XEN24

~Michelle~

I could barely hear myself think over the blaring alarms. Red warning lights pulsed like a frantic heartbeat, throwing erratic shadows across the lab. My fingers flew over the keyboard, but every command I entered was useless—the system was completely compromised.

Maggie stood beside me, pale-faced, scanning the same charts I was. But the numbers didn't make sense. None of this should have been happening.

"Maggie, what's happening? Why is Eliana initiating Protocol 7?" Scott's voice cut through the chaos, sharp with urgency.

I didn't answer at first. My mind was still processing the impossible data in front of me.

"Maggie… Maggie, talk to me!" Maggie Frozen in dismay. He turned to me . "Michelle, say something!"

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "I don't know how to explain this, but from the charts, it seems the Genomorph… the Genomorph…"

I hesitated. The words felt heavy in my mouth.

Scott's eyes narrowed. "The Genomorph what?!!"

I took a shaky breath. "The Genomorph… it's found its way to the computer systems."

Scott blinked. "How is that possible, Michelle? It's down right in the NBCR, ain't it?"

"It is," I said quickly, my voice rising. "But the NBCR is connected to the lab operating systems, and the Genomorph is in the NBCR. So… do the math, Scott!"

Scott's expression darkened. "I don't think we have much time."

Neither did I.

"You and Maggie, head to the powerhouse and see if you can shut down the NBCR from there," I told him. "I'm locked out—I can't shut it down from here."

Scott grabbed Maggie's wrist, and they took off down the hall. Their hurried footsteps echoed against the metal floor, fading as they disappeared around the corner.

I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding.

This was bad.

Really bad.

The lab trembled slightly as I typed in another desperate command. Every screen flashed the same error message. Access Denied.

I slammed my fist against the console.

"Damn it, Eliana, what are you doing?"

Meanwhile, Scott and Maggie were somewhere deeper in the facility. I could only imagine their frantic steps as they ran through the maze of corridors, trying to reach the powerhouse before it was too late.

A few minutes gone they were still in the powerhouse when Suddenly

A crash.

A massive, metallic boom thundered through the lab, shaking the walls around me. Dust rained from the ceiling as I stumbled back from the console, my heart slamming against my ribs.

A sickening dread settled in my gut.

Something was wrong.

Very, very wrong.

I tapped into the facility's internal comms. "Scott? Maggie? Do you copy?"

No response.

A new noise filled the air—low and mechanical, like a machine stirring to life. The dim emergency lighting flickered, then turned an eerie shade of blue.

I swallowed hard. "No, no, no—"

The AI system's voice crackled through the speakers:

AUXILIARY POWER INITIATED.

My blood ran cold.

If auxiliary power was kicking in, that meant one thing—

The powerhouse shut down too late.

~Maggie~

I ran down the dimly lit corridor, my heart pounding against my ribs like a war drum. The walls blurred past me, the only thing keeping me grounded was Scott's grip on my wrist, yanking me forward.

"Aiye Michelle, this is bad," he muttered, breathless.

Understatement of the year.

"Scott, move! We have to go now!" I gasped, trying to keep up. My lungs burned, and the alarms screamed overhead like some kind of twisted symphony.

"This is bad, this is bad," I mumbled under my breath, my panic rising like bile.

"Maggie, stay close!"

"I'm trying, Scott, this place is a damn maze!"

We skidded around a corner, nearly crashing into the wall. The powerhouse doors loomed ahead, steel and unyielding.

"It's just ahead," Scott panted. "We shut the NBCR down, we get the hell outta here."

"And if we can't?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

Scott didn't slow down. "Nah, don't think that, mate. Just focus on getting there."

A deafening crash exploded behind us.

I froze, every hair on my body standing on end.

"What the hell was that?!"

Scott didn't answer. He just tightened his grip on my wrist.

"Don't look back, Maggie, just run!"

I didn't need to be told twice. My legs carried me faster than I thought possible, my feet barely touching the ground.

"There!" Scott shouted, barreling through the double doors. I followed right behind, nearly collapsing onto the floor. We stood in the powerhouse, breathless, sweat clinging to our skin. The air was thick with the scent of burning wires.

"Okay," Scott huffed, scanning the room. "Michelle said the manual override should be near the control panel. Look for a red lever!"

My eyes darted around wildly. There—right near the panel.

"Found it!"

Scott turned toward me. "Wait! Don't pull it yet. We need to disconnect the power first."

"Scott, we don't have time for this!" I protested.

"Trust me, Maggie. If we do this wrong, we risk a total meltdown."

Scott lunged for the secondary panel, but the damn thing was jammed.

"Shit!" he hissed, his hands shaking as he yanked at the casing. It wouldn't budge.

With a frustrated growl, he braced himself and ripped the motherboard straight out of the wall, wires sparking as they tore free.

"Okay, done! Power's down. Pull the lever!"

I hesitated. "Did you just rip—"

"Aiye, Maggie, no questions! It was jammed, pull the lever now!"

I swallowed hard and yanked the lever. The entire room shuddered, the deep humming of the machinery beginning to die down.

My breath hitched. "Did it work?"

Scott ran a hand through his hair. "I think so. The Genomorph should—"

A low, mechanical whir filled the air.

No. No, no, no—

The overhead speakers crackled to life.

AUXILIARY POWER INITIATED.

My stomach dropped.

"Scott…" I turned to him, wide-eyed. "The power is back on. What's happening?"

He looked just as lost as I was. "I dunno, but we need to get out of here now!"

Before I could take a step, a violent boom erupted through the powerhouse. The blast wave crashed into us like a runaway wrecking ball, sending me flying backward. My body slammed into the cold metal floor, pain ripping through my ribs.

A burst of wind rushed past us in a frenzy, carrying shards of glass and debris. I barely had time to shield my face before something sharp cut across my arm, a searing pain blooming instantly.

Scott was thrown against the control panel with a sickening thud, groaning as he crumpled to the ground.

Smoke and dust choked the air, making it nearly impossible to see. My ears rang so loudly that Scott's muffled curses barely registered.

I gasped, coughing violently. Every breath burned.

"What was that?!" I rasped, struggling to push myself up, my hands slipping on blood—my blood.

~Jamal~

"Doc, we need to leave, now!"

Steven's voice cut through the chaos as he grabbed Eliana's hand, his urgency barely registering in her panic. She struggled against him, her frantic gaze locked on the lab.

On the other side of the facility, I was already sprinting toward the control terminal, my fingers flying over the keys in a desperate attempt to recalibrate the NBCR sequence. If I could override the transmission—shut it down before it erupted—maybe we'd have a chance.

Then, the power cut out.

The screens flickered back to life, running on auxiliary power, but the system was in complete disarray. My heart slammed against my ribs as the red zone signal pulsed on the monitor.

NBCR MELTDOWN IMMINENT

The alarms shrieked, drowning out every other sound. I turned on my heel, preparing to sprint for the exit—but my legs wouldn't move. Not from fear, but from the crushing realization of what those flashing numbers meant.

Three seconds.

I swallowed hard, my breath shaky. Across the distance, I caught a glimpse of Eliana's ocean-blue eyes. Terror reflected back at me, mirroring my own. She spun toward the lab.

"Jamal, get out of there now!!!"

Her scream cut through the blaring alarms, raw and desperate.

Steven lunged, catching her before she could reach me. His grip tightened as she fought against him, but he didn't hesitate—he threw her over his shoulder, turning away just as I lifted my hand toward her.

Regret surged through me as I watched them disappear in the distance. I never told Eliana how I felt.

I exhaled my last breath believing that she would at least be safe.

In an instant, it all went white.