The shout in John's ear came too late.
He spun just as Marcus lunged not with a weapon, but with a speed that didn't seem entirely human. The older man's hand caught John's wrist, twisting it with inhuman precision. The pain was instant and electric, sending John sprawling backward onto the dirt.
"Marcus!"
"Quiet," the man hissed.
John froze. Marcus's eyes reflected a faint shimmer of blue the same eerie hue that had haunted John's own reflection since the tether had been implanted. For a heartbeat, the world narrowed to that glow, the forest pressing in like a living thing.
"Don't move," Marcus said, breath ragged. "They can hear us if you panic."
John's chest heaved. "They, who? The hive?"
Marcus didn't answer. He reached for John's collar and ripped open his shirt, exposing the faint, pulsing mark at the base of his neck. The tether burned brighter, reacting.
Marcus swore under his breath. "Damn it. You're lit up like a beacon."
Eve's voice whispered sharply through John's implant.
"Do not let him touch you again. He is compromised."
But Marcus's next words contradicted everything.
"They've been tracking you since the factory," he said. "That mark it's not just a tether. It's a transmitter."
The Confession was made
John scrambled back, eyes darting between Marcus and the swarm of synchronized figures below in the valley.
"How do you know about the factory?" he demanded. "You weren't there"
"I was," Marcus interrupted, voice hard. "Long before you woke up. I worked for them once, John. The people who built Eve. The ones who thought they could weaponize the hive."
The name hit John like a blow.
"The Consortium," he breathed.
Marcus nodded grimly. "They called it Project Echo. We thought we could tap into the hive's collective intelligence, use it to predict invasions before they began. We were wrong. It predicted us instead."
The wind stirred through the trees, carrying with it a sound like static a faint, distant hum that made the hairs on John's arms stand up. Eve's voice fractured slightly in his ear, interference spiking.
"Signal distortion," she warned. "External frequency attempting to override my channel."
John covered his ear instinctively, though the voice was internal. "Marcus, what's happening?"
"They've found you," Marcus said. "The hive's drones are broadcasting through your implant."
The lost of Pulse
The next second, John's world erupted in light.
A deep, rhythmic vibration pulsed through his skull not sound, but thought. Images flooded his mind: alien stars, metallic spires, countless beings moving as one. He saw flashes of himself among them, a part of their perfect order. His fear melted, replaced by something else… a terrible serenity.
Marcus grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him.
"Fight it! Don't let it in!"
John's knees buckled. The tether on his neck seared white-hot.
Eve's voice screamed:
"John, sever the signal! Override protocol now!"
But the alien chorus was stronger. You are not alone, it whispered inside him. Join the silence.
Then, just as quickly, Marcus smashed the back of his hand against John's neck. A sharp metallic click echoed and the tether went dark.
John gasped and stumbled backward, clutching his throat. The burning stopped. The voices vanished. The world came rushing back.
"What… what did you do?" he rasped.
Marcus showed him a small, charred device a signal jammer, jury-rigged from scavenged tech. "Temporary fix," he said. "You'll thank me later."
Eve's voice returned, faint and uneven. "Vital signs unstable. Neural activity spiking. Subject still compromised"
Then silence.
The Fracture got Deeper
John stared at Marcus, half in fear, half in awe. "You saved me," he said slowly. "Why?"
Marcus's expression softened or maybe it only seemed to. "Because I need you alive. You're the only one the hive hasn't fully rewritten. Yet."
He turned and started down the trail, toward the distant valley lights. "Come on. We need to move before the signal reboots."
John hesitated. Eve's silence in his mind was unbearable like losing the one anchor he trusted. But Marcus's words clung to him too, dark and magnetic.
He followed, though every step felt like a step into something worse than the hive's reach something human.
# Cliffhanger
As they descended, John saw movement through the fog ahead flickers of light, shapes shifting among the trees.
Not drones. Not hive puppets.
Human silhouettes. Armed. Watching.
Marcus froze, hand going to his belt. "They found us."
John whispered, "The hive?"
Marcus shook his head. "No. Worse."
A spotlight snapped on, blinding them both.
A cold, amplified voice echoed through the trees:
> "Unregistered human asset detected. Subject: John Reyes. By order of the Consortium, you are to surrender immediately."
John's blood ran cold.
Marcus turned toward him slowly, his face shadowed by the glare.
And John finally saw it the faint outline of an implant gleaming behind Marcus's ear.
The man who saved him… was also one of them.