Inside Fourteen — Elijah Greyhawk
Hayes’ shout hit Elijah a split second before the world detonated into motion.
“Elijah! Down!”
Elijah dropped instinctively, pulling Chet with him as a burst of sparks erupted from the console Kline had been reaching for. The chamber lights flickered violently, plunging the room into a stuttering half‑darkness.
Kline staggered back, shielding his face from the shower of sparks. “Stop interfering!” he snapped, voice cracking with something he hadn’t shown before — fear.
Elijah didn’t care. He wrapped an arm around Chet’s shoulders, pulling him upright. Chet’s body trembled violently, breath ragged, eyes unfocused.
“I’ve got you,” Elijah whispered. “Stay with me.”
Chet’s fingers curled weakly into Elijah’s sleeve. Behind them, the inner door slammed open.
###
Lower Corridors — Hayes’ Team
Hayes entered first, weapon raised, sweeping the chamber with practiced precision. Torres and Rourke flanked him, Marianne and Evan covering the rear. The chamber was chaos — flickering lights, sparking machinery, the hum of the implant vibrating through the floor.
Hayes’ eyes locked on Elijah and Chet.
“Torres — get to them!”
Torres moved instantly, dropping to her knees beside Elijah. “Talk to me,” she said, already assessing Chet’s condition.
Elijah didn’t look away from Chet. “He’s crashing. The implant—”
“I see it,” Torres said, voice steady but tight. “We need to move him now.”
Kline stepped forward, hands raised as if warding off children who didn’t understand the rules of the game. “You can’t remove him from the chamber,” he said sharply. “He’s mid‑sequence. If you interrupt—”
Hayes turned his weapon on him. “Step back.”
Kline froze. But he didn’t look afraid. He looked offended.
“You don’t understand what you’re doing,” Kline said. “He’s at the threshold. If you pull him out now, you’ll undo everything.”
Hayes didn’t blink. “Undo it.”
###
Level Five — Chet Good Thunder
The world tilted. The hum grew louder, vibrating through his bones. His vision blurred, then sharpened, then blurred again. He heard Elijah’s voice — close, warm, desperate.
He heard Torres — calm, focused. He heard Hayes — steady, commanding. And beneath it all, he heard Kline.
“You’re almost there,” Kline murmured. “Don’t fight it.”
Chet’s breath hitched. He fought against being pulled to where the chamber was leading him. He didn’t want to become whatever Kline wanted. Chet tried to speak.
“Elijah…”
Elijah squeezed his hand. “I’m right here.”
Chet held onto that. It was the only thing that felt real.
###
Inside Fourteen — Hayes’ Team (continued)
Torres checked Chet’s pulse, her expression tightening. “He’s tachycardia. The implant’s overloading his autonomic response. We need to get him out of this frequency field.”
“Then we move,” Hayes said.
He nodded to Rourke. “Secure Kline.”
Rourke moved forward, cuffs ready. Kline stepped back, eyes narrowing. “You’re making a catastrophic mistake.”
Hayes leveled his weapon. “Don’t make me repeat myself.”
Kline’s jaw clenched. But he didn’t resist. Rourke cuffed him, pulling him away from the console.
The chamber lights flickered again — harder this time. The hum deepened, vibrating through the walls. Marianne looked up. “Hayes… the grid’s destabilizing.”
Evan checked the ceiling. “We need to move now.”
Hayes nodded. “Torres — is it possible to move him?”
Torres hesitated for half a second — then nodded. “Yes. But we need to keep him stable.”
Elijah slid his arms under Chet, lifting him carefully. Chet gasped, body trembling.
“I’ve got you,” Elijah whispered again.
Hayes moved to cover them. “We’re leaving. Now.”
###
Command Room — Leah Gagnon
Leah watched the power grid spike into the red. “Carter,” she said into the mic, voice tight, “the chamber’s failing. You need to get out of there.”
Hayes’ voice came back, breathless. “We’re moving.”
Leah’s fingers hovered over the controls, useless against the shielding. “The grid’s going to collapse. You have maybe ninety seconds.”
“Copy.”
Static crackled. Leah closed her eyes for a moment. “Come on,” she whispered. “Get them out.”
###
Inside Fourteen — Elijah (continued)
Elijah carried Chet toward the door, Torres at his side, monitoring his breathing. Hayes and Marianne covered the rear, weapons trained on the chamber. Behind them, the machinery sparked again; the hum rising to a painful pitch.
Kline twisted in Rourke’s grip. “You are fools. You’re destroying years of work.”
Hayes didn’t look back. “Good.”
The chamber lights flared — then went dark. The hum cut out. For a heartbeat, everything was silent. Then the alarms screamed.
Hayes shouted, “Move!”
Elijah tightened his grip on Chet. And they ran.