All Systems Red Novels & Stories

Not just by the team. But by everyone. Sebastian hadn’t seen it. Michael hadn’t called it. August hadn’t flagged it. Even Nicholas, brilliant as he was, hadn’t gone this far. “This is where it actually breaks.” Althea said. Her voice dropped slightly. “And if you hit it—.” “The system won’t recover.” Dominic finished quietly. Althea nodded. “No fallback.” She said patiently. “No redistribution.” The words settled into the room like something final. Dominic didn’t speak. He just stared at the screen. Then slowly looked at her.

An hour earlier, I had been on my way to work when my assistant called. The panic in his voice had immediately told me something was wrong. “Sir, we’ve got a situation.” “What happened?” “Our entire system has been overridden.” I frowned. “What?” “Every monitor. Every department. Every branch connected to the network.” I had ordered my driver to increase speed immediately. When I arrived at headquarters, I finally understood why he sounded terrified. The symbol had been everywhere in the reception, the offices, the conference rooms, the research labs and even the elevators.

Now his children come home here. We ring it with wolves, ferals, humans, Rowan, Mercy, Caiden, Draven, me. Cael in my arms. Lyana and Geralt with the High Priestess in the Keep, warded, guarded. Ambassador Reed watches from the ridge with drones. “President says if this goes wrong, we glass the whole county.” “Then tell her not to miss,” Draven says. Day one, nothing. Day two, the sky turns red. Day three, they come.

My phone violently vibrated in my hand, then the screen turned completely black replaced by a flashing red box. EMERGENCY BROADCAST SYSTEM. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. AN IMMEDIATE QUARANTINE HAS BEEN DECLARED FOR THE TRI-STATE AREA. REMAIN, INSIDE YOUR HOMES. DO NOT APPROACH ANY INDIVIDUALS EXHIBITING BEHAVIOR. The text cut off as the phone signal completely died. In the distance past the chain-link fence of my yard, the faint horrific sound of hundreds of car horns slamming together echoed through the morning air followed by a sound I knew all too well from my past life.

] [From now on, everything that does not belong to you will be taken back. [Every truth you covered up will be exposed.] [I wish you all peace for the rest of your lives.] Vivian stared at the words on the screen. System? What system? Before she could react, Landon suddenly let out a scream from the corner. He clutched his head and rolled wildly across the marble floor. "It hurts! It hurts so much! My head is going to explode! "System! System, save me! Don't take back my intelligence! Don't!"

Wall monitors flickered with the faint pulse of red in the corner of each screen an unspoken reminder that the siege hadn't ended. Elias stood with his back to the room, one hand holding a tablet, the other buried in his pocket. He watched the lights of the city without seeing them. In the last hour, three more systems had dropped: communications relays, warehouse power grids, and now a substation server flagged for an emergency shutdown that wasn't real. It wasn't chaos. It was a pattern. A method. He turned back to his desk, settling into the chair without losing that coiled posture of readiness. The code streaming across the main display blurred for a moment until one detail snagged his a

We hit the ground hard. The pedestal exploded. We ran. Back through the tunnel, every step matched by the roar of collapsing systems behind us. The walls shook. Dust rained down. Wires sparked overhead. Back in the Archive, the terminal screen had gone completely black. Lines of red error text crawled across it like blood. ERROR: PRIMARY/CLONE CONFLICT SYSTEM REBOOT IN PROGRESS Kieran helped me sit against the wall. My ears were still ringing. “What the hell was that?” I gasped.

"I put everything aside to be with her. That's why the Marshal Group's business fell into chaos. One of our major international projects ran into trouble. The investors from Kenses were furious and demanded a video conference immediately." Nathan took a breath and continued, "The hospital's signal is terrible. I couldn't get a clear connection, so I had to go downstairs to handle it. I finished the call as quickly as I could and rushed back, but... I was still too late. The surgery was already over."

Adrian pointed, one of the dots on the map turned red. Marcus stepped forward. “Which location?” Adrian read the name. “A small emergency clinic.” Yvonne whispered, “No…” Adrian checked the system. “It’s already starting.” Marcus looked at the team. “Stop it.” Everyone moved faster, commands were entered, barriers were raised but the red dot stayed active. Adrian’s voice dropped. “We’re too late for this one.” Yvonne felt her hands shake. “What will happen there?” Adrian answered quietly. “System failure.”