ANCIENT INN ABANDONED SITE– DEEP FOREST – AFTERNOON
A blanket of fog clings to the ancient trees like ghosts refusing to leave.
The abandoned INN experimental complex rises through the overgrowth — broken towers, shattered glass, and rusted metal beams twisting into the sky like the bones of a forgotten titan. Twenty years of silence have coated the place in dust, moss, and the bitter residue of unsolved sins.
The forest is quiet.
Too quiet.
MADISON CONNOR steps forward.
Her boots sink slightly into soft mud; old leaves crunch beneath her sole. She's stern, centered, even as the air thickens with the scent of something unnatural.
Behind her:
AGENT RISE — tall, broad-shouldered, scanning every shadow.
AGENT VERO — precise, efficient, hands never far from her sidearm.
DR. IRIS KADE — brilliant, jittery, hyperaware, eyes dancing across aged machinery.
They stand inside the Subject-09 chamber, where the cryo-pod has been drained, cracked, and abandoned after the extraction.
Rise and Vero secure Subject-09's frail corpse into a containment sheet — respectful, yet grim.
A cold metallic tension hangs in the air.
[Dr.Iris kade]:(whispering as she scrolls through a panel)This… doesn't make sense. These systems should be dead. Power grid is disconnected, generators are rotted, wiring is fossilized—
She taps the console again.
Then freezes.
[Dr.Iris Kade]:Something is… activating.
Madison steps beside her.
[Madison Connor]:Define activating, Doctor
[Dr.Iris Kade]:(voice trembling)
This console is drawing energy from… nowhere. Zero grid. Zero backup. And yet
The screen flickers to life.
A rapid cascade of corrupted data scrolls.
LOG: SUBJECT PROTOTYPE–1 TERMINATED
LOG: SUBJECT PROTOTYPE–2 PENDING REACTIVATION
Iris looks at Madison, horror inching up her spine.
Before Madison can respond—
[AGENT RISE]:(quiet, controlled)
Commander. We have movement.
Madison turns sharply.
[AGENT RISE]:Behind the walls. One unidentified bio-signal. Non-human.
[AGENT VERO]:(grim)Please tell me that's a glitch.
Rise shakes his head.
No glitch.
Madison slowly steps toward a fractured steel pillar.
She wipes the dust with her glove.
A symbol is carved — not written — burned into the metal as if by superheated energy:
PROTOTYPE – 2
Her expression changes subtly.
Not fear.
Recognition.
A connection she didn't want confirmed.
And every instinct tells her:
This ties to Dr. Elira Cross.
This ties to Jaxon Steel.
This ties to something they were never supposed to uncover.
She opens her mouth to speak—
BOOM—!!
The entire facility trembles.
Dust cascades.
Pipes rattle.
The stench of ozone fills the chamber.
[AGENT VERO]:Movement increasing—fast!
[AGENT RISE]:Forty meters. Closing.
Iris backs toward a reinforced column, chest tightening.
[Dr Iris Kade]:This is wrong—whatever was in Prototype-2 wasn't designed for military deployment. It was kept sealed for a reason. We should leave.
Madison raises a fist — silence.
The shadows ripple.
The old air vents groan.
Then—
It appears.
A creature drops from the ceiling like a shadow liquefying into shape.
Human-like frame.
Elongated limbs.
Blackened skin marked with glowing veins.
Eyes flickering neon-blue like unstable plasma.
And around it—
Objects float.
Scraps of metal, rocks, dust — suspended mid-air in an invisible telekinetic field.
[AGENT VERO]:…Oh my god.
[AGENT RISE]:That's not any species I know.
Madison lifts her gun.
[MADISON CONNOR]:Prototype-2.
The creature's head tilts, observing them with unsettling curiosity.
Every floating object suddenly AIMs at the team.
Like bullets suspended in a telekinetic chamber.
Madison's voice drops to a command growl:
[MADISON CONNOR]:Positions!
The creature's hand twitches—
And the room EXPLODES into chaos.
Debris launches like missiles.
Rise dives, rolling across the floor as metal shards slice the wall behind him.
Vero fires controlled bursts —
BANG! BANG! BANG!
But every bullet freezes mid-air.
Then, with a flick—
The creature returns them back.
Bullets zing past Iris, bruising concrete.
Iris screams, ducking behind a console.
Madison charges forward —
[MADISON CONNOR]:Move!! Pattern Delta!
Rise sweeps left, unloading his rifle.
Vero sprints right, trying to flank.
Iris crawls beneath a panel, trying to shut the reactivated systems down.
Everything around them warps.
The creature waves its arm—
A heavy steel lab table rips from the ground and barrels toward Vero.
She leaps—
CRAAASH!!
Metal shatters into the wall inches from her head.
Madison fires point-blank at the creature's core.
This time the bullets connect — sparks burst across its skin.
The creature SCREAMS — a twisted sound, half-electronic, half-animal — and telekinetically hurls Madison across the room.
She crashes against a cryo-chamber.
Rise tackles the creature, slamming into it with pure force.
They tumble into a pillar — the entire structure cracks.
Dust and metal rain down.
Iris finally manages to override a power conduit — Sparks erupt, and half the chamber lights die.
The creature flickers, weakened for a moment by the energy disruption.
Madison wipes blood from her lip.
[MADISON CONNOR]:(yelling)Fall back! The structure's unstable—EVAC NOW!
Vero grabs Iris.
Rise pushes Madison toward the exit.
The building shakes violently—
CRACK—CRUMBLE—ROAR—
The upper floors begin collapsing.
They sprint through the flickering corridor—
A steel beam smashes down behind them.
The lab they were in collapses entirely.
They burst through the exit hall, lungs burning, ears ringing—
Madison clutching the briefcase containing Elira Cross's file and Prototype-2 documentation.
The creature roars from within the collapsing ruins…
But they don't look back.
Madison leads them into the treeline as the ancient base caves in behind them — consumed by dust, falling concrete, and secrets better left buried.
---
INN HQ – DIRECTORIAL STRATEGY CHAMBER – NIGHT
Director Charles Livingston stands before a long mahogany briefing table.
Screens flicker with:
media outrage
government demands
INN failure statistics
projected impact analyses
Senior officials surround him — tense, silent, waiting.
Livingston adjusts his tie — his corporate armor.
[ CHARLES LIVINGSTON]:Forty-eight hours from now, the Oversight Committee will arrive.
With full investigative authority.
And the power to suspend INN command operations.
A murmur ripples.
He continues, voice steady despite the storm behind his eyes.
[LIVINGSTON]:The Hydra incident, the public backlash, the breach reports—
We are on thin ice.
Our relevance… is being questioned at the highest political levels.
He clicks a remote.
A government letter appears with the seal of national defense.
[LIVINGSTON]:This directive states — and I quote —
'Failure to demonstrate systemic control will result in temporary dissolution of field operations.'
Which means… if we don't stabilize, they will ground every agent.
The silence is suffocating.
Livingston looks around slowly — authority balanced on exhaustion.
[LIVINGSTON]:We have forty-eight hours to prove INN still matters.
The meeting ends.
The room empties.
Livingston remains still — breath shallow.
When the last door closes—
His mask cracks.
He leans on the table, fingers trembling faintly.
The tough persona, the sharp tone, the cold stare — all peel away.
What's left is a man trying desperately to protect his agency, his people, and the fragile world depending on them.
For a moment, he closes his eyes.
[LIVINGSTON]:(whispers to himself)
Just hold together… just a little longer."
---
LOPEZ'S APARTMENT BLOCK – NIGHT
A calm suburban neighborhood sleeps under streetlights.
But danger hums beneath the stillness.
Two figures watch from the shadows:
RAVENSTRIKE
SHARDEYE
The elite HYDRA sniper superhumans.
Shardeye's mechanical iris clicks, recalibrating thermal scans.
[SHARDEYE]:Confirming multiple INN patrol units across a two-block radius.
Ravenstrike leans against a wall, casual, predatory.
[RAVENSTRIKE]:They're expecting something. Good. Fear makes the game sweeter.
A holographic projection flickers beside them—
VANGOR DRALE
HYDRA's ruthless leader, cloaked in digital static.
[VANGOR DRALE]:Our window has changed. Execute the capture tonight.
Agent Lopez is to be immobilized and brought to base immediately.
Ravenstrike raises an eyebrow.
[RAVENSTRIKE]:Tonight? I assumed—
[VANGOR DRALE]:(interrupts sharply)
Orders stand.Move.
The hologram cuts out.
Ravenstrike exhales slowly.
[RAVENSTRIKE]:Well… so much for tomorrow.
Shardeye locks a round into her rifle.
[SHARDEYE]:Engagement ready.
Ravenstrike smirks.
[RAVENSTRIKE]:Let's go collect our stray agent.
---
LOPEZ'S APARTMENT – NIGHT
Steam fills the bathroom.
AGENT MARCO LOPEZ is humming, enjoying a hot shower after a brutal week.
He steps out, towel wrapped around his waist, water dripping from his hair.
Then—
THUD.
A soft, wrong sound.
Lopez's eyes narrow.
He grabs another towel — not for modesty, but as a precaution — and tiptoes through his apartment.
[AGENT LOPEZ]:…If this is the landlord again, I swear—
He moves through the living room.
Silence.
Then—
A window creaks.
A shadow shifts.
Lopez freezes.
[AGENT LOPEZ ]:…Okay, definitely not the landlord.
He grabs a metal lamp — the closest thing resembling a weapon — and edges forward.
Then everything erupts.
The door blasts inward—
Ravenstrike and Shardeye enter simultaneously like two arrows cutting through air.
Shardeye fires a telekinetic sniper-round — Lopez ducks, the bullet embedding into the fridge.
Lopez rolls, grabbing a chair as a shield.
[AGENT LOPEZ]:Two against one?
Aw come on — at least let me put on pants!
Ravenstrike lunges.
Lopez blocks with the chair — splintering it — and kicks Ravenstrike across the room.
Shardeye fires again — Lopez flips behind the sofa.
[AGENT LOPEZ]:I'm flattered you both came for me, really, but this is a terrible time!
Ravenstrike laughs mid-fight.
[RAVENSTRIKE]:"He talks too much."
[SHARDEYE]:Neutralize him.
They attack in sync.
Lopez dodges a slash, counters with a punch that cracks Shardeye's visor.
He twists, elbow-strikes Ravenstrike, slams a knee into the wall to pivot—
But they're faster.
They're enhanced.
And he's fighting in a towel.
The battle tears through the apartment — furniture shattered, walls dented, dishes exploding.
Lopez grabs a metal tray like a shield, charging at Shardeye—
Ravenstrike appears behind him.
WHACK—!!
A brutal strike to the back of Lopez's skull.
His vision blurs.
He falls to his knees.
Before collapsing fully, he mutters:
[AGENT LOPEZ]:…Still… two against one… cowards…
His body drops.
Silence.
Ravenstrike wipes his blade.
Shardeye scans Lopez's vitals.
[SHARDEYE]:Unconscious. Stable.
[RAVENSTRIKE]:Package secured.
They exchange a look.
Not relief.
But anticipation.
Because tonight isn't the end.
It's the beginning.
The beginning of something far worse.
The apartment ruined.
Lopez motionless.
Hydra shadows closing in.
TO BE CONTINUED.....