Chapter 2: The Syndicate Moves
The morning after the ashstorm dawned in sullen gray. A thin layer of carbon dust coated the landscape, muting all color, swallowing all sound. From the shattered bunker's doorway, Rose stepped cautiously into the silence, hand still throbbing with residual heat from the sigil etched into her palm.
She'd barely slept. Every time she closed her eyes, alien code drifted behind her eyelids—unfamiliar, mutating symbols coiling into thoughts she didn't understand.
But there was no time to panic.
Neo Earth was cruel to the weak. Survivors didn't freeze up—they adapted.
She adjusted her goggles, wiped her face with a scrap of cloth, and checked her gear. Her oxygen was low. Her holo-comp, now flickering strangely, displayed a new interface. Gone were the clunky menus. In their place: a single pulsating word.
GENE: ACTIVE.
She tapped it. A brief shimmer passed over her vision, and suddenly, data danced across her HUD—environmental readouts, atmospheric analysis, and… life signatures?
"What the hell…?"
She turned sharply. Two red blips flickered on the map—moving toward her from the east.
Not animals.
Not friendly.
Above the Dunes
Two Syndicate Recon Drones glided low over the terrain. Vulture-like, their bone-white exoshells absorbed light rather than reflected it. They spoke in bursts of encoded speech.
"Target zone confirmed. Black Signature detected."
"Lifeform: Female. Seventeen cycles. Gene profile—anomaly."
"Authorization received. Prepare capture protocol."
They shifted their arms—segments unfolding, transforming into sleek plasma snare rifles.
Rose Runs
The moment she crested the nearest ridge and saw the glint of metal, instincts screamed.
She ran.
Not fast enough.
One of the drones spotted her and let loose a pulse—blue rings of light raced toward her like shockwaves. Rose dove, narrowly missing the snare, rolling hard against the jagged ground.
Pain screamed through her shoulder. Blood.
She scrambled up and bolted for a rock cluster. No cover.
The second drone took position above her, gun-arm pulsing.
She was going to die.
Then it happened again.
The sigil on her palm flared.
Time slowed.
The wind stilled. The dust stopped mid-air. Even her heartbeat became thunderous in her ears. Around her vision, a faint lattice of symbols glowed. She could see the drone's energy core… the fracture line in its armor… the trajectory of its next shot.
It wasn't instinct. It was something more. A voice—hers, and not hers—spoke from inside:
"Biological interface unlocked. Initiating combat adaptation."
She moved.
Not like before. Faster. Sharper.
In one fluid motion, she scooped a shard of rusted alloy from the ground and hurled it. It pierced the drone's vent housing. Sparks. A shriek of energy. The drone spun out, crashing into the dune in a heap of broken limbs.
The other one shrieked a mechanical warning and fired again.
This time, Rose caught it.
The energy snare hit her outstretched hand—but instead of being pulled down, she felt it absorb into her skin. Her veins shimmered.
She smiled, trembling. "Oh, you picked the wrong girl to hunt."
Elsewhere: The Syndicate Core
High atop a floating arcology in orbit, Commander Sovar Nex leaned forward on his war throne as alerts blared.
Drone Unit 14: Offline.
Drone Unit 15: Compromised.
Target resistance: confirmed. Initiate priority escalation.
He narrowed his amber eyes. "Activate the Soulcage. We're not dealing with a scavenger anymore. The Black Gene has evolved."
A technician flinched. "But sir, that sequence hasn't been field-tested—"
"Test it on her."
Back on the Surface
Rose crouched over the wreckage of the second drone. Her body shook with post-adrenaline tremors. She was alive. More than alive. Her vision was clear. Her muscles hummed with energy. But her mind screamed questions.
Why her?
What was this gene?
She rummaged through the debris, yanked a power cell, and shoved it into her pack. Her heart still pounded like a drumline in her chest. Above her, the sky was clearing, but now she knew she was being watched. She had no choice.
She had to leave Zone-7. Find someone who knew what this gene was. Find someone like… the old legends.
The Outwalkers. Gene-warriors. Exiles. Some said they were all dead.
But Rose wasn't going to die in a dust pit.
She turned east, toward the ghost cities of the old world.
Toward answers.
Toward war.