The underground bunker was silent, save for the heavy, uneven breathing of twenty traumatized children trying to sleep on the concrete floor. In the furthest, darkest alcove of the shelter, illuminated only by the faint, dying glow of Jahir’s salvaged data-pad, a map of the Neon Cage flickered into life.Marco and Jahir knelt over it like two young generals planning a war they weren't supposed to fight."The Citadel's holding cells are located on Level Minus-Two,"
Jahir whispered, tracing a blue light-line through the holographic grid. "The problem isn't getting inside the building. The problem is the perimeter fence. It’s a localized EMP grid. If we touch it, our hearts stop.""We don't touch it," Marco said, his fingers pointing to a drainage line that intersected the river they had just crossed. "The chemical runoff from the under-river backwashes into the Citadel's cooling towers. If we bypass the primary valves, we can crawl through the exhaust vents."
Jahir looked at Marco, surprised by the chilling focus in the older boy's eyes. The loss of David had stripped away Marco's fear, replacing it with a dangerous, calculated desperation."The vents lead straight to the processing block," Jahir noted, typing rapidly into the pad. "But we'll need a distraction. The moment we blow the exhaust valve, the main alarms will sound. We’ll have exactly four minutes to get Chloe and Sam out of the cells before the heavy-armor guardsseal the sector.""I'll handle the distraction," a voice whispered from the dark.
Both boys spun around, their hands instantly going to their makeshift shivs.Emerging from the shadows was Kael. His eyes were red from crying, but his jaw was set tight. "You two aren't leaving me behind. Jax wants us to sit here and rot. I say we make the Government pay for David, Aaron, and Mollie."
The military bunker was a tomb of forgotten steel, but to boys looking for weapons, it was a goldmine. In a rusted armory locker at the back of the facility, Marco’s fingers wrapped around the heavy grip of a tactical fire axe. Its carbon-steel blade was dull, but a few strokes against a concrete pillar left it sharp enough to split stone. Beside him, Jahir pulled two lightweight, alloyed short-swords from an old riot-control kit. They weren't elegant, but they were silent, lethal, and didn't require ammunition.
They won't expect us to fight back," Marco muttered, testing the weight of the axe. "The Squad thinks we’re just prey.""We move now," Jahir said, strapping one of the swords to his back. "Before the rest of the kids wake up."The three boys crept toward the heavy bulkhead exit, their makeshift arsenal hidden beneath their oversized jackets. But as they reached the final corridor, the sound of hushed, furious voices echoed from the main chamber.
It was Jax and Maya.
"We can't just sit here, Jax!" Maya’s voice was a ragged, bleeding whisper. She was pacing the concrete floor, her hands gripping her hair. "Chloe and Sam
are kids! They’re probably in the processing chairs right now. We have to go back!"
"And do what, Maya?!" Jax hissed, his voice cracking with a terrifying mixture of authority and absolute despair. He stood in front of her, his shoulders shaking. "Look around you! We have twenty kids left. If I lead them back out there, the Squad will wipe us out completely. David, Aaron, Mollie… their blood is already on my hands. I won't add Chloe and Sam to the body count!"
So you're just going to let them die?!" Maya shouted, losing her grip on her volume. "You're a coward, Jax! You're saving your own conscience, not them!""I am keeping them alive!" Jax roared back, his voice booming off the reinforced walls.The shout echoed down the long concrete tunnels, vibrating through the ventilation shafts and out into the open air of the island's under-belly.
The argument stopped instantly. A cold, suffocating silence fell over the bunker.Then came the sound that turned every drop of blood in Marco’s veins to ice.From the drainage grates just fifty yards outside the bunker doors, a low, mechanical growling tore through the dark. It was followed by the frantic, heavy scratching of metal claws against concrete.
Cyber-hounds," Jahir whispered, his face turning pale. "The argument... they heard us.""Run!" Marco yelled, abandoning all stealth. He slammed his hand onto the bulkhead release valve. "Jahir, Kael, with me! The Citadel pipes! Jax, seal the doors behind us or they’ll get the little ones!"Jax and Maya spun around, horror-struck as they realized what their fight had done. Through the closing gap of the heavy steel bunker doors, Jax saw Marco, Jahir, and Kael sprinting headfirst into the pitch-black overflow tunnels, the glowing red eyes of the Government's cyber-hounds already tearing around the corner.
Marco!" Jax screamed, lunging forward, but Maya grabbed his vest, pulling him back as the massive steel door slammed shut with a deafening CLANG, locking the remaining twenty kids safely inside—and locking the three boys out in the jaws of the hunt.