex whispered, tapping his wrist-computer. The screen remained black. "It’s an EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse). It fried everything electrical."

"My phone won't turn on!" Mia clicked her iPhone frantically.

"Stay down," Alex pushed his sisters under the seat. "Dad can't see us. The trackers are dead. We are blind."

Outside the bus, heavy boots echoed on the pavement.

Tactical lights sliced through the darkness.

"Open the door," a mechanical voice ordered from outside.

HISSS... CRASH.

The bus door was pried open by a hydraulic claw.

Four figures stepped onto the bus. They wore high-tech grey armor and full-face helmets with glowing green visors. They moved like robots.

The other students started screaming.

"Silence," the leader raised a sonic weapon. It emitted a high-frequency pulse. Every student (and the teacher) slumped into their seats, unconscious.

Except the Sterlings.

Alex clamped his hands over Aurora’s ears. "Don't listen!"

Mia covered her own ears. The Sterling kids stayed awake, thanks to their heightened resilience.

The soldiers walked down the aisle, ignoring the sleeping children. They stopped at the back row.

The leader shined his light directly into Alex’s face.

"Subjects Acquired," the leader spoke into his helmet. "Initiate Extraction."

"Get away from us!" Mia stood up, trying to punch the soldier. She was brave, but she was ten.

The soldier simply caught her hand and injected a sedative into her neck. Mia went limp.

"Mia!" Alex jumped forward, trying to grab a hidden taser from his backpack (which Jackson insisted he carry). But the EMP had fried it too. It was useless plastic.

A soldier grabbed Alex, pinning his arms. Another grabbed little Aurora.

"Let go!" Aurora screamed. Her eyes began to glow violet. The windows of the bus started to crack.

"Dampener collar," the leader ordered.

A soldier snapped a metal collar around Aurora’s neck. The violet light in her eyes vanished instantly. She collapsed, crying silently.

"Load them up," the leader signaled. "We have five minutes before Sterling sends backup on foot."

They dragged the three unconscious/subdued children off the bus and into a waiting gray van that looked like an old ambulance (vintage engine, immune to EMP).

As the van sped away out of the tunnel, Alex looked out the back window at the disabled security cars.

Dad isn't coming, Alex realized with cold terror. The trackers are gone. No one knows where we are.

---

Meanwhile, at Sterling Headquarters.

"Sir! We lost the signal!" Luke burst into Jackson’s office.

"What do you mean lost?" Jackson stood up.

"The entire grid in the Queens Tunnel just went black. No GPS. No cameras. No comms."

Jackson didn't say a word. He grabbed his jacket and sprinted to the elevator.

But deep down, he felt a pit in his stomach. The kind of fear he hadn't felt since the Arctic.

They were gone.

The Architects didn't want a war. They wanted leverage. And they just stole his entire world.