Frelya

  PanTech Headquarters

  The morning light poured through a cracked window in the Adversity Management science building. Frelya assessed the group of survivors gathered. Three months of sweeping every square inch of survivable terrain. One hundred and forty-two lives who had no chance otherwise.

  “Everyone clear on the plan?” she asked.

  Her three animal companions—Lilith, Kyro, and Grinner—stood at attention beside her. Over these months, they'd become more than just students or soldiers. They were her team, but it was more than that, too. The enhancers she’d outfitted them with, although very limited, had turned these three into something altogether different. If these machines could have nightmares, they would be about those three.

  "Path's clear to the western gate," Kyro reported. "The machines are still following their standard patrol patterns."

  "They never learn," Lilith added with a grin. "They’re so stupid."

  Frelya nodded, though she knew it was no time to grow lax. Even one mistake could lead to the machines updating their tactics. If that happened, PanTech HQ would likely become a mass grave. An even bigger one, that is.

  "Joyce, how are the wounded?"

  Joyce looked up from where she was checking vitals on one of their more critical patients. A few of the more recent rescues were near starvation. The past months had changed her—hardened her in some ways, softened her in others. The loss of Daniel still haunted her, but she'd channeled her grief into keeping others alive.

  "As ready as they'll ever be," she said. "The stimulants should keep them mobile long enough to reach the gate. Are you sure we shouldn’t give them more time to recover before asking them to do something like this?"

  Frelya turned to Jer, who was making final adjustments to the portable shield generator they'd cobbled together from salvaged parts. The old scientist had proven invaluable, his knowledge of PanTech's systems allowing them to stay one step ahead of the machines.

  "Shield's at sixty percent capacity," he reported before she could ask. "It won't stop a direct hit from any heavy weapons, but it should deflect their standard ammunition."

  "It'll have to do," Frelya said. She activated her enhancer briefly, just long enough to leap onto a fallen beam for a better view of the assembled crowd. "Listen up! We've spent three months preparing for this moment. Every route mapped, every patrol timed, every contingency planned for. You should still know there’s a good chance you’ll die during the escape."

  She paused, making eye contact with as many of them as she could. These people weren't soldiers, though she’d done what she could with the few still fighting fit. Even the few survivors from Adversity Management were little better than the scientists against these machines. But they'd survived this long, and that was a testament to their grit.

  "If something goes wrong, don't try to be a hero. Stay with your assigned group. Trust your guides. If you screw up and get caught out, you’ll be left behind. My team and I will handle any resistance we encounter." She gestured to the three animals, who stood a little straighter at the acknowledgment. "Remember your training, remember the plan, and remember—we're all walking out of here today."

  A quiet murmur of agreement rippled through the crowd, contrasting with their excited gestures. They'd learned the hard way that loud noises attracted unwanted attention.

  "Move out," she ordered, dropping back down to ground level.

  They proceeded through the ruins of PanTech headquarters in carefully organized groups, each led by one of the more capable survivors they'd trained for this role. Frelya took point, with Lilith and Kyro flanking the main body of survivors while Grinner provided high ground coverage. Without those three, none of this would’ve been possible. At best, she’d have escaped on her own.

  Three months of preparing for this exodus had changed the very nature of these halls. What had once been sterile corridors and pristine laboratories was now a maze of strategic chokepoints and carefully maintained safe zones, slowly built up over time. They'd mapped every patrol route, marked every blind spot, and prepared fallback positions at regular intervals.

  The first hour passed in tense silence, broken only by the occasional whir of distant machines. They encountered their first patrol at the remnants of the medical wing—a standard four-unit group that Frelya's team disabled with practiced efficiency before it could even register their presence.

  "Hold," Frelya whispered, raising her fist as they approached the central plaza. This would be the riskiest part of their journey—two hundred meters of open ground between them and the western gate. Always monitored. She activated her long-range communicator, hoping to contact friendly forces outside.

  Static, as always. Very little of the tech inside had made it outside. Everyone was just desperate to survive. She’d made sure to pack together what was practical for this escape: technology she’d need to maintain their enhancers, communication devices, and anything small enough to be carried.

  Something was off with the signal. She could hear feedback of some kind. She shut it off instantly, closing her eyes and exhaling.

  "Something wrong?" Jer asked quietly.

  "They’ve learned how to intercept our signals," she replied. "Hopefully—"

  A mechanical screech cut through the air, followed by the thunder of heavy footsteps. Not the usual patrol units—something bigger.

  "New model," Kyro reported from her forward position. "At least three meters tall. Heavily armored."

  "Numbers?" Frelya asked.

  "Four... no, five units. They're blocking our primary route."

  Frelya cursed under her breath. They'd prepared for this possibility, but their alternate routes would expose them to more patrols, burning precious time and energy they couldn't afford to waste. Intercepting their signals within the walls meant either they couldn’t communicate at all, or machine reinforcements would arrive at their position quickly. It was hard to decide which was the worse outcome.

  "Secondary route?" Lilith asked, though she already knew the answer. They'd drilled this a hundred times.

  "Through the research labs," Frelya confirmed. "Jer, how's the portal power on that shield holding?"

  "Fifty-eight percent. Still functional, but I wouldn't test it against those new units. The cells are damaged, so it’s going to drain even without us using it."

  Frelya nodded to Grinner, who immediately took up a new position on a partially collapsed walkway. The dog's aim was the best she’d ever seen. They’d need it.

  "Groups three and four, fall back to position Delta," Frelya ordered. "Everyone else, prepare to move on my signal."

  Joyce approached, medical kit clutched to her chest. "Some of our wounded won't survive a longer route."

  "They won't survive an encounter with those new units either," Frelya said, her voice softer than usual. "We adapt, or we die. That's all we can do."

  The group reorganized with practiced efficiency, the drills paying off. Frelya watched them move, remembering how chaotic and frightened they'd been in those first days. Now they moved like a unit, helping those who needed it without being asked.

  "Contact," Grinner reported through their comm link. "Two standard patrols converging on our position. Looks like they've adjusted their routes. How?"

  "They're learning again," Kyro said.

  "Impossible," Jer replied.

  "They found a way to track our signal," Frelya cut in. "Doesn’t matter; keep the channels open. They already know where we are, so going silent will only hamper us further. Lilith, take point. Kyro, rear guard. Everyone else, move fast and quiet."

  They proceeded through the ruins of the research wing, passing endless rows of shattered equipment and fallen ceiling panels. The survivors moved in silence.

  A mechanical whir echoed through the halls ahead.

  "Three units," Lilith reported. "Standard patrol configuration, but... hold on. Something's different about their movement pattern."

  "Different how?" Frelya asked.

  "More fluid. Like they're actually searching instead of just following a predetermined route."

  Frelya felt a chill run down her spine. This wasn’t a small change. Now, they could no longer just avoid patrols. They would be hunted.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  "Take them out," she ordered. "Quietly."

  Lilith moved ahead while Kyro circled around through a broken wall. The two cats coordinated their attack with lethal precision. Three mechanical bodies hit the floor before they could raise an alarm, their upload devices destroyed.

  "Clear," Lilith reported.

  The group continued forward, but Frelya's mind was racing. The machines were definitely showing signs of tactical improvement, beyond what detecting their signals could explain. Had they missed something? Was there a backup upload system on some of the newer units they hadn’t been aware of?

  They were halfway through the research section when Grinner's voice crackled through the comm.

  "Multiple contacts! They're converging from all sides!"

  "They were herding us," Frelya realized. They’d detected their signals and instantly generated strategies. They’d shared those strategies with multiple units. It was a horrifying realization. "Jer, shield status?"

  "Forty-five percent and dropping. Something's… it’s more than passive drain. This isn’t possible… Frelya, they’re trying to jam it!"

  Frelya struggled to process their options. She had to think and act faster than the machines. They were too far committed to turn back, but their planned route ahead would be a killing zone. Turning back would be a death sentence too.

  "New plan," she announced. "Lilith, Kyro—clear us a path through the engineering lab. We're going to give these machines something to think about."

  The two cats moved without hesitation, understanding her intent. The engineering lab housed experimental power cores—unstable but potentially useful as improvised explosives.

  "Everyone else, stay close to Jer's shield. When I give the signal, run like your life depends on it and don’t look back."

  The survivors moved through the engineering lab quickly, stepping carefully around fallen debris and shattered equipment. Frelya's mind wandered briefly to Taylor and the sudden wavering of hope that she might see her again. She could not allow herself to die here.

  "Twenty seconds," Jer warned as they passed the first row of power cores. "Shield's failing faster now. They’ve lost connection to it, but not before corrupting the already weak power link."

  "Almost in position," Lilith reported from ahead. "These things are—wait." She dropped into a crouch. "Movement ahead. Different from the others."

  Frelya activated her enhancer just long enough to leap to Lilith's position. She forced herself to focus on the shapes moving in the darkness ahead.

  "Hold position," she ordered into her comm. To Lilith, she whispered, "How many?"

  "Three. Maybe four. They're... crawling?"

  A red beam of light cut through the darkness, scanning the ground in a pattern Frelya had never seen before. These weren't standard units. They moved more like insects than machines, their movements unnaturally fluid.

  "Pull back," Frelya ordered. "Everyone, new route. We're—"

  The first explosive impact caught them by surprise. The shield flickered, and screams erupted from the group.

  "Thirty seconds to total shield failure!" Jer shouted.

  Frelya made a decision. "Grinner, how many cores can you hit from your position?"

  "Four, maybe five with perfect shots."

  "Do it. Everyone else, prepare to run on my mark."

  The rifle shots rang out with devastating precision. Each core erupted in a cascade of energy, filling the lab with blinding light. The machines attacking from behind stumbled, their sensors overwhelmed. Grinner didn’t miss. Not a single shot.

  "Now!" Frelya shouted. "Through the east exit! Move!"

  The survivors sprinted forward as one, helping those who couldn't run on their own. The shield flickered and died just as they cleared the lab. Behind them, secondary explosions began to chain through the facility. The machines had stopped their pursuit.

  Just as Frelya was about to allow herself to feel relief, she caught a glint of something in her periphery. Something moving fast, directly at Lilith’s head. Frelya reacted on pure instinct, throwing out her hand and catching the projectile mid-air, just shy of Lilith’s temple. Lilith’s ears twitched as she barely had time to absorb what was happening. It was a small, sharp piece of something. A metal-like material, with a wire attached. Barbs expanded suddenly from the arrowhead, piercing Frelya’s hand before she could let go.

  She could hear the slack being pulled from the wire as it whistled in the air.

  “Don’t come after me. Lead them out!” Frelya shouted. It was all she had time to say before the line tensed.

  Lilith didn’t waste time, slashing the line the moment it pulled tight, but her blade failed to cut through it. Whatever it was made of, it wouldn’t break easily.

  Frelya was yanked through the air, slamming hard into the ground and being dragged through the debris. She found herself wishing she’d been wearing the old armor, rather than her lighter version. It struggled with blunt force trauma, but at least seemed to be keeping her bones intact.

  She’d been pulled much further than she thought possible, a long way from the rest of her team. When the line suddenly stopped dragging her, she struggled to regain her senses in the cloud of dust she’d stirred up. Her eyes squinted at a figure. At first, it seemed almost human. No, not almost. It did seem human.

  As it lunged at her, the mechanical noises gave it away. This thing was definitely not human. Despite all their efforts, new models of machines were being created. Somehow. It made no sense. They’d been destroying the transmitters. Someone must’ve been fighting them elsewhere. Explorers League, maybe, without realizing they needed to destroy the transmitters to prevent them from learning. Their efficiency was working against them.

  Frelya dodged the punch but was pulled back in range by the wire before she could create any distance. She braced her hand behind its head, slamming her forearm into its face. It barely flinched, but the impact sent a shock through Frelya’s body that made her bones ache.

  Its fist barely grazed her shoulder as she was pulled close, only able to partially dodge the attack. It sent her hard to the ground, bouncing before being yanked in again. She could feel her left shoulder shatter on impact.

  She found her footing, pulling against the wire with all her strength, pushing her enhancer to the limit. A blade emerged from the machine’s palm, slowly pulling her toward it. Just before the distance was closed, the wire finally snapped. Lilith’s dagger may have failed to sever it, but it had made enough of a cut to allow it to snap under the pressure. The barbs withdrew, and it fell harmlessly to the ground, leaving her hand dripping blood.

  Taking advantage of the opportunity to use her right hand, she picked up a bar of metal from the wreckage and slammed it across the machine’s head. Again, it didn’t flinch.

  But she noticed it made no effort to protect its head either. This was a machine, not a human. Its core would likely be in the thickest part of its body. The center of the torso.

  She changed her next attack to a piercing one, aiming directly for the seams in the chest. This time, it protected itself, telling her she’d found her mark. Even if she was unable to do the damage needed, she at least knew its weak point now.

  It lunged forward again, faster than she could dodge with her enhancer, flinging her against a pillar and knocking all the air from her lungs. Had she not been wearing this armor, she’d have been reduced to a coat of paint.

  She fell to the ground, quickly rising to her feet again, but the machine was already on her, clutching at her throat. It was going to kill her. She knew it. This thing was unreal. No doubt some prototype that whatever program they’d been running was eagerly awaiting data from.

  In a last-ditch effort, she diverted full power to the neck portion of her armor, delaying the crushing blow just long enough to pull her sidearm and fire multiple shots into the torso. It attempted to let go, but she grasped its wrist and held it tight, preventing it from taking a more defensive stance. She fired several more shots before the gun was knocked from her hand, and she felt the hardest impact imaginable to her side. Her armor’s emergency systems quickly focused on reducing her pain, but all her ribs on that side had been shattered. Obliterated, more like it. Somehow, she was still alive.

  She writhed on the ground, struggling to stand, but failing as the machine approached cautiously. Eager to finish her off but unwilling to leave itself open to attack now that it was severely damaged.

  A blast rang out in the enclosed space, making her ears ring. The machine stumbled back several steps, debris flying in all directions. The impact of that shot should’ve blown it to pieces, but it didn’t. This thing was made of serious stuff. Another shot sent it falling to the ground.

  “I don’t have a shot. I don’t have a shot!”

  She heard Grinner shouting. When Frelya looked up, she saw Grinner unholstering her own sidearm, hurling it with all her might at Frelya, who was luckily able to catch it. As the machine crawled toward her and grasped her ankle, she fired several more shots. Grinner was already sprinting toward them, an armed grenade in her paw.

  Frelya’s third shot shut it down, and Grinner was quick to shove the grenade into its chest cavity and hurl it as best she could over a nearby thick wall.

  The explosion was still too close, peppering them in debris, some of which weren’t exactly small.

  “I told you not to come back,” Frelya growled, clutching Grinner’s shoulder.

  “Correction. You told Lilith not to come after you. You didn’t say anything to me.”

  Grinner administered a large syringe into Frelya’s neck, jumpstarting the healing process and stabilizing her.

  Even though it was desperately needed, she couldn’t help but feel guilty for wasting such a precious resource. They had so few of those left.

  Grinner pulled her to her feet, slowly leading her toward the exit.

  “I told them to expect the worst to come through the wall, so don’t expect a warm welcome,” Grinner warned.

  And the warning came not a moment too soon.

  They emerged into sunlight. The gate stood before them, its massive frame somehow more imposing in the morning light. Beyond it, Frelya could see figures moving—human figures.

  "Hold your positions!" a woman's voice called out. "Identify yourselves!"

  Frelya's heart leaped. She knew that voice.

  "Linda?" she called back. "Linda, it's Frelya! We have survivors!"

  There was a moment of stunned silence, then a flurry of activity beyond the gate. As it slowly opened, Frelya saw faces she'd thought she’d never see again. Linda stood at the front, looking somehow both older and stronger than when Frelya had last seen her. Beside her was a man who seemed oddly familiar.

  "I can’t believe this," Linda breathed as the survivors began filing through the gate. "We thought... after this long, we assumed..."

  "Me, die? Hah!" Frelya shouted, though her voice was strained by fatigue.

  "Ferris," the man beside Linda said, extending his hand. "Taylor's brother. He came looking for her and decided to organize patrols in case of survivors. I never believed…"

  Frelya's smile faded. "Where’s Taylor?"

  Linda and Ferris exchanged a look that made Frelya's blood run cold.

  "We haven't heard from her directly in a while," Linda said. "She's been moving between zones, distributing the vaccine, but—"

  “Jer, divert power from the shield to signal boost my communicator.”

  Jer nodded.

  Frelya closed her eyes, concentrating on her enhancer's long-range capabilities. Taylor’s signal was completely undetectable, but she found another familiar presence. It was Ghost.

  The response was immediate, though faint. Ghost's message was brief but clear: Taylor had been taken. Even with the signal boost, she could barely make out his messages.

  “Better make the next few messages you’re sending count, Frelya,” Jer warned. “This thing’s just about cooked.”

  Frelya's eyes snapped open. Where was she last seen?

  "A zone to the east," Linda replied. "Why? What's wrong?"

  Frelya growled, clenching her teeth as she tried and failed to send another message.

  "Frelya?" Linda pressed. "What do you know?"

  “She’s been kidnapped, and the idiot has messed up her enhancer again. It’s worse than last time.”

  “Wait, kidnapped?” Linda gasped.

  Frelya looked back at the survivors she'd led to safety, then to her three animal companions. They saw her reaction and stood ready, waiting for orders. After three months of fighting to escape PanTech, she was about to dive right back into another battle.

  “I’m coming with you,” Ferris said.

  “Good. You’re in charge of gathering our supplies. We’re leaving tomorrow. The last message I managed to get through was to set up meeting coordinates with someone Ghost is traveling with. They’re also tracking her, but I think I can save them the trouble.”

  “You know where she is?” Linda asked.

  “Time to go home…” Frelya said, laughing. It wasn’t a happy laugh. She was angrier than she’d been in as long as she could remember. “And this time, I’ll burn that place to the ground.”

  This is kind of sudden. Why?

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