Until the last truth

The gunshots ripped through silence like knives. Lara ducked as sparks flew from the wall behind her.

"Move!" Kaven's voice was sharp, his grip on her arm firm but not panicked.

They darted through the chaos, weaving between overturned lab tables and shattered screens. The smoke from a damaged power conduit filled the corridor, stinging their eyes.

And behind them — she was still coming.

Another Juliette.

The same face. Same height. Same stare as lara but blank.

But this one didn't hesitate. Didn't blink. And her voice, when she shouted after them, was colder than steel.

"Kaven, slow them down," she commanded.

It sent a chill through Lara's spine.

"She knows your name," Lara gasped.

"I noticed," he muttered, pulling her around a corner and through a low hatch.

They collapsed into a narrow service tunnel, Lara coughing, her side aching from the sprint.

"What the hell is going on?" she asked, her voice quieter now, wary.

Kaven didn't answer immediately. He leaned against the wall, catching his breath, staring at nothing.

Lara's eyes narrowed. "You know something."

"I know a lot of things I wish I didn't," he said softly.

She blinked. "What does that mean?"

But he shook his head. "Not now."

"Kaven—"

"Later."

Silence pressed in between them. The hum of nearby machinery was the only sound. Lara looked away, jaw tight.

She didn't push again.

They both knew they couldn't afford to fall apart here. Not yet.

Kaven adjusted the strap of the bag slung across his shoulder. "We need to get to the server vault. If that pod has what I think it does…"

He stopped himself.

Lara caught it. "If it has what?"

But he didn't answer. Just turned and started crawling forward into the dark.

She followed — but a part of her stayed behind, in that moment of pause, in that single unfinished sentence.

Something was wrong.

Not just with this facility.

With him.

---

End of Chapter 25