Zeph was bored.
Being a super-genius computer-human hybrid was surprisingly dull when there was nothing to do.
"boredom is inefficient," the AI droned in his head. "Recommend: push-ups. Or studying advanced calculus."
"I'd rather eat dirt," Zeph muttered, tossing a pebble at the tunnel wall.
Kaelen walked back into the light.
He looked… different. Taller? No. Heavier. His boots hit the ground with a solid, heavy thud that vibrated in Zeph's chest.
"You took a while," Zeph said, sitting up. "Find any rats to befriend?"
Kaelen didn't smile. He didn't even look at Zeph. He walked past him to the pack. "We move. Now."
"Who died and made you king?" Zeph joked, but he felt a weird chill.
"Alert," the AI whispered. "Scanning Subject: Kaelen Thorne… Error. Scan failed."
Zeph froze. "What do you mean, failed?"
"Data corruption. Subject reads as… empty. Like a black hole. I cannot calculate his vitals."
"Kae?" Zeph asked, his voice losing its humor. "You okay?"
Kaelen turned. His eyes were dark. darker than usual. "I'm fine. Better than fine. I'm solid."
CRASH.
The ceiling vent above them exploded.
Metal debris rained down. A massive, four-legged machine dropped into the tunnel. It looked like a headless dog made of gunmetal and red lights.
"Hunter Drone!" Zeph yelled.
"Threat Level: Critical," the AI blared. "Armor piercing rounds detected. Evasive maneuvers plotted."
The machine's top turret spun. A red laser dot landed on Zeph's chest.
"Run," the AI commanded.
Zeph's legs tensed to bolt. He grabbed Kaelen's jacket. "Kae! Move!"
Kaelen didn't move. He stood there, like a statue.
"Kaelen!" Zeph screamed. The machine's gun barreled whirred.
"Get behind me," Kaelen said calmly.
"Are you crazy? It'll shred you!"
The machine fired. BRRRT.
A hail of bullets tore through the air.
Zeph flinched, waiting for the blood. Waiting for Kaelen to fall.
But the bullets never hit.
They stopped.
Three feet in front of Kaelen, the air rippled like black water. The bullets hit an invisible wall and… sank. They didn't bounce off. They just vanished. Swallowed.
The machine stopped firing. It seemed confused. It whirred, recalibrating.
Kaelen raised his hand slowly. His palm faced the machine.
"Crush," Kaelen whispered.
He closed his fist.
SCREECH.
The air around the machine distorted. It looked like a giant invisible hand was squeezing it.
The metal legs buckled. The armor plating groaned and folded inward. Sparks showered the tunnel as the chassis was compressed into a ball of scrap metal.
The machine didn't even have time to explode. It was just… imploded.
Kaelen dropped his hand. The crushed ball of metal fell to the ground with a heavy clang.
Silence.
Zeph stared at the wreckage. Then he stared at Kaelen.
"Analysis: Impossible," the AI said, sounding almost scared. "Physics violation detected. Gravity manipulation? No. Reality distortion."
"Kae," Zeph breathed. "What… what was that?"
Kaelen looked at his own hand. He flexed his fingers. The shadows seemed to cling to them.
"I don't know," Kaelen said softly. He looked up at Zeph. There was no fear in his eyes anymore. Only a cold, hard satisfaction.
"But it worked."
Zeph took a step back. The AI was screaming warnings in his head. Danger. Anomaly. Unstable.
"We're even," Kaelen said, picking up his bag. "You have your brain. I have my… weight."
He walked past the crushed machine without a second glance.
"Coming?" Kaelen called back.
Zeph swallowed hard. "Yeah. Coming."
He followed his best friend into the dark. But for the first time, Zeph wasn't looking at Kaelen's back. He was looking at the shadows stretching out from Kaelen's feet. They were long. Too long. And they were reaching for Zeph.