Phineas sprinted ahead, panting like a dying engine.
"This way—THIS WAY—I swear something's here—"
Alex followed, carrying Kayden tightly with both arms.Kayden leaned against him, one hand gripping Alex's shirt, the other pressed to his temple as APEX flickered like a failing star inside his head.
They turned a sharp corner—and stopped.
All three of them.
Because the hallway didn't continue.
It opened.
Into a massive, pitch-black chamber.
Alex's breath caught.
"…what is this place?"
The faint emergency lights from behind illuminated the outline of a heavy steel vault door—not in front of them,but embedded into the wall of the chamber itself.
A circular hatch.Fifteen feet across.Sealed with bolts the size of fists,some rusted, some freshly maintained.
Above the door, half-obscured by dust, was an inscription:
**SRD – CLASSIFIED HOLDING:
ANOMALY STORAGE LEVEL THETA**
Phineas's eyes widened.
"Ohhhhh no.Nope.No thank you.This is the part of the movie where we die."
Alex ignored him and stepped forward, lowering Kayden to his feet gently.
Kayden's legs buckled,but Alex steadied him.
"Kayden…? Are you okay?"
Kayden shook his head.
"I-I don't know…something's wrong…APEX keeps—flickering…"
APEX buzzed in Kayden's skull, glitching:
"Operator—unknown interference—resonance overlap—signal… degrading—"
Kayden winced, clutching his head.
"It hurts…"
Alex caught him again.
"Don't push. Just breathe."
The chamber hummed faintly.
Not with machines.
Like resonance.
A soft vibration brushed Kayden's nerves,almost welcoming,almost hungry.
Phineas whispered, voice trembling:
"Guys… the door… it's reacting."
The vault door glowed.
A thin circle of blue light—a ring around its edge—flickered onas if sensing Kayden's presence.
Kayden staggered back.
"N-no…I didn't do that—I didn't—"
APEX stuttered:
"Anomaly signature detected—compatible—danger—"
Alex stepped between Kayden and the vault, eyes locked on the glowing ring.
"What's inside that would react to him?"
Phineas swallowed loudly.
"Well, considering the sub-floor looks like a graveyard for government secrets, I'm guessing…something terrible."
Kayden stared at the door, breath shaky.
"…it's calling to me."
Alex froze.
"Kayden—what do you mean 'calling'?"
Kayden pressed a hand against his sternum.
"It feels like…like pressure in my ribs.Like something inside the vault wants—me."
The glow intensified.
APEX's tone snapped from glitchy to sharp:
"Operator—maintain distance.Anomaly Theta-seventeen is unstable."
Kayden stiffened.
"APEX—what is Theta-seventeen?"
Alex looked between them anxiously.
"Kayden—what is that?"
APEX hesitated.
A rare moment.
Then:
"A prototype."
Phineas gagged dramatically.
"A prototype WHAT—??"
APEX answered:
"Operator-series precursor."
Kayden went pale.
"…another one of me?"
"No," APEX corrected.
"One of the early attempts."
Alex's stomach dropped.
"That thing—that 'anomaly'—it's like you?"
APEX's answer was chilling:
"It is a failure."
The vault thudded from inside.
All three jumped.
A low metallic echo,like a giant fist tapping the doorfrom the other side.
Alex stepped closer protectively.
"What the hell is inside that thing?!"
Kayden whispered:
"A… failed Operator?"
APEX hummed.
"Resonance core incomplete.Mind structure collapsed.Violent instability.Kept in stasis to prevent dimensional drift."
Phineas slapped his forehead.
"WHY WOULD THEY KEEP THAT?!THROW IT AWAY LIKE A CURSED DVD!"
Kayden stepped backward, trembling.
"Apex…why does it react to me?"
APEX lowered its voice.
"It recognizes the Operator signature."
Kayden's breath hitched.
"It thinks I'm like it…?"
"Correct."
Kayden shook his head violently.
"No—no, I don't want that—I'm not—I'm not some broken experiment—"
The vault BOOMED again—
Louder.
This time, dust shook from the ceiling.
Alex grabbed Kayden's arm.
"Okay—whatever this thing is—we are NOT opening that door—"
The vault responded.
A deep hum resonated through the chamber—matching Kayden's own internal resonance.
His heart pounded in sync.
APEX flared in alarm:
"Operator—your resonance is syncing—STOP—STOP—PULL BACK—"
Kayden staggered away, panicking.
"Alex—it's pulling—something in there is trying to match me—"
Alex held him tightly.
"We're leaving. Now."
Phineas spun toward the far side of the chamber.
"There's another door!A maintenance exit—probably leads to another sub-floor!"
Alex didn't hesitate.
"Go—GO—"
Kayden stumbled with them—
But the vault DOOR shifted.
Not opening.
Twisting.
Rotating its inner mechanismsas if responding to a signal it had waited years to hear.
Kayden's breath froze.
"Alex—if it comes out—if it senses me—"
Alex squeezed his hand.
"Then we make sure it doesn't."
Kayden's voice broke:
"I don't know if I can fight that.I don't want to fight anything.I just want to be normal—"
Alex pulled him close.
"You're not normal.You're you.And we're not letting anything take you."
Phineas screamed:
"DOOR IS OPEN—RUN—RUN BEFORE THE HELL-VAULT OPENS—!!"
Kayden nodded weakly.
Alex lifted him again—
And the three of them raninto the dark maintenance corridoras the vault behind them echoed with a final, thunderous groan.
APEX whispered one last warningbefore the door shut behind them:
"Operator.Theta-seventeen is awake."
Kayden shivered uncontrollably.
"…and it's coming for me."