The tunnel air tasted like copper and cold dust.
Netoshka marched at the front, her flashlight cutting through the thick dark, the others following close behind. The distant echo of machinery—Kraustein's dying systems—rumbled somewhere above them like a creature gasping its last breath. Every now and then the ground trembled, shedding flakes of rust and concrete dust from the ceiling.
They had overloaded the 3rd Sector's grid.
They had forced Kraustein's AI into meltdown.
But they were not out yet.
"Movement behind us…" Zev murmured, his rifle raised.
"Heavy movement."
"Vitraspawns," Taran muttered from the rear. His voice was strained, corrupted veins pulsing faintly under his skin.
"They're regrouping… using the tunnels."
Twilla shook her head.
"I thought they would scatter after we shut down Kraustein?"
"They're not his anymore," Genrihk said grimly.
"They're the Wire's now."
A slow, metallic groan rippled through the floor.
The tunnel shook on its foundations.
Netoshka stopped.
She felt something—pressure, vibration—an incoming collapse.
"Move," she barked.
"Now. Fast."
They started jogging, boots splashing through stagnant water pooled along the tracks.
Rue checked her scanner, her face tightening.
"Neto, the burrow grid is degrading. Kraustein's meltdown is causing structural failure across the entire metro system."
"And you're telling me this now?" Netoshka snapped—then steadied her voice.
"How long until critical collapse?"
"…Thirty seconds."
The ground jumped under them.
A deafening crack ripped down the tunnel spine.
"RUN!" Netoshka roared.
The squad bolted as a thunderous roar exploded behind them—rails twisting, walls buckling inward, a violent cascade crushing everything in its wake. A wave of dust and debris chased them like a landslide with teeth.
Taran grabbed Zopi by the collar and practically hurled him forward.
Genrihk pulled Twilla closer, shielding her from falling concrete.
Circe's barrier flickered to life, catching a collapsing beam for a split second.
Netoshka spun, channeled a surge of glitching energy, and shoved the collapsing debris backward—buying them seconds, nothing more.
"Left tunnel—GO!" Rue screamed, pointing at a narrow service corridor splitting off.
The squad dove inside one by one, sliding across the floor as the main tunnel behind them imploded entirely, sealing itself under a mountain of rubble.
The dust settled.
The service corridor was narrow, half-rotted, water dripping from burst pipes overhead. But it held.
Taran coughed hard, leaning on the wall.
Zev kicked a loose stone.
Genrihk exhaled shakily.
Twilla muttered a shaky prayer.
Circe rubbed her bruised shoulder.
Zopi lay on the floor, shaking his head.
Rue checked her scanner again.
Surgien wiped blood off his cheek.
Netoshka stood up last, brushing concrete dust from her hair.
"…Everyone alive?" she asked quietly.
A chorus of exhausted affirmations answered her.
"Good. Then listen—Team A is already ahead of us. They made it out into the forest but got hit by ghouls. Comms are scrambled but not totally dead."
"Can we reach them?" Zev asked.
Rue adjusted her transmitter.
"Signal's blocked down here. The Wire's interference is strongest in the lower tunnels. We need to get to a higher level."
Taran pushed off the wall.
"So we climb?"
"No," Netoshka said, eyes narrowing toward the dark corridor in front of them.
"We follow this burrow path. It has to lead to a maintenance shaft… unless everything is collapsing."
Genrihk's flashlight flickered as he turned toward her.
"And if it doesn't?"
Netoshka cracked her neck, wiped the blood from her lip, and smirked faintly.
"Then we carve our own way out."
Twilla whimpered softly.
"More rubble?"
"No," Netoshka murmured, stepping forward.
"More enemies."
Because she could hear them.
All of them.
Skittering. Clicking.
The Vitraspawns had survived the collapse.
And they were coming.
"Form up," Netoshka commanded.
"We keep moving. We reach Team A. We reach that cabin."
The squad tightened formation.
And deeper in the burrow, something answered their footsteps with a low, rippling growl.
The tunnels weren't done with them yet.