The ceiling cracked with a deafening roar.
Chunks of concrete broke loose and crashed onto the laboratory floor.
Emily stood frozen in the center of the chaos, her glowing eyes wide as the underground facility began collapsing around her.
Dust filled the air.
Machines sparked violently.
Alarms screamed through the corridors.
For a moment, everything felt unreal.
Then she heard it again.
"Emily!"
Alexander's voice.
Her heart jumped.
She turned toward the entrance just as the massive steel door finally burst open.
Alexander rushed inside.
His sharp eyes immediately found her.
Relief flooded his face.
"Emily!"
Before she could react, another section of the ceiling collapsed between them.
BOOM!
Concrete and metal slammed into the floor, blocking half the room.
Daniel rushed in behind Alexander.
"This place is coming down!"
Alexander ignored the falling debris.
His entire focus was on Emily.
"Are you hurt?"
Emily tried to answer, but her voice shook.
"I… I can't control it."
The strange energy around her body was still surging wildly.
Metal objects continued to vibrate.
Broken glass lifted slightly from the floor as if pulled by invisible forces.
Alexander noticed immediately.
His expression tightened.
"Emily, listen to me."
Another explosion rocked the facility.
The machines near the control station burst into flames.
Dr. Adrian Voss stepped backward, staring at the destruction with fascination.
"Beautiful…"
Daniel glared at him.
"You're insane."
Voss ignored him.
His eyes remained locked on Emily.
"Do you see now?" he whispered.
"She is the future."
Emily's breathing grew uneven.
"I don't want this!"
The pressure inside her head grew stronger again.
The floor beneath her cracked loudly.
Alexander slowly stepped forward.
Ignoring the falling debris.
Ignoring the danger.
"Emily, look at me."
Her glowing eyes met his.
"I'm scared."
His voice softened slightly.
"I know."
More concrete crashed behind him.
Daniel shouted.
"Alexander, we have to move!"
But Alexander didn't stop walking.
"Focus on my voice," he told her gently.
"You're stronger than this."
Emily clenched her fists.
"But everything is breaking!"
Alexander finally reached her.
Without hesitation, he pulled her into his arms.
The moment he touched her—
The violent energy around her began weakening.
The floating debris dropped to the floor.
The shaking machines slowed.
Emily's breathing became steadier.
"I thought… I lost you," she whispered.
Alexander held her tighter.
"You're not getting rid of me that easily."
Behind them, Daniel kicked open another door.
"We seriously need to leave NOW!"
The hallway outside was already collapsing.
Smoke poured from broken pipes.
Emergency lights flickered across the cracked walls.
Alexander grabbed Emily's hand.
"Stay close to me."
They ran into the hallway.
More debris fell behind them.
Guards who had survived the earlier explosions tried to stop them.
But Alexander moved like a storm.
One attacker rushed forward.
Alexander knocked him down instantly.
Another aimed a weapon.
Daniel disarmed him quickly.
"Clear!"
They continued moving through the collapsing facility.
The entire underground structure groaned loudly.
Daniel looked back.
"This whole place is sinking!"
Suddenly—
A familiar voice echoed behind them.
"Leaving so soon?"
They turned.
Dr. Adrian Voss stood at the end of the hallway.
Completely calm.
Despite the destruction around him.
Emily's anger flared again.
"You did this!"
Voss smiled slightly.
"No."
His eyes gleamed.
"You did."
Emily froze.
Before anyone could react—
Voss pressed a button on a small device in his hand.
A deep mechanical rumble echoed beneath the floor.
Daniel's eyes widened.
"What did he just do?"
Voss's smile widened slowly.
"The self-destruct sequence."
Alexander's expression turned deadly.
"You're insane."
"Perhaps," Voss admitted calmly.
"But if I cannot study her…"
He looked directly at Emily.
"…no one will."
The ground beneath them shook violently.
Cracks raced across the walls.
Sirens screamed louder than before.
Daniel grabbed Alexander's arm.
"We have sixty seconds at best!"
Alexander didn't take his eyes off Voss.
"Go."
Daniel hesitated.
"You're not serious."
Alexander's voice dropped to a dangerous whisper.
"I'll handle him."
Emily grabbed Alexander's sleeve.
"No!"
But Voss suddenly stepped backward toward the darkness of another corridor.
"Until next time," he said quietly.
Then he disappeared.
The hallway began collapsing completely.
Daniel shouted again.
"We need to RUN!"
Alexander grabbed Emily's hand.
"Move!"
They sprinted toward the emergency exit.
The walls cracked.
The lights exploded above them.
The entire underground facility began collapsing into itself.
Just as they reached the final staircase—
A massive explosion erupted behind them.
The blast wave rushed toward them like a storm.
Emily turned in terror.
"Alexander!"
The explosion swallowed the corridor.
And everything went dark.