Chapter 19: "Sewer Sprint"
Fetid water slashed at shin level as the Chaos Crew barreled through the storm tunnel. Faint red emergency lamps pulsed every ten meters, but each flicker threatened to die as Dominus siphoned power topside.
Patch fluttered ahead, tiny headlamp strapped to his neck. "Left fork leads toward Node 7B maintenance conduit—GPS says nine blocks underground."
Reina ran point, stride sure despite slick algae. Lyra jogged behind Jack, hand on his elbow whenever his halo spiked errant data.
"Forty minutes," Zara warned over comms, monitoring Dominus's countdown ticker.
---
Floodgate Trap
They reached a rusted floodgate partition. Hydraulics groaned—then slammed shut in front of them, sealing the path.
Zara cursed. "Dominus just flicked local controls. Alternate route doubles distance."
Jack's carbon web residue still hugged his muscles, but the alloy bars were a meter thick. He flexed. "Stone skin plus elastic torque?"
Reina assessed the hinges. "Strike the joint on my mark. Lyra, arc-weld weaken it."
Lyra unleashed a staccato lightning burst—metal glowed red-hot. Jack activated basalt mimicry in his fists, stretched arms backward like giant slingshots, and released. Twin hammer blows shattered the hinge brackets; the gate collapsed sideways with a tidal splash.
A surge of sewage rushed forward, knocking Jack off balance—Lyra yanked him back.
"Basalt still heavy," she huffed.
Jack shrugged rock shoulders. "Gets the job done." He shook off the mimic, panting as flesh returned.
---
Predator Drones
Motion sensors ahead blinked. Zara yelled, "Dominus rerouted assault drones into the sewer. Inbound!"
Metal skitter echoed. Six-legged crawler drones raced along tunnel walls, plasma cutters glowing.
Reina vaulted, kicking one into the water where it shorted. Patch dive-bombed another, dropping an EMP pellet. Jack stretched an arm, snaring two drones and slamming them together.
A crawler latched onto his halo wrist, attempting to interface. Jack quicksilvered the limb; the drone sank, internal circuits gummed by mercury.
"Thirty-two minutes," Zara warned.
---
Cryptic Graffiti
The tunnel opened into a maintenance alcove plastered with glowing glyph graffiti—spirit tags left by runaway mystics. Jack's halo pulsed, resonating.
A vision flashed: Coordinates overlay—a shortcut pipe hidden behind a rune-marked panel.
"Random memory dividend?" Lyra asked.
"Node privileges showing helpful Easter eggs," Jack responded, prying the panel. A narrow crawlspace angled toward Node 7B, bypassing two grid blocks.
Patch eyed the cramped passage. "I go first—wing fold."
One by one they squeezed through. Jack compressed bones elastically; still, metal scraped skin. He felt another memory sizzle away—the taste of stolen soda with the sneaker girl. He winced but pressed on.
---
Reactor Drain
They emerged in a concrete chamber beneath the satellite tower. Overhead, an elevator shaft soared. A service ladder rusted but intact.
Lyra scanned. "Dominus rerouted power up the shaft; magnetic locks engaged."
Jack glanced at the countdown—T‑26:12. "We climb."
Reina started up. Zara stayed below, wiring a breaker to loop lock sensors. Lyra followed Reina; Jack took rear guard.
Halfway, steel shuddered—Dominus cut shaft gravity compensators, yanking the ladder sideways. They dangled over a forty‑meter drop.
Jack lashed an elastic arm, anchoring to an overhead beam, bracing the ladder. Muscles burned. "Go!" he grunted.
Reina hauled Lyra onto a maintenance platform. Zara scrambled after. Jack released tension, catapulted himself upward, landing in a crouch—heart hammering.
---
Node 7B Door
Final obstacle: a blast door humming with Dominus runes. Counter down to 18 minutes.
Patch scanned the keypad. "Needs high‑level override… Or a really big hammer."
Jack breathed slow, halo buzzing. "I'll handshake. Risky—Dominus might latch on again."
Lyra squeezed his shoulder. "We're here."
Jack touched the rune pad. Admin code raced; Dominus's voice slithered: "Return yourself, Wilson. Merge and remember everything you lost."
Memories dangled like bait—brother's laugh, cocoa taste, laughter in red sneakers. Jack's knees buckled.
Reina's voice cut through. "Choose now."
Jack's eyes snapped open—he forced new logic: If DominusLink=True → DoorUnlock AND DOMINUS_FIREWALL_LOOP
He executed. Door bolts clanged open; at the same time, he injected a recursive loop that ping‑ponged Dominus's connection internally.
"Move!" he yelled.
They rushed into the satellite control room—racks of servers, a central dish‑feed panel.
Zara prepped a worm payload. "Give me sixty seconds!"
Countdown: 15:02.
Jack and Reina barricaded the door as drones clanged outside.
Inside, Lyra and Patch armed EMP charges near the main power couplings.
Jack turned to the crew. "End of the line. We cut the feed, we cut Dominus."
Lyra met his gaze. "Together."
Countdown: 14:21.