The air inside the bunker felt heavy and hard to breathe. It smelled like electricity, but not in a good way. Mostly, it just felt like there was no hope left inside.
Outside, green, poisonous rain slammed against the metal roof, a constant reminder of the ruined world above. A world destroyed by nuclear war and greedy corporations. Down here, far below the destroyed area that was once RouterRow, we were in a hidden shelter built in abandoned subway tunnels. We were searching for the truth.
Volt's face glowed with a strange light. The light came from old computer screens he'd taken apart and made into neon lights. He typed very fast on a keyboard he'd changed. He was sweating. "Almost done," he said quietly. He was trying hard to focus.
"Almost there?" Drax called out, his voice sounded tense. "We've been 'almost there' for the last six hours, Volt! I really need to go to the bathroom!" He was trying to be funny, like always, but you could tell he was stressed. He knew things were serious.
"Shut it, Drax," I snapped, not even looking up from the security cameras I was watching. The government's online defenses were failing, but keeping the place secure physically was a much harder problem. "Any closer to cracking the main server, Volt?"
"Just... a little... further..." His fingers moved fast on the keyboard.
The screens all around us were filled with code that was changing quickly, firewalls collapsing like dominoes. This wasn't a silly kid's game. This was war. We were trying to expose the lies that had led to this empty reality, the secret experiments, the obvious disregard for human life that had turned the world into a toxic wasteland.
We called ourselves TheUndergroundNetwork. A group of hackers, activists, and survivors, united by a shared thirst for justice and a burning need to expose the Elite. We knew that buried somewhere within the government's digital vault lay the truth about the Catalyst, the event that ruined the civilization.
Suddenly, Volt yelled excitedly. "Got it! I'm in!"
For a brief instant, the screens went black before flashing back to life, now displaying the cold, official layout of the government's primary server. We held our breath as Volt worked his way through the encrypted files, with each layer he bypassed, another lie was revealed.
"Okay, I'm accessing Global Consensus Project," he managed to say something, his voice so low it was practically a secret. "Classified files, level Omega. This is it."
The first document appeared on the screen. It was a research paper, dated years before the Cataclysm.
The title: "Virological Weaponization: Potential for Global Control." My stomach clenched. We knew they were playing with fire, but to see it laid out in such cold, clinical terms…
We scrolled through the document, our faces became increasingly serious. It detailed the creation of a virus, designed to be highly contagious and selectively lethal. The target? Populations. Specific groups of people they considered "unwanted." – the poor, the rebellious, anyone who posed a threat to the Elite's power.
"They were going to depopulate the planet," A horrified sound escaped Drax's lips as he inhaled. "They planned this."
But the next document was even more disturbing. It wasn't about the virus itself, but about its release. Detailed simulations, calculations, contingency plans… They knew the risks, the potential for runaway mutation, the possibility of the virus becoming uncontrollable. And they proceeded anyway.
Then we found it. A single line buried deep within a heavily redacted report: "Catalyst Event: Intentional Triggering Protocol Initiated."
They didn't just create the virus. They deliberately released it.
I was a mess of anger and sickness. Everything we had suspected, everything we had fought for, was confirmed. The catastrophe wasn't an accident. It was a calculated act of mass destruction.
The bunker was thrown into chaos as alarms screamed. Red lights pulsed urgently on the screens showing security footage. We were no longer safe; someone had gotten through our defenses.
"They're here!" I yelled. "SWAT team, approaching from sector one!"
"Damn it!" Volt scrambled to upload the files to our hidden server network. "Almost done! Five percent…"
The sound of heavy boots echoed in the tunnel outside. Drax grabbed a makeshift plasma rifle, his face set in a hard expression. "I'll hold them off. You two get the data out."
"No!" I shouted. "We stay together!"
"There's no time!" Drax yelled back, already moving towards the tunnel entrance. "Go! Expose them! That's the only thing that matters now, Cora!"
He disappeared into the darkness. The loud sounds of guns firing broke out in the confined space.
Volt was in a frenzy, typing as fast as he could. His fingers danced across the keyboard in a blur. "Ninety percent… ninety-five… almost… done!"
The door to the server room crashed open. A figure in black body armor ran inside, holding a plasma rifle. I jumped at him and knocked him down.
"Upload complete!" Volt screamed.
I looked over at Volt. Then they shoot him in the head. And died instantly.
It was over, and the realization struck me like a blow. All that work, all that fighting, and yet the truth was still out of reach.
I was caught off guard when the SWAT team pinned me to the ground and then shoved me into a corner.
I saw them drag Volt's body away. They left the screen on.
I looked over at the screen.
"Warning! Undetectable Virus is currently downloading! The government did not create this virus. But you did..."
I stared at the monitor, my blood ran cold. As the virus downloaded onto the system...I saw everything for what it truly was.
We didn't just expose their lies. Our actions triggered a much more damaging outcome.
The screen flashed.
"Congratulations! You have released the Catalyst Virus! Now you will create another Catalyst! But not by the hands of the government. But by the hands of the underground network..."
I remembered the document stating the virus and the process on how to release the virus.
I had the knowledge. And everyone on the underground network did too.
What was all that hard work for when your the one to release the most deadliest virus into the world?
I found Drax on the ground, struggling to breathe. Blood was spreading around him.
I fell to my knees
"Drax... No.."
The SWAT officer's shot him in the head.
A message appeared on the screen: "You have completed Global Consensus Project."