Chapter 31: Sentry Protocol

The facility's emergency lights bathed the crumbling corridors in a pulsing crimson glow. Alarms blared a low, rhythmic klaxon that echoed through the dead city like a heartbeat—a warning that something had been triggered. Something old. Something deadly.

Kael Arden swung his rifle toward the sound of clattering movement deeper in the facility, his HUD rapidly painting a growing number of hostiles in proximity. The AI's voice remained calm, indifferent to the chaos it had just announced.

"Sentry Protocol Engaged. Hostile presence confirmed. Purge initiated."

"What the hell does that mean?" Dane asked, already aiming his railgun at the far corridor.

Jonas stepped back from the AI Core, eyes wide. "I think it just activated the facility's internal defense systems."

"Against us?" Elara asked, her plasma shotgun raised.

"Negative," Sentry-9 replied. "Hostiles have infiltrated the perimeter. Remnants of prior incursion. Automated units are being deployed for containment."

Kael's eyes snapped to the nearest motion marker. A cluster of signatures was converging on their position. "They're coming fast. We need to hold this room. Jonas, can we move the core?"

Jonas nodded. "It's modular. The base is damaged, but I can disconnect and transfer it to a portable housing unit. It'll take two minutes."

"Make it one," Kael said, shifting to cover the entrance. "Elara, Dane, set up a perimeter. We hold until he's done."

The first enemies to breach the facility were not zombies or mutated beasts. They were something far worse—augmented husks. Half-machine, half-rotted human remains wrapped in synthetic sinew and armor plating. Their eyes glowed red, and their limbs moved with twitchy precision, as if strung by a puppeteer.

Dane fired first. His railgun unleashed a piercing shot that blew a hole clean through the chest of the first attacker. Sparks and gore sprayed the wall behind it.

"They're rigged with servos and stabilization cores," he called out. "That means headshots or center mass. Don't bother with the limbs."

Kael nodded, switching his aim as three more husks spilled into the corridor. His plasma rifle hummed with energy, bolts tearing into metal and flesh alike. The smell of scorched meat filled the air.

Elara moved like a ghost. Her cloak activated for short bursts, allowing her to dart in and out of the shadows. Her machete sliced through the neck of one husk, decapitating it in a spray of black fluid and exposed wiring.

Jonas shouted over the noise, "One minute left! Keep them off me!"

A second group entered from the opposite hall. These weren't husks. They were fully mechanical [Sentry Drones], spider-like constructs that clung to walls and ceilings with clawed limbs. Their carapaces were scorched, some visibly damaged from prior battles, but their targeting systems were still active.

Elara swore. "Automated defense turned wild."

Kael activated his [Phase Shift] just as one of the drones fired a rapid volley of plasma bolts at his position. He blinked forward, reappearing behind the drone and unloading three precise shots into its central eye.

It collapsed in a heap of twitching metal.

Dane lobbed a smart grenade down the hall. It bounced once, then deployed mid-air with a high-pitched whine, releasing an EMP pulse that shorted out two more drones instantly.

"Jonas!" Kael shouted. "Status?"

"Done! I've got the core! We can move!"

Jonas hoisted the portable AI module into a reinforced pack designed for data cores. The AI continued speaking, its tone unchanging.

"Warning: Additional hostile units detected. Exit route compromised. Alternate route required. Uploading new path to HUD."

Kael blinked as a map overlay appeared. It showed a secondary tunnel system beneath the building—utility access shafts used for maintenance and old data transfers.

"We go underground," Kael said. "Move!"

The access tunnel was tight and reeked of ozone, decay, and old oil. Kael led the way, scanning every inch with his enhanced vision. Elara followed, then Jonas with the AI core strapped to his back, and Dane bringing up the rear.

The sounds of pursuit echoed above—hissing servos, clicking claws, and synthetic growls. Whatever was behind them wasn't giving up.

They moved through the substructure, weaving between collapsed ducts and ancient cables. Occasionally, the AI would whisper warnings.

"Caution. Structural instability detected. Rerouting."

"Movement detected on level B-3. Prepare for contact."

Jonas spoke between breaths. "It's guiding us. I don't think it wants to die down here."

Kael grunted. "Neither do we."

The tunnel opened into a wide chamber—an old data archive room. Dozens of rusted data banks lined the walls, their contents long-decayed or corrupted. The moment the team entered, the door behind them sealed shut with a metallic screech.

Kael spun. "What the hell?"

"Defense measure," Sentry-9 replied. "One moment. Hostiles inbound."

Trap.

Four mechanical husks dropped from the vents above, followed by two more sentry drones. The room turned into a battlefield of flickering lights, exploding circuits, and shouted commands.

Elara used her cloak to flank, slashing two drones in quick succession while Dane unleashed hell with his railgun. Kael vaulted over a console and drove his gauntlet directly into a husk's core, the shockwave pulse erupting with a thunderous crack.

Jonas ducked behind a collapsed server rack, protecting the AI core with his body as plasma bolts flew inches from his head.

Finally, the last drone dropped, twitching and sparking. Silence returned.

"Purge complete. Unlocking exit."

The far wall slid open to reveal a lift shaft—one of the old vertical escape routes.

Kael looked at the others. "Up. Now."

They ascended fast, the lift powered by the AI's override. The final corridor opened to the ruined streets above. The anomaly storm had reached the outskirts, dark clouds swirling and wind howling with an unnatural tone.

Kael ran toward the parked MO-U1, still intact thanks to its hardened armor. Dane and Elara flanked him, weapons ready. Jonas bolted for the rear hatch, slamming the AI core into the designated housing.

[Core Detected. Link Established]

Kael climbed into the driver's seat. "Hold on!"

The engine roared to life, and the convoy peeled away from the ruins as the facility behind them collapsed inward, consumed by the storm and the remnants of its own corrupted security. The glowing remnants of the beacon faded behind them.

They had survived.

They had the AI core.

And now, they had answers to find.

TO BE CONTINUED...