The Treshold of Truth

The inside of the research center was suffocatingly silent, as if the building held its breath. Every step echoed through the empty halls, amplifying the tension between us. The stale air carried the scent of chemicals and dust—a stark reminder that this place once buzzed with experiments, now left to rot.

Mara led the way with Steph flanking her, their movements quick and deliberate. The research center was vast, and every room felt like a waiting trap.

"Stay sharp," Lecroix whispered, his hand brushing my arm. The smallest touch grounded me.

Apollo limped beside me, his exhaustion evident, but his gaze was focused, determined. He'd come this far, and nothing would keep him from seeing it through.

"This place is wrong," Zeke muttered, glancing at the dim walls around us. "Too quiet. I don't trust it."

"You don't trust anything," Steph quipped with a small grin, adjusting her rifle. Her presence was both unsettling and reassuring—a strange combination I hadn't expected.

We approached a series of locked doors, each marked with codes and warning symbols. The deeper we went, the more it became clear—this wasn't just a research center. It was the heart of a cover-up.

"We're getting close," Mara whispered, pressing her hand against a biometric scanner. The machine buzzed, granting us access.

The door slid open with a hiss, revealing a darkened control room. Rows of monitors lined the walls, each flickering with surveillance feeds.

Zeke moved to the nearest console, his fingers flying over the keys. "Let's see what they left behind."

The screens lit up, showing footage of infected zones, scattered research logs, and encrypted files. But what made my heart stop was the live feed of a meeting taking place—doctors, officials, and government agents sitting at a roundtable.

"They're still operating," I whispered, staring at the figures on the screen. "They're planning something."

Mara leaned closer, her jaw tightening. "That's the oversight committee. They're discussing Phase Three."

"Phase Three?" Lecroix asked, his voice sharp.

Mara's gaze darkened. "The infection was just the beginning. Phase Three is the final step—rolling out the mutation across the country to force an 'evolutionary response.' They're going to release it nationwide."

The room plunged into silence, the weight of Mara's words sinking in.

"They want to spread it?" I whispered, disbelief creeping into my voice. "Why?"

Steph answered, her voice cold. "Because it's easier to control a world that's sick and desperate."

Apollo swayed beside me, and I gripped his arm to steady him. His life was already hanging in the balance, and now we were fighting to stop the same fate from consuming everyone else.

"We have to stop it," Lecroix said, his voice hard with determination.

Mara nodded. "There's a central server deeper in the facility. If we destroy it, we can wipe the research—and Phase Three—with it."

Zeke scowled. "And I assume it's not going to be that simple?"

Mara gave him a grim smile. "Of course not. The server is locked behind layers of security—and the infected aren't the only ones guarding it."

We moved quickly through the labyrinth of halls, our steps soundless but heavy with purpose. Every corner we turned felt like the edge of a cliff, with danger just out of sight.

Steph took point, her rifle steady as she scouted ahead. I couldn't help but notice the tension between her and Zeke. She moved like she knew exactly what she was doing—and that unsettled Zeke more than the infected ever had.

"Down here," Mara whispered, motioning toward a stairwell leading deeper underground.

The further down we went, the colder the air became. The walls gleamed faintly, as if freshly scrubbed—an eerie contrast to the decay above.

Then we heard it.

A low, guttural snarl echoed from the darkness below. It wasn't just the infected—it was something worse.

"Keep moving," Lecroix urged, gripping his weapon tighter.

We reached the bottom of the stairwell, and the door to the server room loomed ahead—thick, reinforced steel, with more biometric locks glowing softly in the dark.

Mara stepped forward to unlock it, but the sound of claws scraping against metal stopped us all cold.

A monstrous figure emerged from the shadows.

It was bigger than any infected we'd seen—its body twisted and bloated, skin pale and stretched tight over muscle. Its eyes glowed faintly in the dark, and it moved with terrifying speed.

"Move!" Steph shouted, firing her rifle.

The creature roared, lunging toward us.

Lecroix pulled me back just as it swiped at the space where I'd been standing. We fired, but it barely slowed down.

"Mara, get that door open!" I shouted, my heart racing.

Mara worked frantically on the lock, the clicks and beeps of the machine drowned out by the creature's snarls.

"It's not going to hold for long!" Zeke yelled, emptying his clip into the beast.

Just as the monster lunged again, the door hissed open.

"Inside, now!" Lecroix barked, pulling Apollo through the door.

We scrambled inside the server room as Mara slammed the door shut behind us. The creature slammed against the door, snarling and clawing at the metal—but it held.

For now.

The server room was vast, filled with rows of humming machines. Lights blinked in rhythmic patterns, and the faint buzz of electricity filled the air.

Mara wasted no time, moving toward the central console. "We wipe the data, destroy the server, and get out. Simple."

"Simple," Zeke muttered sarcastically. "Sure."

I glanced at Apollo. His breathing was steady, but his pallor was still alarming. We were running out of time—for him, for all of us.

Lecroix gave me a small, reassuring nod. "We're almost there, Lib."

I took a deep breath, the weight of everything pressing down on me. "Let's finish this."