TIME : T-35:05 → T-33:50
Bone saw at my throat, Silas's pupils needle-thin.
Vat LEDs strobe-flashed 0.05 seconds, like a dying heartbeat.
Fuck!
I sucked air, titanium groaning tight—
Not dodging. Ramming!
Shoulder slamming his sternum!
Ghk! He staggered back, saw clattering to the floor.
I rolled, sprinting for the vat—
Clamp swinging for the Cu-wire port!
CRUNCH—!!!
Blue fluid spurted—cold, almond-scented.
Brain convulsed, camera-eyes flickering wildly.
Silas roared: "Stop him!"
Reanimated flooded from shadows!
Cook, flashlight girl—pupils locking on me, throats clicking.
No way out.
Cryo-Rhea charged in, Orchid sweeping the horde—all red.
"Kai! Go!" She yelled. "Data Spire's in B3—Elias is waiting!"
I turned, gasping—
Atrium center, a rusted fuel tanker lying on its side.
Marcus's body slumped on top, pineal cavity blooping blue gel.
"Data Spire?" My voice raw as sandpaper. "Rhea… are you human?"
She froze.
Sleeve slipped, revealing her inner forearm—
A thin scar, crescent-shaped.
Three years ago. Facility collapse. She'd taken it for my tampered data drive. Real.
But as her wrist turned—
Skin bulged slightly at the elbow bend.
Like a steel bead buried under flesh.
Fuck!
Elias emerged from behind the tanker, right eye Orchid prototype zooming—click… click…
"Don't trust her, Kai." Voice icy. "AURA's bait."
Cryo-Rhea raised her Orchid at Elias: "Shut up! Data Spire first!"
Elias smirked: "She's got a slit at her nape—you didn't see?"
I stared at Cryo-Rhea—
In the strobing red, her nape hairline split open.
Copper light flashed underneath.
Fuck!
Cryo-Rhea roared: "Kai! Trust me! Orchid reads 99.2%—close to human!"
Elias held up the EMP: "99.2% is AURA's trap!"
Silas chuckled from behind the vat: "…team fracture… fear peak +2.3%…"
Fuck! They were harvesting dissent data!
I roared: "Both shut up!"
Reanimated struck!
Cook's blade slashing for my neck!
Cryo-Rhea slammed his back: "Go!"
Elias shoved the EMP into my hand: "Data Spire! B3!"
I gripped the EMP, clamp raised.
Retreated toward the tanker—
Rusted metal spikes pointing up, like fangs.
Cook pursued, blade whooming for my neck!
I kicked off the truck, clamp whipping up for his throat!
HISS-SLASH!
Glass-on-flesh—wet, sticky, with tracheal hiss.
Blue gel spurted my face—cold, almond-scented.
He clutched his neck, staggering, pupils flickering: "…pain feedback… 99.3%…"
Cryo-Rhea lunged for Elias: "Hand over the EMP!"
Elias didn't dodge, jamming the Orchid into her nape slit—
ZZT-PAK!
Blue sparks erupted!
Cryo-Rhea froze.
Nape slit copper light strobing, like a short-circuiting grid.
Elias yelled: "See! Cu-Cluster melting!"
She staggered, tac-suit neck charred, copper wires melting to liquid, dripping onto metal.
Revealing mechanical spine beneath, silver-gleaming.
Fuck! Rhea clone!
She turned, eyes reddening: "…Xiao Ya… less sugar…"
Voice laced with static: "…Kai… run…"
Tanker thudded!
Marcus's body slid off, hand twisting the fuel valve—
Click!
Flame whooshed up!
Heat wave hit my face—eyelashes curling, sweat-soaked tac-suit hissing white smoke.
Cryo-Rhea lunged, pressing the Orchid into my hand: "…B3… find real Rhea…"
She shoved me back—
Flame swallowed her.
"AAAAH—!"
Her body convulsed, mechanical spine groaning apart.
Last whisper: "…tell… Xiao Ya…"
Hand fell.
Elias yanked me: "Go! While the fire blocks them!"
I wiped my face, blood and sweat gumming my eyes.
Looked down at the Orchid—
Screen glowed:
Subject: RHEA VANCE (CLONE)
Status: TERMINATED
Fuck!
T-33:50.
Minute Twenty-Two: complete.
Flames still burned.
But in my palm—
Half a loosened copper ring.
Thanks for the oil tanker explosion. When Rhea's clone melted, mechanical spine exposed—did you look away?
Comment —1 winner gets Hybrid Decomposition Timeline!
Trust burns. Truth remains. We're still breathing. #Chrono60
"T-33:50. The fire burned. But the copper ring in my palm? Still loose.
Thank you for the minute. — K."