Chapter 14 - EP 14 : THE ORGIN THAT BLEEDS

📖 DIMENSION X

Episode 14: "The Origin That Bleeds"

"Move."

Voss didn't wait.

He stepped off the road and into the dark like he owned it, the beam from his handheld device cutting through the night in sharp, unstable pulses. The others followed—faster this time, tighter, no jokes at first.

Ryan adjusted the bag on his shoulder. "Stay close. No one drifts."

Maya whispered, "I'm literally glued to Layla at this point."

"Good," Layla muttered. "Stay that way."

Zayn walked at the back, scanning the trees. "If something jumps us, I'm hitting first, asking questions never."

Arjun shook his head. "Try not to die before we collect useful data."

"Try not to be annoying before we die," Zayn shot back.

Evie walked beside Ryan, silent, her eyes faintly glowing in the dark—soft blue, then flickering white.

"…this way," she said.

Voss stopped.

Turned.

"…you feel it."

Evie nodded.

"Good," he said. "Lead."

Ryan frowned. "You trust that?"

Voss didn't look at him. "…I trust the connection."

That didn't help.

At all.

They moved deeper.

The forest felt different now.

Not just dark—compressed.

Like the air itself was heavier.

Every step sounded too loud.

Every breath too sharp.

Maya leaned closer to Layla. "If a leaf moves, I'm screaming."

"Please don't," Layla whispered.

"I will try my best but no promises."

A sudden flicker—

The world skipped.

Just for half a second.

Then returned.

Arjun froze. "…did you see that?"

"Yes," Ryan said.

Voss didn't stop walking. "…we're close."

The trees thinned.

Not naturally.

They just… stopped.

Like something had cleared space.

Ahead—

a structure.

Burned.

Collapsed.

Still standing.

KlingKinz Lab.

Maya stared. "Oh that's definitely not haunted at all."

Zayn exhaled slowly. "…this is it."

Evie didn't speak.

Her eyes shifted—green, then black.

"…it hurts."

Ryan turned to her. "Hey—stay with me."

She nodded slightly.

But her gaze didn't leave the building.

Voss stepped forward.

"…this is where it started."

Arjun moved beside him. "Energy readings?"

"Off the scale," Voss replied. "Even now."

Layla crossed her arms. "Then why isn't it crawling with… whatever that thing is?"

Voss looked at the entrance.

"…because this isn't where it hunts."

A beat.

"…this is where it remembers."

Silence.

Then Ryan pushed the door.

It creaked open.

Slow.

Loud.

Wrong.

Inside—

darkness.

Dust.

Burned walls.

And something else.

Not empty.

Maya whispered, "I don't like this."

"No one does," Zayn said.

They stepped in.

The air changed instantly.

Cold.

Still.

Heavy.

Arjun looked around, eyes wide. "Nothing decayed fully."

Layla frowned. "What does that mean?"

"It means," he said slowly, "time didn't move here normally."

Voss nodded once.

"…correct."

Evie stepped forward.

Her hand brushed the wall.

Her eyes flickered—

red.

Then white.

Then black.

"…I was here."

Everyone froze.

Ryan's voice softened. "…what?"

Evie blinked.

"…I remember pieces."

Maya whispered, "Okay that's new."

A low hum filled the room.

Faint.

But rising.

Voss turned sharply. "…don't touch anything else."

Too late.

Evie's fingers had already pressed against a metal panel.

The world shifted.

Not a flicker.

Not a glitch.

A full break.

The room… changed.

Clean.

Bright.

Alive.

Screams echoed.

Machines running.

Lights flashing.

Maya gasped. "WHAT IS HAPPENING—"

Arjun stared, breathless. "Temporal replay—full scale—"

Zayn grabbed Layla's arm. "This is not real—right?"

Voss's voice cut through. "It's real enough."

They weren't alone anymore.

Figures moved around them.

Scientists.

Children.

Guards.

And in the center—

a small girl.

Evie.

Younger.

Weaker.

Trapped.

Ryan's chest tightened. "…that's you."

Evie couldn't speak.

Her eyes were locked on the scene.

A man stood nearby.

Cold.

Focused.

Watching.

Kingo.

Voss stepped closer.

"…there."

Arjun whispered, "The origin point…"

The younger Evie screamed.

Energy burst around her.

Lights shattered.

Machines overloaded.

The air bent.

Reality cracked.

And something—

formed.

Not fully.

Not clear.

But there.

The first shadow.

Maya whispered, "That's it…"

Layla's grip tightened. "That's how it was made."

The shadow moved—

unstable.

Violent.

Confused.

It looked at the younger Evie.

Then—

at the present one.

Evie staggered back. "…it sees me."

Voss's voice dropped. "…it always has."

The replay glitched.

Hard.

Everything flickered.

Faster.

Faster.

Then—

the shadow split.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Arjun shouted, "It's multiplying through the memory—"

Zayn snapped, "WHY IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE—"

The shadows turned.

All of them.

Toward the group.

Ryan stepped forward. "Evie, move—"

Too late.

The replay broke.

The shadows didn't.

They stayed.

Real.

Solid.

Maya's voice cracked. "That was NOT supposed to happen—"

Voss raised his device instantly.

"Everyone back."

The frequency burst out again.

Sharp.

Violent.

The shadows recoiled—

but not fully.

Not this time.

"…it's stronger here," Voss said.

Evie's eyes turned black.

The yellow glow pulsing.

"…it's not just remembering anymore."

Ryan swallowed. "…then what is it doing?"

Evie looked at him.

Fear clear.

"…it's becoming."

Silence.

Then—

the shadows moved.

Fast.

Aggressive.

Zayn swung the rod.

It passed through—

but slowed one.

Layla pulled Maya back. "MOVE—"

Maya screamed, "I AM MOVING—"

Arjun grabbed Ryan. "We need to shut this down—"

"How?" Ryan shouted.

Voss pointed at the center of the room.

"…the core."

A broken machine.

Still glowing faintly.

"The origin anchor," Voss said. "Destroy it—we destabilize the fracture."

Ryan didn't hesitate.

"…I'm going."

Evie grabbed his arm. "No—"

"I have to."

Zayn stepped forward. "Not alone."

Layla nodded. "We all move or no one does."

Maya raised her sword. "Team chaos, let's go."

They ran.

Through shadows.

Through distortion.

Through something that wasn't fully real.

The machine pulsed.

Stronger.

Closer.

Arjun shouted, "Now—"

Ryan lifted the metal tool—

and slammed it down.

The world screamed.

Light exploded.

Sound shattered.

Time broke.

Everything froze.

The shadows—

paused.

Then—

they turned.

Not at Evie.

Not at the group.

At the machine.

And from it—

something new began to rise.

Not a shadow.

Not a memory.

Something worse.

Voss's voice dropped.

"…you just woke it up."

Silence.

Heavy.

Final.

Because this time—

it wasn't remembering.

It was evolving.

End of Episode 14. 🔥