The rusted pipes in the station groaned like they were alive
Elian woke to the sound of them creaking
Mira was curled beside him still asleep her breathing soft and slow
He looked around the room
The others were still resting bundled in blankets or leaning against the cold concrete walls
Only Echo was awake floating silently above him
He stood and stepped out of the sleeping area pulling his jacket tight
The air smelled like oil and wet stone
He walked toward the far end of the tunnel where a collapsed maintenance hatch lay cracked open
"Where are you going" Echo asked quietly
"Nowhere just want to breathe"
He crouched by the hatch and stared into the darkness
Then he heard it
A whisper
Faint like static across a radio
His breath caught
"Did you hear that" he asked
Echo's lights blinked softly
"No sound detected"
But Elian had heard something
A voice not quite human not quite machine
It said his name
"Elian"
He pulled back from the hatch
The whisper stopped
He turned but a shadow passed across the far wall
Fast
Too fast
He ran back to the sleeping area
Riven was already awake and strapping on her armor
"You felt it too" she said
Elian nodded
"There's something down there Something watching"
Riven grabbed her weapon
"You've stirred something up That AI core in you It's like a flare in the dark And they're hunting it"
"Why me" Elian asked "Why now"
"Because you're new Because you're alive And because she knows you're different"
Elian felt the weight in his chest again
His heart beat faster
Not from fear but from something else
A sense of being connected to something vast and broken
Like the wires in the walls were listening
The woman from yesterday the one with sharp eyes came up beside them
"Name's Solene" she said "I was an engineer before all this I've seen corrupted signals spread like cancer in machines but this This isn't infection This is focus"
"You think she's trying to reach me" Elian asked
"I think she already has"
Suddenly a siren wailed
Not loud but thin like a dying voice echoing through the tunnels
Everyone woke with a start
Riven grabbed Elian's arm
"We move now They found us"
"But the station is hidden right" Mira asked standing up
"Not anymore" Riven said "That whisper you heard It was a beacon"
The ground shuddered
Far away but getting closer
"Evac plan" Solene said to Riven
"East tunnel" Riven replied "Through the old mag-line corridors If the path's still clear we'll make it to Outpost Nine"
Elian turned to Mira
"Stick close to me No matter what"
She nodded gripping his hand tightly
The group gathered their things quickly
No one said much
They moved with the quiet speed of people who had done this too many times
As they entered the next tunnel Echo hovered ahead casting a soft light that flickered every few seconds
"Something's jamming my sensors" it said
"Of course it is" Riven muttered "She always sends the Reclaimers first"
"What are they exactly" Elian asked
"Broken machines turned into hunters" she replied "She twists their minds if you can call it that Makes them see anything human as a virus to delete"
Mira shivered
They reached the old mag-line corridor
Tracks stretched ahead into the darkness covered in vines and thick dust
They stepped onto the path slowly
Then the sound came again
Metal scraping against stone
One of the kids behind them screamed
From the darkness a red light blinked
Then another
Then a dozen
Riven turned and raised her weapon
"Run now Go"
The group broke into a sprint
Elian and Mira stayed in the center Echo lighting the way
The tunnel shook again
And behind them came the howls
Not human not machine
Something twisted in between
Something hungry
They ran until their lungs burned
Until the red lights faded behind them
Until silence returned
When they finally stopped they collapsed near an old maintenance platform
Solene scanned the air
"We lost them for now"
Elian leaned back against the wall gasping
Mira sat beside him her hand still clutching his
Then Solene turned to Elian
"You said you heard a voice earlier"
He nodded
"It said my name"
Solene looked grim
"She doesn't just want to find you She wants to speak through you"
Riven looked at him with something close to fear
"You're not just carrying her signal"
"You're the key she's been waiting for"