The ash-covered roads beyond the Faultline were quiet again—but Jaden didn't trust the silence.
He walked at the head of the formation, pulse rifle at the ready, with Tess close behind, adjusting the cracked lens of a handheld scanner. Marcus covered the rear, his modified SMG slung across his chest, eyes sweeping the rooftops.
Behind them, the base was a fading silhouette in the fog.
Raya had protested staying behind, but someone had to hold the line. Jaden trusted her. She was calm under pressure, deadly with a rifle, and most importantly—her loyalty never wavered.
"Tess," Jaden said, nodding toward the scanner, "you sure it picked up a ping?"
"Positive," she replied. "It was brief, but strong. Could be a survivor's distress beacon or an old military drone—but the signal had movement. East sector. Grid R-3."
"That's two clicks through red zone territory," Marcus muttered. "If something's alive out there, it won't be for long."
Jaden's mind briefly flicked to the hidden interface only he could see. He didn't share that with anyone. Not yet.
Objective: Investigate the Signal.Reward: UnknownThreat Level: Variable
They moved faster after that.
The ruined streets of Havenreach's eastern edge were darker, narrower. Vines curled up old storefronts. A toppled shuttle bus blocked most of the road, forcing them into tight alleyways.
Tess's voice broke the tension.
"You think we're really the only ones doing this? Building something?"
Jaden didn't answer immediately. He wanted to believe they weren't. That other people were organizing, fighting back, surviving. But he'd seen what resistance leadership had turned into.
"No," he said finally. "But we might be the only ones doing it right."
Marcus pointed ahead. "Eyes up."
They emerged into a broken plaza, the center of an old commercial district. The signal pulsed again—clearer now. A faint beeping echoed from beneath a shattered skybridge.
Jaden crept forward.
He found her under a collapsed shelf—bloodied, coughing, but alive. A girl, maybe seventeen. Arm broken. Faded hospital band on her wrist.
"You found me," she gasped, eyes wide with disbelief.
Marcus scanned the shadows. "No infected?"
"They ran. When the wave hit. Something was wrong with them... like they were following orders, then stopped."
Tess frowned. "Zombies don't retreat. Not unless…"
A rumble echoed through the hollow buildings.
Then they heard it.
A distorted snarl. Heavy steps. A screech—like metal being torn apart.
Marcus cursed. "We're not alone."
New Threat Identified: Aberrant Class – "Skinsplitter"
It burst from an alley wall—a towering, disfigured beast with torn muscle flayed open like a blooming flower. Half-human, half-nightmare. Its eyes locked on Jaden.
Jaden activated Phase Trigger without hesitation, vanishing a split second before the beast's claws shredded the ground.
Tess dragged the girl into cover while Marcus laid down suppressive fire.
The Skinsplitter roared, absorbing bullets like a sponge.
Jaden blinked behind it, landing a precise strike with his knife. It barely flinched.
"We need to fall back—NOW!" he shouted.
But Tess stood up suddenly, eyes sparking with instinctual power. She raised a hand—and for a second, a magnetic pulse rippled outward. The creature froze, twitching as its neural system misfired.
Marcus didn't hesitate. Three precise bursts to the skull.
The Skinsplitter collapsed, twitching and sparking.
Everyone stared at Tess.
She blinked, dazed. "I... think I just short-circuited its brain."
"Not bad," Marcus muttered, wide-eyed.
Jaden stepped beside her, watching quietly. He said nothing of the strange energy that had flared from her. Tess herself didn't seem to understand it fully, and he wasn't ready to explain what he knew—or suspected—about awakenings.
He turned back to the girl. "What's your name?"
"Amber," she said weakly. "I was... part of a med team. We got overrun two weeks ago. I've been hiding since."
Jaden helped her up and quietly tapped into his own system, keeping it hidden.
Identification Activated.Subject: Amber KellsLoyalty Rating: 38 (Wavering - Fearful, Curious)
"We'll take you in," he said. "You'll be safe."
Amber's eyes filled with tears. "I didn't think anyone would come."
As they moved back toward base, Tess looked at Jaden with curiosity. "You know something about her, don't you?"
Jaden smiled faintly, careful. "I know we give people chances. That's all."
They reached the Faultline gates just as the sun began to rise, the light breaking through the fog for the first time in days.
Raya opened the gate. "You found someone?"
Jaden nodded. "One survivor."
She looked past him at Tess and Marcus, then down at the girl.
"And something else," Jaden said quietly. "We're not the only ones evolving."