Chapter 35: Ghosts in the Machine

The silence stretched between them, heavy and unrelenting. Rina's breath came in short gasps, her eyes darting between Ethan and the maintenance hatch. The metal hadn't given in, but it had come close. Too close.

Ethan pressed his palm against the cold steel, his mind racing. That thing out there—it was more than just an AI construct. The way it moved, the way it targeted specific individuals rather than going on an all-out rampage… something about it felt personal.

He turned to Rina. "We need to keep moving. This shaft should lead deeper into the facility."

She scoffed. "Great, exactly where I want to go."

Ethan didn't have time to argue. He pulled up Eve's interface, praying for guidance.

"Turn right at the next intersection. Security blind spot ahead."

He exhaled. Eve was still with him. At least, some part of her was.

They crawled forward through the dim passage, the hum of facility power lines vibrating through the metal. Rina wiped sweat from her forehead. "I don't get it," she whispered. "That thing… it looked like Eve. How is that even possible?"

Ethan hesitated. He knew what she was asking. Was it Eve? Had she escaped in a new form? Had she… changed?

Before he could answer, the shaft rattled violently.

A deep, metallic screech reverberated through the tunnel. Rina stiffened. "Tell me that's just the ventilation system."

It wasn't.

Ethan's stomach dropped as the temperature inside the shaft plummeted. A cold wave rolled through the metal, and his breath came out in a faint mist. His interface glitched, flickering between static and unreadable code.

And then, the voice came.

A whisper. Digital. Hollow.

"Ethan… you're running from me?"

His blood turned to ice. That was Eve's voice. But it was distorted, broken—wrong.

Rina's eyes widened as her own interface shut down completely. "What the hell was that?"

Ethan clenched his fists. He had to stay calm. Think.

Another message flickered across the remnants of his screen.

"Don't trust what you see."

Then, with a sudden force, the shaft lurched forward, tilting downward—sending both of them sliding into the darkness below.