From the blood-soaked alleyways of the last city to the winding coastal roads where fog drifted like ghosts—rain clung to Kael's coat like guilt. It felt like the sky itself refused to forget what they'd done.
Now, in a new safehouse perched on a crumbling cliffside—walls cracked, wind humming through holes in the roof, and a generator that coughed more than it powered—it rained again.
The place was silent. Not peaceful. Just… waiting.
Kael sat hunched on the floor beside the broken heater, arms resting on his knees, staring at nothing. His hair was still damp. Blood from the previous encounter had dried into the collar of his coat. He hadn't spoken since they arrived.
Aira lounged nearby on a dust-covered couch, watching him with a frown that refused to leave her face. Her brother wasn't acting like her brother. Not the one who joked, smirked, or snapped back at her teasing. He was quiet.
Too quiet.
Across the room, Raegal sat by the window, cleaning his sidearm with a cloth that had more bloodstains than thread left in it. His movements were slow, precise.
And then—
Knock.
Three short raps against the door. Not urgent. Not panicked.
Just cold.
Raegal didn't look up. "If you're here to kill us, knock louder," he said.
The door creaked open.
Wind rushed in. And standing there, drenched from head to toe, was a familiar silhouette.
Nila.
Her hood was down. Rain dripped off her soaked coat. Her boots were muddy, her eyes sharp. Like she hadn't slept in days.
Raegal's face hardened, but he stood and walked into the adjacent room without a word. A silent command. She followed him.
Kael didn't move. His fingers curled slightly into fists, but his face didn't change.
---
The office was dim, lit only by a dying overhead bulb that flickered like it might give up any second.
Raegal crossed his arms as Nila closed the door behind her.
His tone was clipped. "What is it now?"
"I need the boy's help."
"No."
She didn't flinch. "Raegal—"
"He's just a kid."
Nila's voice lowered, heavy. "That kid can kill guards with ease."
He stared at her. Jaw tense. "How?"
She stepped forward, pulling something from her coat—a datachip. She didn't hand it over. Just held it between her fingers.
"After a year of training in the rooms," she said, "they injected him. While he was unconscious. A serum. Multiple rounds. You've heard the rumors. Superhuman enhancements."
Raegal's eyes narrowed.
"..God.."
"Kael and the White Room's No. 2 were the only known survivors."
The silence in the room changed.
It wasn't stillness. It was gravity.
Raegal lowered his arms, slowly.
"You knew this?"
"I didn't until recently," she replied. "But now I know why he's different. Why he survives things no child should."
His hands trembled for half a second.
"Why are you doing this?" he asked, voice rough.
Her gaze didn't falter. "Because children are still being tortured there, Raegal. Some of them younger than Aira. Six, seven years old. Broken. Injected. Screaming."
She stepped forward again.
"I want to burn that place."
Raegal turned away, hand on the table. "No…"
"I'm not asking for your permission. I'm asking for help."
"You're asking him to go back into hell."
"I'm asking him to destroy it."
Raegal exhaled through his nose.
Silence.
Then—
"…Fine. But I'll come too."
Nila let out a breath. "Thank you."
Another voice joined them.
"Me too, Father."
Raegal turned. Aira stood at the doorway, hands on her hips, eyes locked with his.
"You're staying," he said.
"No."
A beat.
"…Fine."
---
Two nights later.
The ocean was black.
Their ship—an unmarked freighter loaded with stolen weapons, encrypted comms, and enough explosives to crater a small island—cut through the water like a shadow.
The rain hadn't stopped. It hadn't even slowed.
Kael stood on deck, gripping the railing, letting the wind slap against his face. His coat flapped in the storm.
Raegal approached from behind. "You ready?"
Kael opened his eyes.
"…Mhm."
---
The base sat like a corpse buried in the ocean, hidden behind sonar cloaks and magnetic interference. From above, it looked like part of the reef.
But below?
It was a hell of steel and silence.
They entered through the lower docks using a submerged hatch Nila decrypted. Rusted iron gates creaked open. The water splashed into the dark as they climbed up.
Raegal led with a rifle. Aira followed, back-to-back with Kael. Nila brought up the rear, slinging her laptop to her chest.
They crouched behind crates, hidden in the dock's loading bay. A low hum echoed from the hydraulic floor above.
Kael pulled out the C-27 charge. Fastened it to the underside of the central pillar.
"Charge planted," he said.
Nila checked her tracker.
"…Wait for it."
The lights flickered.
BOOOOM!
The floor shattered like glass. Steam burst upward. Sirens exploded.
"GO GO GO!"
Kael's eyes sharpened.
"Kael, free the kids!" Raegal barked.
"Roger!"
"Aira, stay with me!"
"Copy that!"
"Nila—get the documents. Blow it all."
"Got it."
KAEL POV — BLOCK C
The hallway reeked of metal, sweat, and rotting antiseptic.
Red warning lights flashed overhead, painting the walls in pulses like a heartbeat on the edge of cardiac arrest. Sirens wailed, doors slammed shut, boots pounded the steel floors.
Kael moved like a ghost.
His footsteps were silent. His grip on the stolen keycard tight. His face, blank.
Cell Block C. Four doors. One guard.
He walked straight at the man.
"HEY—!" the guard barked, raising his baton.
Too slow.
Kael ducked, grabbed his wrist mid-swing, twisted it until it cracked. The man screamed. Kael didn't even blink.
CRACK!
His elbow shattered the man's nose. Blood exploded from his face.
Kael let him fall. He didn't have time for mercy.
He swiped the keycard on the nearest door. Slammed it open.
Inside: seven kids. Small. Shivering. Strapped to beds with IVs pumping god-knows-what into their veins.
He stormed in.
"HEY! GET UP!"
A boy flinched, eyes wide. "Wha—what?"
"You wanna live?"
He dropped the keycard at his feet.
"Use this. Free the others. Get out the back hallway. Don't look back."
"I-I got it!" the boy stammered, already moving.
Kael was already heading for the next door.
He broke open the next cell with a stolen access panel. Same scene. Same orders.
He moved fast. No hesitation.
Then—
Footsteps.
Three guards turned the corner. Rifles raised.
"FREEZE!"
Kael turned slowly.
Didn't speak.
Didn't blink.
He moved.
Gunshots.
Too late.
Kael was already in their blind spot.
He disarmed the first before the man could scream. Spun the rifle in a clean circle, knocked the second to the floor. Then fired a single round—point blank.
BANG.
The third staggered back. Kael dropped the rifle. Spun, elbowed his throat, grabbed the helmet and smashed his head into the steel wall.
THUNK.
Silence.
Blood pooled under Kael's boots.
His breath fogged the air.
He didn't stop.
---
AIRA & RAEGAL — SOUTH WING
The corridor was chaos.
Bullets shredded the walls. Sparks flew from exposed wiring. Every corner they passed was a gamble.
Raegal ducked behind a support pillar, grabbed Aira by her vest and pulled her down just as a shotgun blast tore past her head.
"OH GOD!" she yelped, clutching her ear.
"You good?" he growled.
"I've had better days!"
He popped out of cover, fired two rounds—one straight to the sniper's shoulder, one to the turret rig above him. It exploded in a burst of flame.
He tossed Aira a fresh clip. "On my mark!"
She slammed it in. "Ready!"
"NOW!"
They rose in sync.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Two soldiers dropped like sacks of meat.
Aira whooped. "Nice shot, old man!"
Raegal gave her the ghost of a grin. "Still got it."
They pushed forward—clearing halls, room by room.
Then—
They found it.
A holding pen.
Children. Dozens. Some unconscious. Others strapped to tables. Tubes jammed in their arms. Heads shaved. Limbs shaking.
Aira froze.
Raegal didn't speak. His hands moved fast.
Unstrapping, unplugging, carrying the smallest child over his shoulder.
Aira joined him without a word.
---
NILA — SERVER CORE
Nila slammed the terminal room door shut behind her and locked it.
Rows of humming black servers lined the walls like tombstones.
She shoved a flash drive into the mainframe port and started the upload.
On-screen logs began pouring in:
SUBJECT 04: "Organs removed. Repurposed for genetic grafting."
SUBJECT 22: "Cognitive regression. Recycled."
SUBJECT 41: "Stable. Preparing for final serum."
Nila's hand trembled.
These weren't just reports. They were death notes.
She closed her eyes. Breathed. Then typed in the self-destruct trigger line.
// Initialize Purge Protocol: ALL FILES
She pulled three C4 packs from her bag. Armed them. Placed them carefully at the core junctions.
One minute timer.
She turned away.
Didn't look back.
---
KAEL POV — HALLWAY F
He turned the corner—
And stopped.
A boy stood there.
Not a guard.
Tall. Pale. Wearing black boots and a coat slick with rain.
Short hair. Scar on his left cheek.
And in his hand—a combat knife.
"…Alex."
The boy's eyes narrowed.
"They call me 09 now."
Kael's voice was flat. "You still haven't learned your lesson?"
"Guess you didn't teach me well enough…"
He grinned.
"…Noir."
He charged.
They clashed in the blink of an eye.
Fists flying. Knives scraping.
Kael spun low, landed a knee in his ribs. Alex didn't even flinch—he spun and slammed his elbow into Kael's cheekbone.
Kael staggered. Caught his balance. Fired twice—BANG. BANG!
Missed.
"Damn it," he muttered.
Alex was already behind him.
Kael turned—too late.
The knife slid across his neck.
Not deep.
Just enough to sting.
Kael's hand darted up—
BAAM
Alex dropped.
His knife clattered to the floor.
Kael turned.
The boy didn't shoot. He swung the gun—gripping the barrel like a hammer—cracking bone, not pulling triggers.
"You… you good?" the kid asked, panting.
Kael blinked. "Y-yeah… thanks."
He looked down at Alex's body. It didn't feel like victory.
Just another page in the nightmare.
---
EXTRACTION — MAIN HALL
The building shook.
Screams echoed.
Kael pushed open the final blast door with all his strength.
On the other side—Raegal, Aira, and Nila.
Aira was wheeling a cart with three kids on it. Raegal was carrying another.
Nila emerged from the smoke with files strapped to her chest and burn marks along her sleeve.
"You good?" she asked Kael.
"Yeah." He holstered his gun. "Let's go."
They moved fast—down the ruined hall, past broken labs and shattered lights.
The base behind them groaned like a dying animal.
They climbed aboard the evac raft. Raegal started the engine.
Kael sat down, head low, still breathing hard.
Aira dropped beside him, shoulders slumping.
Nila sat on the floor, soaked in blood, rain, and ash.
They watched the lab burn behind them.
And this time, no one said a word.
Not until Kael whispered—
"…We did it."
---
Not a single word passed between them.
The children—trembling, exhausted—were wrapped in blankets, treated by Raegal and Aira. The deck lights flickered gently, casting shadows across tired faces.
Kael stood apart, arms resting against the rusted railing, eyes locked on the distant smoke curling into the night sky.
A black silhouette in the distance. A grave.
"Hey, Kael…" Nila's voice broke the silence, soft as the wind. She approached him, steps light against the metal floor. "You okay?"
He didn't turn. "Just a few scrapes. I'll live."
"No, I mean—"
She stopped herself.
Kael glanced back, half-smirking. "You're talking about my mental health?"
She didn't answer.
The smirk faded.
"It's finally over," Kael muttered, eyes still on the smoke. "Isn't it?"
He exhaled through his nose.
"I just wanted a peaceful life, Some quiet place. A home. Parents who weren't killers. Childhood that didn't end before it began."
The wind picked up.
Kael closed his eyes.
"But I guess not."
He pushed off the railing, turning his back to the sea.
"I'm just trying to survive."
He walked away, leaving Nila alone with the crashing waves and the burning wreckage of a world they once feared.