explosion's impact hurled everyone across the room. Sable crashed to the floor, the chair she'd been tied to now a shattered wreck. Ethan lay sprawled on the ground, dazed and coughing as debris rained around him. Overhead, the fluorescent lights flickered weakly, casting stuttering shadows through the haze of smoke and dust.
fresh wave of agony tore through Sable's body—her already fractured ribs screamed, and the fall had snapped her wrist again. The pain was blinding, threatening to pull her into unconsciousness. But through the haze, she saw a shadow loom over her. A figure—masked, silent, urgent.
"Get up. We're getting out of here," the voice said, low and firm.
The figure crouched, quickly undoing the last of the restraints, lifting Sable with surprising gentleness as chaos crackled around them.
The masked girl helped Sable to her feet, steadying her as they moved toward the exit. The door had been blown clean off its hinges, shards of metal and splinters littering the ground.
"You won't make it out of here… not even off this island!" Ethan's voice rasped from the floor, broken and bitter. "You're both dead the moment I get to you!"
But neither of them looked back.
Without a word, they disappeared into the wreckage, swallowed by the smoke and silence beyond the room.
They moved quickly through the dim hallway, the stench of blood hanging heavy in the air. Bodies littered the floor — a silent testament to the storm Synn had carved to reach Sable.
"Synn… you… you came for me," Sable murmured, her voice trembling beneath the weight of her pain.
"Just shut up and focus on staying upright," Synn muttered, slipping an arm around her. Her tone was cold, but her grip was firm — protective.
Then came the wail.
Alarms shrieked through the facility, piercing and relentless. Red lights began to flash overhead, bathing the corridor in a pulsing crimson glow. Synn's jaw tightened.
"We don't have much time," she said under her breath. "They'll be coming — and they won't be polite."
They burst into another hallway — but danger struck before their feet could settle.
A sudden, devastating blow tore through the air.
Sable was flung to the floor, her scream echoing down the corridor. Her body had taken too much — too many wounds, too much pain. She whimpered, curling in on herself.
But Synn moved like smoke — fast, fluid, untouchable. She landed in a crouch, eyes snapping up to the figure ahead.
Shadow.
He stood like a wraith, silent and cold, the hallway lights casting long, cruel shadows behind him.
Sable's voice cracked, "Please… not him…"
Shadow unsheathed his twin rapiers, each blade singing with deadly promise.
Synn didn't hesitate. She reached to her side and uncoiled her weapon — a whip, its edges laced with small, curved blades that shimmered like jagged teeth.
Shadow paused. That weapon…
A memory flickered in his mind — someone from the clan, someone from long ago. Someone lethal.
But there was no time for hesitation.
With a sudden burst, Shadow launched forward and hurled one of his rapiers straight at her chest.
Synn dodged with a sharp sidestep, the blade slicing past her cheek, just missing its mark. She spun, the whip snapping through the air in a silver arc.
Crack.
The bladed tip lashed across Shadow's leg, cutting deep.
He winced but stood firm, blood trickling down his boot.
Synn's eyes locked on his. "You're bleeding."
Shadow smirked darkly. "So will you."
Shadow lunged again, this time with a sharp kick aimed at Synn's head.
But she was quicker.
She ducked low, fluid as water, and drove a hard blow into his ribs. The impact cracked through the silence — but before she could recover, Shadow's other leg swung around and slammed into her chest, knocking the wind from her lungs.
Both fighters crashed to the floor in opposite directions.
Sable whimpered, curling tighter as pain laced her chest. She had shifted during the chaos, dragging herself toward cover — but every breath was fire.
Synn rolled to her feet, breath ragged, eyes darting.
They couldn't keep this up. Not here.
She knew it. More enemies would come crashing in any second. Sable was barely standing, let alone fighting.
They had to move — now.
Synn knew Shadow wasn't just another grunt — he was a beast in black steel. This wasn't a fight she could finish, not today.
They had to vanish.
Her eyes flicked to him — still recovering, breath labored. Then, she spotted it. The power box.
No hesitation.
She drew her revolver, aimed, and fired.
CRACK!
Sparks burst. Darkness swallowed the hallway like a curtain drop.
By the time emergency lights buzzed back to life, the space was empty.
Synn and Sable were gone.
Shadow cursed under his breath, fury simmering. The hunt wasn't over — not by a long shot.
Other operatives stormed into the corridor, halting at the sight of Shadow.
"They couldn't have gotten far," he barked, his voice sharp as steel. "Alert reinforcements — sweep beyond the facility walls!"
Without a word, the men scattered like trained hounds chasing scent.
But Shadow lingered.
His thoughts itched with unease. That masked girl — the way she moved, the whip she wielded — it all felt too familiar.
No.
He clenched his jaw, refusing to speak the name forming at the edge of his mind.
It couldn't be her.
It better not be.
Synn staggered through the open field, supporting Sable's weakened frame. The moon spilled silver light across the grass as they neared the wired fence—freedom just within reach.
Then—whoosh!
A blade hissed past their heads, barely missing them.
Synn's eyes snapped up.
Three figures.
Moving fast.
Closing in.
"Damn it," she hissed, lowering Sable gently to the ground.
Sable groaned, clutching her side. Synn winced—half in worry, half in rising anger.
This wasn't the time for blame, but deep down, Synn was seething.
She'd warned her.
Told her she wasn't ready for this mission.
Told her this facility was suicide.
But Sable insisted.
And now here they were—bleeding, hunted, cornered.
Synn clenched her jaw and drew her whip again, eyes flicking between the figures and the fence.
They needed to escape first.
Scolding could come after they were alive.
The first figure lunged in with brutal speed.
Synn twisted sideways, slipping past his kick like smoke. Her whip cracked through the air, coiling around his leg with surgical precision. With a sharp tug, the blade-edge bit deep—savoring the ankle—before severing it clean.
A scream tore through the night as the figure collapsed, blood spraying like mist on moonlight.
One down.
Deadly as hell.
Another figure came at her from behind, blade slicing through the air—but Synn ducked low, the weapon missing her by inches.
The third attacker rushed in, wielding a wicked, wolf-shaped blade. But Synn was faster. She spun, slamming a boot into his gut—both of them hitting the ground with a thud.
They scrambled up, eyes locked, instincts sharp.
Then they lunged.
Synn's whip lashed out like a serpent, wrapping around both their throats in a blur. With a fierce yank, the blade-lined cord carved through flesh—severing heads from necks in one brutal motion.
Blood erupted, spraying wild into the air.
Synn stood in the carnage, breathing steady, eyes like fire.
Meanwhile, Shadow was now with Ethan as they monitored the feeds. They watched her dismantle their most seasoned assassins like they were training dummies.
Ethan's eyes narrowed as the whip cracked across the screen, her movements precise—almost too familiar. It stirred something buried.
"I assume we're thinking the same thing," Shadow said, voice low.
"She's dead," Ethan replied, his voice clipped. "It can't be her. We killed her, remember?"
"But who else do you know that uses a whip like that?" Shadow countered. "And she knew her way around the facility. That's how she got out."
"I think that's Synn," Shadow added, leaning forward. "We assumed she died after falling off that cliff… but what if she didn't?"
Ethan's jaw clenched. The thought was clawing at him now, unsettling, real. Could it truly be Synn? And if it was, why was she here—and what was her connection to the girl?
"Did she send her? Is this some kind of setup?" Ethan muttered, dread creeping through his voice.
"Should I go after them?" Shadow asked, eyes sharp as blades.
"No," Ethan said, his voice calm but heavy. "Let them go. We'll cross paths again."
—
Meanwhile, Synn and Sable had made it out of the facility.
Synn moved swiftly, guiding Sable's weakened body to where she had stashed the vehicle. She opened the back seat and gently laid her down, checking her pulse with a brief glance.
Then, without a word, she slid into the driver's seat. The engine roared to life, headlights slicing through the night as they vanished down the road—into the unknown, but not without purpose.