Lines of Trust

The tunnels beneath the city were darker than the night sky, a maze of forgotten paths swallowed by time and decay. The air was thick with the smell of damp stone, and each step we took echoed in the silence like a warning. Lecroix moved ahead of us, his silhouette tall and shadowed, blending into the darkness around him. His steps were measured, precise, as if he had walked these tunnels a thousand times before.

Zeke followed closely behind, his eyes darting around the tunnel like a predator hunting for threats, but the real danger was right in front of us. I could feel the tension radiating from him—his mistrust of Lecroix growing with every step we took deeper into the underground. Apollo walked beside me, his presence steady but equally tense. Every once in a while, his eyes would meet mine, and in those moments, I saw the conflict there. He was trying to protect me, but even he was starting to question how far we could trust this stranger.

Lecroix hadn't said much since we'd left the industrial zone, but he didn't need to. The way he moved, with such calm certainty, as if he held the key to everything we were facing, made him seem like a puzzle I couldn't quite figure out. But there was something about him—something in the way he looked at me, spoke to me—that tugged at the edges of my thoughts, making me want to understand him more, even though I knew it was dangerous to trust too easily.

"We're close now," Lecroix said, his voice a soft rumble that filled the space between us. "The tunnels will take us to a safehouse."

Zeke's shoulders stiffened at the words. "And how exactly do you know these tunnels so well?" His voice was sharp, accusing.

Lecroix glanced back, his green eyes catching the dim light from Zeke's tablet. "Because I've been down here before," he said, his tone calm, unwavering. "The government isn't the only force that knows the city's underground."

"And we're just supposed to believe you?" Zeke shot back, his hand inching toward the weapon strapped to his side.

Lecroix's gaze shifted to me, his eyes softening ever so slightly. "You don't have to trust me," he said quietly, "but Liberty is at the center of this. She deserves the truth."

I felt the weight of his words settle over me like a heavy cloak. The truth. It was something I had been chasing for so long, but now that it was within reach, I wasn't sure I could handle it. Not after everything Dr. Hawke had revealed about me—about my mother.

Apollo's hand brushed mine, a subtle gesture meant to ground me. "We're all in this together," he said, his voice steady but lined with tension. "Whatever comes next, we face it as a group."

Lecroix nodded, turning back toward the darkness ahead. "Then you'll want to hear this."

We walked in silence for a few minutes more, the only sound the soft drip of water from the ceiling and the faint echo of our footsteps against the damp stone. The tunnel seemed to stretch on forever, a labyrinth of forgotten corridors, each one leading us deeper into the unknown. My mind raced with questions, my heart pounding with the fear of what Lecroix would say next.

Finally, the tunnel opened up into a larger space—a room of sorts, with old metal beams supporting the crumbling ceiling and cracked tiles lining the floor. A faint light flickered from an overhead bulb, barely illuminating the room. It felt like a place where time had stopped, where the world outside had forgotten to reach.

Lecroix stopped in the center of the room and turned to face us. "Phase Two has already begun," he said, his voice low but filled with certainty. "You've seen the infected—how they're evolving. Faster, smarter, more coordinated. This is just the beginning."

Zeke crossed his arms, his eyes narrowing. "And you know this because?"

"Because I helped develop the early stages of Project Echo," Lecroix said, his gaze steady, unflinching. "I was part of the team that researched the genetic markers—markers that would make certain individuals more resistant to the infection. Your mother and I... we thought we were helping people."

My breath caught in my throat. "My mother?"

Lecroix's expression softened. "She was brilliant, Liberty. One of the brightest minds I've ever worked with. She believed that by understanding the virus, by manipulating it, we could control it. But the government had other plans."

My heart pounded in my chest, the air feeling too thick to breathe. "What plans?"

"They wanted to weaponize it," Lecroix said, his voice heavy with regret. "They wanted to create a virus that could be controlled—directed at specific targets. Your mother tried to stop them. That's why she was taken into isolation. They used her as a test subject, and when she became infected... they realized that her genetic makeup was the key."

I felt the room spin around me, the weight of his words crashing over me like a tidal wave. My mother hadn't just been a victim. She had been part of the experiment—part of the very thing that had led to her death.

"And now," Lecroix continued, his voice softer, "you carry that same genetic marker. You're not just a target, Liberty. You're a catalyst. Phase Two has already begun, and you're at the center of it."

I took a step back, my mind racing. "No," I whispered. "I'm not... I can't be part of this."

But Lecroix shook his head. "You don't have a choice. The infection inside you is different from the others. It's dormant, waiting to be activated. That's why they've been watching you—why Dr. Hawke was so determined to find you."

Zeke's eyes flicked between me and Lecroix, his expression darkening. "So what do you want with her?"

Lecroix looked at me, his gaze soft but intense. "I want to help you control it. There's still a chance to stop the infection from spreading, but it means embracing your role as a catalyst."

Apollo stepped forward, his voice low and dangerous. "And what if she doesn't want to? What if she doesn't want to be part of this?"

Lecroix's eyes didn't leave mine. "Then the infection will evolve, and Phase Two will reach its full potential. It won't just be the infected that change. The world will."

The words hung in the air, thick with a truth that I didn't want to face. I could feel Apollo's protective presence beside me, his hand brushing mine again, but there was something in Lecroix's gaze—something that made me want to trust him, even when I knew I shouldn't.

Before I could say anything, a low growl echoed from the tunnel behind us. My body tensed, every nerve firing at once. The infected were close. Too close.

"We need to move," Zeke said, his voice sharp.

But Lecroix didn't flinch. "There's a safehouse nearby," he said, his voice calm despite the growing danger. "Follow me."

We had no other choice.

As we ran, the infected's snarls grew louder, their footsteps pounding through the tunnel, closing in on us. The air was thick with fear, the darkness pressing in from all sides. Lecroix led the way, his movements swift and sure, guiding us through the maze of tunnels with an ease that made my skin crawl.

But as we turned a corner, one of the infected lunged from the shadows, its grotesque form charging toward me with terrifying speed. My heart stopped, my body frozen in place—but before it could reach me, Lecroix was there, his body moving faster than I thought possible, taking down the infected with a single, brutal motion.

I stared at him, my chest heaving, as he turned to face me, his green eyes glowing faintly in the dim light.

"You're stronger than you know," he said quietly, his voice barely a whisper.

And in that moment, I wasn't sure if he was talking about me—or himself.