The door to Prime 10's office slid open with a soft hiss. The Architect who entered stood at attention, her white mask gleaming under the sterile lights, her posture rigid with the particular tension of someone delivering bad news to someone who could end them without looking up.
"The report, as requested." Her voice was steady, but there was a tremor underneath. "All Superiors are confirmed dead. The search for Jenny Damber was unsuccessful. There is no trace of her current location."
Prime 10 didn't look up from the files spread across her desk. Her dark grey mask gave nothing away, but the silence that followed was heavier than any words.
"Begin the Selection Program."
The Architect's breath caught. "Ma'am?"
"You heard me." Prime 10's voice was flat, final. "The Superiors are dead. We need new ones. Begin the Selection."
The Architect bowed and left.
Prime 10 sat alone in her office, staring at the files, at the reports, at the evidence of everything that had gone wrong. The Monster Queen. The Anomaly. The girl who should have died in a lab but had become something none of them could control.
She picked up a file marked "Eva Rostova - Clone Designate" and began to read.
---
Lily's Room
Dave sat beside Lily's bed, his mask off, his weathered face creased with years that had carved themselves deep. Lily lay with her back against the headboard, knees drawn up, staring at the photograph of Eva on her shelf.
"Remember?" Dave asked quietly.
"No." Lily's voice was flat. "I don't."
Dave nodded slowly. "I see."
He didn't push. Didn't explain. Just sat there, a warm presence in the cold room, offering the only thing he had left to give.
Comfort.
---
The Common Room
Derek stood with his arms crossed, staring at the wall. Leo sat on the edge of a table, his fists clenched, his jaw tight. Jordan leaned against the doorframe, his eyes fixed on something none of them could see.
They weren't scared. They were mad.
One of them was dying. Wolfen—the one who had dragged them through hell and back, who had made them stronger, who had been there for decades, through everything—was dying. And there was nothing any of them could do to stop it.
The door opened.
Eva stood in the doorway, her face set, her eyes sharp. She looked at them—at the tension in Derek's shoulders, the rage in Leo's fists, the cold fury in Jordan's stillness.
"Get ready."
They looked at her. For a moment, none of them moved. Then Leo's hands unclenched. Derek's arms dropped. Jordan pushed off the doorframe.
They looked murderous.
And they were ready.
---
Eva's Room
Eva pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it onto the bed. Her body was a map of scars—old wounds, new wounds, wounds that had healed and left their marks. Her muscles flexed as she reached for a fresh shirt, the movement fluid, practiced.
She stood in front of the mirror.
Her hair had grown. Too long. Getting in the way. She grabbed a knife from the table—the same knife she'd used years ago, the one she'd cut her hair with the first time—and pulled it through the strands.
They fell to the floor, platinum and pale, scattering like feathers.
When she was done, her hair was short again. Sharp. Practical.
She looked at her reflection. At the woman staring back. At the sister who was going to save her sister or die trying.
The door opened.
Maya stood in the doorway, her clothes changed, her hair—grown out over the months—pulled back into a tight bun. She looked at Eva, at the hair on the floor, at the knife still in her hand.
"Ready?"
Eva set the knife down. "Ready."
They walked out together.
---
The corridor stretched before them, white and endless. Scientists pressed themselves against the walls as Eva passed, their eyes wide, their bodies rigid. She was radiating something—not heat, not light, something older, something that made every instinct they had scream danger.
A guard stood at the entrance with his dog—a big thing, all muscle and teeth. It saw Eva and barked, once, sharp.
Eva looked at it.
The dog stopped. Its tail tucked. Its ears flattened. A whine escaped its throat as it pressed itself against its handler's legs.
Maya glanced at Eva. "You're scaring the animals."
Eva didn't answer.
---
The exit was crowded.
Lena stood with her arms crossed, her eyes tracking every movement. Jordan was beside her, his katana sheathed, his posture relaxed but ready. Leo had his jacket on, his fists already sparking. Derek was at the door, staring out at the car waiting in the grey light.
Dave stood beside it, mask on, waiting.
Eva and Maya walked out. The others fell in behind them.
The car doors opened. They climbed in. The engine started. The world began to move.
---
Lily's Room
"Did they leave?"
Bill looked up from his microscope, startled. Lily stood in the doorway, a cigarette already lit, her eyes fixed on something he couldn't see.
"Did who leave?"
"Eva. The others. Did they leave?"
Bill blinked. "Yes. They left about ten minutes ago. Why—"
Lily turned and walked out.
---
Outside the Cave
Wolfen was waiting.
Not at the car—he was leaning against the cave wall, hands in his pockets, watching the sky. Lily emerged from the tunnel, her boots crunching on the stone.
"They left," she said.
"I know."
"Facility X is huge. It's underground. It's where Theo died." Her voice was flat. "I'm going."
"Obviously."
She looked at him. His left eye was closed, the black veins hidden, but she knew they were there. She knew what was inside him.
"You're dying."
"So are you."
She almost smiled. Almost.
She whistled.
The sound cut through the grey air, sharp and clear, and the wyvern answered. It dropped from the clouds like a stone, wings folding, then spreading at the last moment, catching the wind, landing at her feet. Its yellow-green eyes fixed on her, patient, waiting.
She climbed onto its back.
"Can I come on that?" Wolfen asked.
"No. Walk."
"Mean."
"Whatever."
The wyvern's wings spread. The wind caught them. And Lily was gone, rising into the clouds, leaving Wolfen alone on the ground.
High above, the wind tearing at her hair, the clouds cold against her face, Lily reached into her pocket and pulled out a whistle. Crude. Handmade. She'd made it herself, years ago, when she first started building her army.
She put it to her lips and blew.
One long note. A call. A command.
---
The Road
The car stopped.
Eva was the first out, her boots hitting the dirt, her eyes fixed on the structure ahead. The others followed, fanning out, weapons ready.
Facility X was massive. It rose from the earth like a tumor, all grey concrete and reinforced steel, its surface scarred by weather and time. But most of it was underground—tunnels and labs, levels upon levels, buried so deep that light had never touched them.
This was where Theo died.
Eva's hands tightened.
"How do we do this?" Derek asked.
"Easy. We—"
The explosion cut her off.
A wall of fire and debris erupted from the facility's main entrance, shaking the ground, sending smoke boiling into the sky. Alarms blared. Figures scrambled.
"What was that?" Leo shouted.
Through the smoke, they saw it.
A centipede. Massive—impossibly large—its segmented body writhing through the facility's defenses, its armored plates shrugging off fire from the turrets, its mandibles tearing through steel like paper. It was destroying everything in its path.
"Lily," Eva breathed.
"Now or never." Leo was already moving. "Let's go."
They ran.
---
The Forest
Wolfen walked.
He didn't want to walk. He wanted to fly, to burn, to be there already. But the virus was slowing him down, making his body heavier, his thoughts slower. So he walked.
He found her under a tree.
Scylla sat with her knees drawn up, her face buried in her hands. Her hair was tangled, unwashed. Her clothes were torn. One eye was gone—the socket empty, scarred over. The other was fixed on the ground, seeing nothing.
She looked up when he approached. Her face crumpled. She covered her head with her hands, her body shaking.
"No—no, please—please don't—"
Guilt washed over Wolfen like cold water.
"Relax." He kept his voice low, steady. "I'm not going to hurt you."
She peeked through her fingers, her one eye wide, wet. "Please. Please don't. I can't—I can't do this again. Please just leave me alone."
"I said I won't hurt you."
She stared at him, her body still trembling, her breath coming in short, sharp gasps.
"I have a favor to ask."
Her face twisted. "A favor? No. No favors. I don't care. I don't want to be involved with anything. Just leave me alone. Just leave."
Wolfen looked at her—at the woman he'd broken, the woman he'd given a second chance, the woman who was too terrified to take it.
He didn't threaten her. Didn't bargain. Didn't use her fear against her.
He just told her what he needed.
When he was done, she stared at him for a long time. Then she reached out and took his hand.
They vanished.
They reappeared in a field, miles away, Facility X burning in the distance. Scylla's face was pale, her breathing ragged. She dropped his hand like it was poison.
"There." Her voice cracked. "I did it. Now leave me alone. Please."
She vanished.
Wolfen stood alone in the field, watching the smoke rise.
He had manipulated her. Used her guilt, her fear, her desperate need to be left alone. He'd told himself it was necessary, that he needed the help, that it was for a good cause.
It was. And it wasn't.
He started walking.
The guilt followed.