Apocalypse: Rise of the Last Survivor
Chapter 7: Betrayal's Sting
The auto shop's windows shattered, Voidlings pouring through like a black tide, their cores pulsing with malevolent energy.
The Overlord-Class rift outside roared, its massive claw tearing through the street, sending asphalt flying. The System Arbiter stood unmoving, its rune-covered form glowing, energy coiling for Kael Draven's erasure.
The Codex screamed: System Lockdown Initiated: Chronoshift Disabled. Covenant Hunters Inbound, 30 seconds. Traitor Torren's Signal Confirmed: Lara Voss En Route. Mia Chen's eyes glowed faintly, her hidden System skill stirring, as she stood by Kael, who was slumped against a workbench, his vitality at -40%.
The Bloodfang Dagger pulsed in his hand, its drain relentless. Lara's hunters were closing, and the Arbiter's ultimatum—serve the System or die—hung like a noose. Kael's only thought: I don't bow.
The Arbiter's mask flared, its voice ice-cold: "Final warning, Chronoshift User. Accept subjugation, or be erased."
Kael's Codex flickered, fighting the lockdown: System Loophole: Arbiter Cannot Act During Active Rift Threat. The Overlord's claw smashed closer, Voidlings swarming, giving Kael a split-second edge. He rejected the deal, spitting blood. "Go to hell." The Arbiter's runes surged, but a Voidling lunged at it, forcing the entity to pivot, its energy blasting the creature into ash. The distraction was Kael's only shot.
He grabbed Mia, his legs barely holding. "Run!" he rasped, shoving her toward the shop's back exit. The Bloodfang Dagger's drain hit harder—Vitality: -45%—but he kept it, its power his only weapon. Mia's eyes glowed brighter, a faint blue aura flickering around her hands. Codex Update: Mia Chen's Skill: Kinetic Barrier. Status: Unstable.
Kael's paranoia spiked—she'd hidden a System skill this whole time, but she was still pulling him along, her loyalty holding. For now.
Voidlings skittered after them, their mandibles shredding the shop's walls. Kael's Codex screamed: Survival Odds: 2%. Escape Route: Rooftop access, 15 meters. He kicked open a stairwell door, dragging Mia up, his vision tunneling. The Overlord's roar shook the building, its claw ripping through the street outside, cars exploding in its wake.
Covenant hunters' boots echoed below—Lara's team had arrived. Kael's Glock was empty, his shotgun lost in the sewer. The dagger was all he had, and it was killing him.
On the rooftop, the city was a warzone—rifts glowing across the skyline, sirens drowned by screams. The Overlord's rift dominated, its purple light swallowing the stars, its claw now joined by a second, both groping for the shop.
Mia's barrier flickered, deflecting a Voidling's lunge, but the effort dropped her to her knees. "I can't hold it long," she gasped. Kael's Codex scanned: Kinetic Barrier: 10-second duration. Cooldown: 60 seconds. She'd been holding out, but her skill had saved them. Trust was still a risk, but Kael needed her.
The Codex pinged: Rooftop Escape: Fire escape to adjacent building. Risk: Covenant Sniper. Kael spotted the glint of a scope across the street—Lara's hunters were already in position. He ducked, pulling Mia behind a vent, as a pulse round scorched the air, missing by inches. Vitality: -50%.
System Failure in 20 seconds. The Bloodfang Dagger's glow pulsed, tempting him to overcharge again, but another hit would kill him outright. He needed a plan, and fast.
The Arbiter materialized on the rooftop, its runes blazing. "Defiance noted," it said, raising a hand, energy crackling. But the Overlord's claw swung, forcing the Arbiter to blast it instead, the impact shaking the building. Kael's Codex flared: Arbiter Distracted.
System Lockdown Weakening. Chronoshift Partially Available: 5-second Rewind. Cost: 2 Months Lifespan. The cost was brutal—Kael's lifespan was already down to 21 years, 11 months—but the sniper's scope was tracking him, and Voidlings were climbing the walls.
He triggered the Rewind, time snapping back. Lifespan Remaining: 21 Years, 9 Months. He was back behind the vent, Mia's barrier still up, the sniper's shot not yet fired. Kael grabbed a rusted pipe, hurling it at the sniper's position. The glint vanished, the hunter repositioning. It bought seconds. Kael pulled Mia toward the fire escape, Voidlings reaching the rooftop, their cores glowing like black stars. Mia's barrier flickered out, her face pale. "I'm done," she whispered, collapsing.
Kael caught her, his own body screaming. Vitality: -55%. The Codex offered a desperate play: Overlord Distraction: Lure Voidlings to Covenant hunters. Escape Window: 15 seconds. He hated it, but it was his only shot. He dragged Mia to the fire escape, tossing a flare from his pack toward the hunters' position. The Voidlings screeched, drawn to the light, swarming the street below. Gunfire erupted—Lara's team caught in the horde. Kael slid down the fire escape, Mia slung over his shoulder, her weight nearly breaking him.
They hit the alley, the Codex guiding: Secondary Safehouse: 0.2 miles west. Risk: Compromised by Traitor Torren. Kael's rage flared—Torren, the enclave leader, had sold his Chronoshift secret to Lara. He'd deal with that bastard later. For now, survival. He stumbled into the safehouse, a boarded-up diner, barricading the door. Mia stirred, her barrier skill dormant but her eyes clear. "You didn't leave me," she said, voice soft. Kael ignored the sentiment, his Codex screaming: Covenant Hunters: 0.1 miles away. Lara Voss Confirmed.
He tied Mia's bandage tighter, his own wounds bleeding through. Vitality: -60%. System Failure in 10 seconds.
The diner was a trap—Torren's betrayal meant Lara knew his moves. Kael needed intel. He shook Mia. "Your skill—why hide it?" Her eyes flickered, guilt crossing her face. "I didn't know I had it… it activated when the rifts opened." The Codex flagged: Mia Chen: Kinetic Barrier Confirmed. Activation Trigger: Rift Proximity. Suspicious, but she'd saved him twice. He'd watch her closer.
The diner's walls shook, not from the Overlord, but from footsteps—human, heavy, System-enhanced. Kael's Codex scanned: Covenant Hunters: 4. Armament: Pulse Rifles, Kinetic Grenades. Lara's voice echoed outside, cold and sharp: "Draven, you're cornered. Hand over the Chronoshift, and I'll let the girl live." Kael's blood boiled. Lara knew his power, thanks to Torren. The Codex pinged: Future Codex Update: Lara Voss's Betrayal—Personal Motive. Memory Fragment: Lara Loved Kael in Original Timeline.
Kael's heart stopped. Loved him? The woman who'd gutted him, who'd sold humanity to the Erythra, had loved him? The memory hit like a blade: Lara's smile in the early days, her hand on his, her vow to survive together. Then her dagger in his gut, her eyes empty. The Codex clarified: Motive: Jealousy. Kael's Leadership Threatened Her Covenant Role. The betrayal wasn't just strategic—it was personal, twisted by the apocalypse's cruelty. Kael's rage surged, but his body was done.
The Arbiter materialized again, its runes dimmer, as if strained by the Overlord's rift. "Your defiance accelerates the collapse," it said. "Serve, or the System locks you permanently." Kael's Codex fought the lockdown: Chronoshift Partial Access: 5-second Rewind. Cost: 3 Months Lifespan. He couldn't afford it—not with Lara outside, hunters ready, and Voidlings circling. Mia grabbed his arm, her barrier flickering back.
"I can hold them," she said, but her voice shook. The Codex warned: Mia's Barrier: 5-second duration. Risk: Overload.
The diner's door exploded, a kinetic grenade blasting it to splinters. Hunters stormed in, pulse rifles firing.
Mia's barrier flared, deflecting shots, but she screamed, blood seeping from her nose. Kael lunged, Bloodfang Dagger slashing a hunter's arm, its overcharge kicking in. Vitality: -70%. Dagger Overcharge: 10x Damage. The blade tore through armor, dropping the hunter, but another fired, a pulse round grazing Kael's chest. He staggered, the Codex screaming: System Failure Imminent.
Lara stepped through the smoke, her eyes cold, a System-etched blade in hand.
"You should've stayed dead, Kael." The Arbiter watched, unmoving, as if testing him. Mia's barrier collapsed, her body slumping. Kael's vision faded, but the Codex flashed a final warning: Traitor Torren Inside Diner. Action: Activating Rift Beacon to Summon Overlord. Kael's eyes darted—a figure in the shadows, Torren, holding a glowing device, its signal pulsing. The Overlord's roar shook the city, its claw smashing through the diner's roof.