Chapter Nineteen – Vault Three

The replacements moved like shadows made of steel.

Not quite wolves. Not quite machines. Not human.

Their armor clinked with each calculated step, coated in matte black, no insignias. Their faces were hidden beneath seamless masks with no eye slits, just a single glowing ring at the center, white-hot and unblinking.

Echo clung to Mira’s side, trembling. “They’re the ones that watched us. When we were sleeping.”

Mira stepped in front of her. “Stay behind me.”

Ash’s voice was low and urgent. “They're Echo Operatives. Late-series models. Pure command-level.”

“How many?” Grey asked, blades drawn.

“Does it matter?” Liam growled. “They bleed, they fall.”

“No,” Ash said, backing slowly. “They don’t bleed.”

The five replacements stopped in perfect formation, then split. Two flanked wide, one stepped directly forward, and the other two disappeared into the trees without a sound.

“They’re circling us,” Mira muttered. “Trying to box us in.”

She looked at Ash. “What are their directives?”

“To retrieve Echo Thirteen-One… and terminate all contamination.” His gaze flicked to her. “That means you.”

The lead operative raised its hand.

Not to fire.

But to beckon.

A sound buzzed from deep within its throat— mechanical, warped, and unmistakable.

"Return."

Echo whimpered. “No. No. I’m not going back.”

Mira’s wolf rose with a furious snarl.

“Then we fight,” she said.

Grey and Liam struck first.

Grey launched toward the left flank, steel flashing. His blade met armor and sparked. The operative staggered but didn’t slow. Its response was immediate and brutal, landing a crushing blow to Grey’s ribs.

Liam clashed with the second. He moved fast, feinting low, aiming for the joints. His blade bit deep near the knee, and the operative buckled but then recalibrated, twisting with inhuman speed to hurl Liam into a tree.

Mira turned to Echo. “Stay low. No matter what happens, don’t run.”

The girl nodded, eyes wide with terror.

The lead operative rushed forward.

Mira shifted mid-sprint, bones cracking, fur bursting forth. But this time, there was no hesitation. Her wolf was ready.

She collided with the operative in a blur of claws and fangs. Its armor cracked under the force, but not enough. It slammed her into the ground and raised a blade to her throat.

Then…

Bang!

Ash fired. A silver-core bullet hit the operative’s exposed shoulder joint, forcing it back. It twitched, but didn’t fall.

“Aim for the seams!” he shouted. “They’re only vulnerable in transition!”

Grey rose, panting, his side bleeding. “Then we rip the seams open.”

One by one, they turned the tide. Mira’s claws tore through one mask. Liam disarmed another with a silver snare. Grey jammed a blade through the side of one’s helmet, and Ash landed a final shot to the core.

But two escaped.

They vanished into the forest.

“Let them go,” Mira said, chest heaving. “They were just scouts.”

Ash walked over, staring at the wreckage. “And they’ll be reporting back.”

Liam dragged one of the downed operatives closer. He pried off the mask.

There was a face beneath it.

Barely human. Synthetic flesh. Glass eyes. No soul.

Mira looked at Echo, who hadn’t moved.

“They’ll come again,” the girl whispered. “And the next ones… will look like you.”

Mira turned to Vault Three. The door had opened during the fight. Lights flickered inside. Machinery hummed.

She felt the pull again.

Blood to blood.

Legacy to nightmare.

Grey stepped beside her. “You sure you want to go in there?”

Mira’s answer was quiet.

“I have to. If I’m going to break the Circle’s grip, I need to see where it started.”

She took Echo’s hand and stepped through the door.

The cold swallowed them instantly.

Metal. Stone. Memory.

Vault Three had been asleep.

Now it was waking up.

End of Chapter Nineteen

…………………………

Vault Three holds the secrets to Mira’s creation and the Circle’s darkest experiments. But as they descend into its depths, not everyone will come back the same. And two replacements are still out there… bringing reinforcements.