Chapter Fifteen

It was 3:12 A.M. when the silence broke.

The facility's alarm system erupted in a screeching wail—an unnatural sound that split through the dark like a blade. Emergency lights flickered on, casting the halls in red and white pulses. Bob was already up. He slept light—if at all—and something had been itching at his senses all night. A tension in the air he couldn't explain.

By the time his boots hit the hallway floor, he was sprinting.

Lena's voice echoed through the comms.

"All squads, defensive formation. This is not a drill. Repeat: this is not a drill. The Order has breached the outer perimeter."

Bob cursed under his breath and turned sharply, bolting down the corridor toward the trainees' quarters.

Doors flew open. Axel was already dressed, gun in hand, like he'd been waiting for this moment his whole life. "Awaiting orders," he barked as Bob passed.

"Protect the east wing. No one gets through. I'll take the kids."

Axel nodded once, already moving.

Bob skidded to a stop in front of Alex's room and slammed the door open.

Alex sat up in bed, disoriented. "What's—?"

"No time." Bob was already yanking open the drawer, tossing the boy's boots and jacket at him. "The Order's here. Get dressed and follow the evacuation path."

From across the hall, Beth appeared in oversized pajamas and a hoodie, clutching her phone like it was a weapon. "Do I get to fight?"

"No. You get to live," Bob snapped. "Move."

In the training hall, red light bathed the polished floors. Ryan and Selena came skidding in, already half dressed and fully alarmed.

Ryan looked at Bob. "How bad is it?"

"I don't know." Bob met his eyes. "Stay close to Alex and Beth. Selena, you're with them too."

Selena's smirk was gone. "Understood."

Explosions rocked the distant western wall. Concrete trembled beneath their feet.

The Order had come in force.

Over the facility's intercom, Jack's voice cut through the static:

"All combat-ready personnel to Sector 3. Bob engage only if cornered. Repeat, trainees move to safety."

Bob's jaw clenched. He turned to the group, eyes scanning each of them quickly.

"You're not ready for this fight. But you will stay alive. Stick to the lower halls, follow the red lights to the safe corridor. Do not stop. Do not fight unless you have no choice."

Alex opened his mouth. "What about you?"

"I'm going to find Axel." His voice was low. Sharp. "Go. Now."

As they scattered, Bob turned and headed in the opposite direction—toward the sounds of gunfire and screaming metal.

His body moved on instinct. Down the stairs. Past the security checkpoint. Past two unconscious guards.

And then he saw them.

Figures in sleek black armor, their faces masked by jagged visors, moving through the facility like shadows—silent, deadly, coordinated.

The Order.

He didn't hesitate.

No powers. Just brute force.

He slammed into the first enemy like a truck, cracking armor with his shoulder and throwing the man back into a steel beam. Another one lunged at him with electrified batons—Bob ducked, spun, caught him by the arm, and shattered his elbow with a single twist.

The third brought a blade to Bob's side, but he caught it mid-swing, eyes burning red with fury.

"You picked the wrong guy to mess with," Bob growled—and snapped the blade in two with his bare hands.

From a nearby hall, Lena's voice rang out, breathless. "North stairwell—two more squads coming in!"

Bob turned to her, panting, blood on his knuckles. "I'm on it."

She tossed him a pulse grenade. "Don't die."

He gave her a half-smile. "I'm not that lucky."

Then he ran—into the smoke, into the chaos, into the heart of the storm.

Because this wasn't just about survival anymore.

This was war.

...

Underground Emergency Corridor – 3:27 A.M.

The four of them—Alex, Beth, Ryan, and Selena—hurried down the sloped tunnel beneath the facility, the red emergency lights casting an eerie glow over the steel walls. The air smelled of old concrete and dust, laced now with the distant echoes of gunfire and shaking metal.

Alex's heart thundered in his chest. Bob's orders rang in his ears: "Stick to the red lights. Don't stop."

They reached the blast-proof emergency door at the bottom of the corridor. It hissed open after a moment of lag, and they stepped inside—a wide, bunker-style room designed for temporary lockdowns. The thick walls were reinforced with layers of steel, and on the far end sat a wall-mounted console showing facility readouts.

Beth threw herself onto one of the benches, pulling her knees up. "What the hell is happening…"

Selena was pacing already, teeth grinding. "The Order's here. Somehow they got past every damn defense system."

Ryan cracked his knuckles and leaned against the doorframe. "Let them come. I'm ready."

"No you're not," Alex said, voice trembling more from instinct than fear. "Bob said we're not ready."

Ryan scoffed. "Bob says a lot of things."

Then—everything went dark.

The red lights died. The console shut down. The faint hum of the backup power faded into a heavy silence.

Beth muttered, "That's not supposed to happen…"

"Everyone stay close," Selena said quickly, pulling a small flashlight from her jacket. The beam swept across the room. "This area has an independent generator—someone cut the power manually."

A soft mechanical click echoed behind them.

The emergency door hissed shut.

Alex's breath caught.

Footsteps echoed.

From the darkness, a figure stepped into the edge of the flashlight's beam—Axel.

But something was wrong.

His posture was too calm. His expression too blank. There was no sweat, no tension—only a cold, calculated stillness.

"Axel?" Selena asked. "Where's Bob?"

He didn't answer.

Instead, he said, "Power's been redirected. No one's watching you down here now."

Beth stood up slowly. "Why… are you talking like that?"

Ryan tensed. "You're not here to protect us… are you?"

Axel's eyes flicked to him, and for a moment, something passed behind them—regret? Pain? But it vanished like a ripple on glass.

"No," Axel said, his voice like steel. "I'm here to ensure the mission is completed."

Alex's heart dropped.

He took a step back, closer to Beth.

"You're a spy," he whispered.

Axel nodded once.