The black car hummed beneath Rex Blake, its sleek frame cutting through the industrial outskirts of Nexus City at a relentless pace. The driverless vehicle moved with predatory precision, weaving through the gray sprawl of factories and warehouses, the scenery outside a blur of rusted metal and flickering neon signs. Rex barely noticed the beauty of the distant horizon, where the city's towering skyline faded into a haze of smog and light. The plush leather of the seat, the soft hum of the engine, the faint glow of the dashboard—none of it registered. His focus was razor-sharp, locked on the laptop balanced precariously on his lap.
The screen glowed with a digital map of the Arclight Facility, a labyrinth of corridors and restricted zones rendered in stark lines. A green dot pulsed in real-time, tracking his position as the car sped closer to his destination. That's me, Rex thought, his lips twitching into a grim half-smile. The map, provided by the mysterious system that had hijacked his life, highlighted safe zones—paths where security was minimal, blind spots in the facility's defenses. Hacking the gate's security system wouldn't be a problem for someone like him; he'd cracked tougher networks in his sleep. But covering his tracks? That was the real challenge. One wrong move, one stray signal, and he'd be exposed.
He reached into his backpack, pulling out a black baseball cap and tugging it low over his eyes. The mask he'd worn earlier was still in place, obscuring the lower half of his face. Anonymous. Invisible. That was the goal. His heart thudded, a steady drumbeat of adrenaline and dread, but he pushed it down. He'd faced worse odds on the darknet—corporate firewalls, encrypted databases, even a few run-ins with rival hackers. This was just another job. Right?
Forty-five minutes later, the car slowed to a stop, its engine purring softly as it idled in the shadow of a towering structure. The Arclight Facility loomed ahead, a monolith of cold steel and tinted glass, its massive gate gleaming under the gray morning light. It looked more like a fortress than a factory, its walls bristling with hidden tech—cameras, sensors, maybe even automated defenses. The rumors about Arclight were vague but chilling: experimental AI, black-box projects, tech that pushed the boundaries of what was legal. Rex's heart raced faster, a primal instinct screaming at him to turn back.
No one was visible outside, but he wasn't naive enough to think the place was unguarded. They're watching, he thought, his eyes scanning the empty lot. Hidden cameras, drones, maybe even patrols. He needed backup, someone to watch his six, but the system—Zoe, or whatever it was—had gone silent. He tried speaking to it, his voice low and urgent. "Hey, system girl, you there? A little guidance would be nice."
Nothing. Just the hum of the car and the distant buzz of Nexus City.
He pulled out his phone and dialed Jake. First call, no answer. Second, nothing. Third, straight to voicemail. "Come on, man," Rex muttered, frustration creeping into his voice. Jake was probably in class, playing the dutiful class president, but the silence felt like a betrayal. Fine. I'll go in alone.
He leaned toward the dashboard, his voice firm. "Wait for me. Stay out of sight." The car hummed in response, its lights flickering briefly before it glided away, disappearing into an alley with eerie precision. Rex stepped out, the door closing with a soft thud that echoed in the quiet. The air was thick with the scent of oil and metal, the hum of the city now a faint pulse in the distance. He darted to the nearest alley, his sneakers silent against the cracked pavement, and circled to the back of the facility.
The rear of the building was a maze of pipes and vents, a service entrance tucked into the shadows. A heavy steel door, barely noticeable against the wall, looked like a hidden passage. Rex crouched, pulling a compact toolkit from his backpack—a hacker's lifeline, packed with lockpicks, a micro-USB device, and a custom-built signal jammer. His fingers moved with practiced ease, connecting the jammer to the door's electronic lock. A faint beep, a flash of green, and the lock disengaged with a soft click. He glanced around, half-expecting alarms to blare, but the alley remained silent.
Inside the Arclight Facility's control room, banks of monitors glowed with feeds from dozens of security cameras. The operators, engrossed in their screens, saw nothing but static in the sector where Rex had entered. His jammer had done its job, rendering him invisible to the system—for now. The narrow corridor beyond the door was dimly lit, its walls lined with conduits and blinking sensors. Rex pulled out his phone, the map still open, guiding him toward the shard's location: a high-security lab deep in the facility. The catch? He needed an access card, the kind carried by personnel with clearance. His eyes flicked to the map, searching for the control room's location, but a new sound stopped him cold—footsteps, heavy and deliberate, echoing from the corridor ahead.
Panic surged, his pulse spiking. He sprinted to the nearest door, a service elevator tucked into an alcove. The doors hissed open, and he slipped inside, only to freeze. A guard stood there, his broad frame filling the small space. His uniform was crisp, his hand resting on a holstered stun baton. "Hey, kid, what are you doing here?" the guard barked, grabbing Rex's shirt and yanking him forward.
Rex's mind blanked, his body rigid. "I'm just a delivery man," he stammered, the lie flimsy even to his own ears.
"We haven't placed any order—" the guard started, his grip tightening.
Rex didn't think. His knee shot up, slamming into the guard's groin. The man doubled over, a guttural groan escaping his lips. Seizing the moment, Rex drove his elbow into the guard's neck, a move he'd seen in too many action vids but never tried. The guard collapsed, unconscious, his body slumping against the elevator wall. Rex's hands shook, but his face remained calm, a mask of focus. He knelt, detaching the guard's ID card from his belt, its embedded chip glinting under the elevator's harsh light.
He pressed a button, and the elevator lurched upward, the hum of its motor drowning out his ragged breathing. From his backpack, he pulled a compact stun gun—a darknet purchase he'd never thought he'd use. He slipped it into his pocket, its weight a cold comfort. The guard's uniform was oversized, but he tugged it on over his clothes, the fabric loose and awkward but enough to blend in. The elevator doors opened with a soft ding, revealing a control room bathed in the glow of computer monitors.
Three men sat at the consoles, their backs to him, oblivious to his presence. "Hi," Rex said, his voice steady despite the adrenaline flooding his system. They turned in unison, their faces registering shock. Before they could react, Rex fired the stun gun, its electric crackle cutting through the air. The men collapsed, slumping from their chairs with muffled thuds. "Wow," Rex muttered, pocketing the weapon. "This thing's pretty useful."
He moved to the nearest console, his fingers flying across the keyboard. The screens flickered, displaying feeds from the facility's internal network. He navigated with the ease of someone born in code, pulling up schematics, disabling cameras, and locating the hidden lab marked on his map. The shard was close—too close. He jammed the remaining cameras, ensuring his path stayed clear, and slipped out of the control room, leaving the unconscious operators behind.
The timer on his phone ticked down: 28:15:20. He had to move fast.
Meanwhile, at the facility's main gate, a white van rolled to a stop, its tires crunching against the gravel. The guards stationed outside stepped forward, their hands raised to gesture the vehicle through. The driver's door opened, and a slender woman stepped out, her dark blue hair catching the light like liquid sapphire. Her tight black leather jeans and fitted jacket hugged her curves, exuding a dangerous elegance. She moved with the grace of a predator, her boots clicking against the pavement as she approached the entrance. The guards exchanged uneasy glances but waved her inside, their training no match for the authority in her stride.
Inside the facility, she paused, her eyes scanning the sterile lobby. A faint smile curled her lips, sharp and calculating. "Nyx," one of the guards muttered under his breath, his voice tinged with fear. She didn't acknowledge him, her focus elsewhere, as if she could sense the anomaly already moving through the facility's veins.
Rex crept through the corridors, the stolen ID card buzzing softly as he swiped it at a locked door. The lab was close now, its location pulsing on his map like a heartbeat. The hum in the air was louder here, vibrating in his chest, syncing with the rhythm of his fear. He didn't know what Zoe's shard was, but he felt its pull, a magnetic force drawing him deeper into the unknown.
As he rounded a corner, a new sound stopped him—a faint click, like a door locking in the distance. His phone buzzed, the screen flashing with a single, chilling message: She's here. Run. The hum spiked, sharp and electric, and the lights overhead flickered, casting the corridor in strobe-like shadows. Rex's grip tightened on the stun gun, his breath shallow. Nyx was coming, and the clock was running out.
He was in too deep now, a lone hacker against a system that felt alive, predatory, and utterly unforgiving. The shard was his only chance to save Zoe—and maybe himself.