The air in the electronics store was heavy with dust and disrepair. Rows of shattered glass display cases and barren shelves bore faint echoes of a time when the space had been bustling with customers seeking the latest gadgets. Now, it was a hollowed-out shell, a temporary haven for survivors desperate to catch their breath.
Lex crouched near the entrance, her crossbow balanced on her knee. The faint hum of the emergency lights flickered erratically, casting jagged shadows across her tense face. “We can’t stay here too long,” she said, her voice low but resolute. “The Hive Mind isn’t going to let us have a break.”
“We know,” Maya muttered from her spot near the back of the room. She leaned against an old shelf, her machete resting beside her. “But after the Ex-Marine and that chase through half the mall? Five minutes isn’t enough.”
Damien sprawled across a nearby counter, his machete balanced lazily on his chest. “Maya’s right. Even a machine needs to cool down every once in a while.”
“Not this one,” Brandon said, pacing near the shattered remains of a display case. His rifle was slung loosely over his shoulder, but his hands twitched with restless energy. “The Hive Mind’s like an angry chess player. We just took one of its rooks, and it’s already thinking five moves ahead.”
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Near the center of the room, Sophie sat cross-legged on the floor, her tablet glowing faintly in her lap. Elliot knelt beside her, his wide eyes darting between the screen and the dimly lit room. His parents, Margaret and Anthony, sat further back, speaking in hushed tones. Anthony gripped his old baseball bat like it was the last thread tethering him to safety.
“What are you looking for?” Elliot whispered to Sophie, his voice barely audible.
“Answers,” Sophie murmured, her fingers flying across the screen. “Patterns, weaknesses… anything to give us an edge.”
“And the Wraith?” he asked hesitantly. “Are you looking for it too?”
Sophie froze for half a second, her eyes narrowing as she scrolled through another corrupted file. “It’s not just another monster,” she said, her voice tense. “The way it moves, the way it chooses its targets—it’s deliberate.”
“You think it’s on our side?” Elliot asked.
“No,” Sophie said quickly. “But it’s not exactly against us either. It’s… something else.”
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Lex glanced over her shoulder, her sharp gaze flicking to Sophie. “Anything useful in those files?” she asked, her voice cutting through the heavy air.
“Still going through them,” Sophie replied, not looking up. “There’s so much fragmentation. The Ex-Marine’s system wasn’t just corrupted—it was scrambled. Like someone didn’t want this information getting out.”
Damien raised an eyebrow. “The Hive Mind doesn’t strike me as the subtle type. If it wanted to hide something, wouldn’t it just destroy it?”
“Not if it couldn’t,” Sophie said, her voice barely above a whisper. “Not if someone else locked it up first.”
The room fell silent at her words. The faint hum of the lights overhead and the occasional creak of the old building were the only sounds.
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Sophie hesitated, her fingers pausing over the tablet as a particular file caught her attention. Its name was simple but chilling: Project Lex.
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Her stomach twisted as she stared at the screen. The file’s lock icon pulsed faintly, a visual representation of the encryption surrounding it. This wasn’t just a standard block—this was layered security, the kind used to hide something important.
“Sophie?” Elliot asked softly, noticing her sudden stillness.
She quickly minimized the file, her heart pounding. “It’s nothing,” she said, her tone sharper than she intended.
Elliot frowned, his eyes flicking to the tablet. “Are you sure? You looked—”
“I said it’s nothing,” Sophie snapped. She immediately softened, glancing at him apologetically. “Sorry. I’m just… tired.”
Lex’s gaze lingered on Sophie for a moment before she turned her attention back to the corridor. “Whatever it is, keep working on it,” she said. “But stay focused. We don’t need surprises.”
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Damien swung his legs off the counter and leaned forward, his machete resting across his lap. “So, are we just going to ignore the fact that the Wraith keeps showing up at the worst possible times?”
“It’s not here for us,” Brandon said, pacing again. “It’s hunting Psychos. That much is obvious.”
“But why?” Damien pressed. “What’s it trying to do? Is it part of the Hive Mind, or is it going rogue?”
Sophie hesitated, glancing briefly at Lex. “It’s not rogue,” she said finally. “But it’s not completely loyal either. The files suggest it’s acting on its own programming, targeting anything that disrupts the Hive Mind’s system.”
“Like the Psychos,” Maya said.
Sophie nodded. “Exactly.”
Margaret spoke up from her corner of the room, her voice wary. “If it’s killing the Psychos, then isn’t it helping us?”
“No,” Lex said firmly. “It’s not our ally. It’s following its own rules, and we don’t know what those are. The moment we get in its way, we’re dead.”
The room fell silent again, the weight of Lex’s words pressing down on them.
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The faint sound of footsteps echoed from the corridor, snapping everyone to attention. Lex raised her crossbow, motioning for the others to stay quiet. The footsteps were slow and uneven, accompanied by a faint wheezing sound.
“Stay sharp,” Lex whispered, her voice low but commanding.
A figure appeared in the doorway—a man, his clothes torn and bloodied. He staggered into the room, clutching his side as he leaned heavily against the wall. His face was gaunt, his eyes wide with fear.
“Please,” he gasped, his voice trembling. “Help me.”
Lex didn’t lower her weapon. “Who are you?”
The man shook his head, his breathing ragged. “I… I don’t know how much longer I can run. The Psychos… they’re everywhere.”
Margaret stood, her expression softening. “He’s hurt,” she said. “We should—”
“No,” Lex said sharply. “We don’t know who he is or what he’s hiding.”
The man took a shaky step forward, his bloodied hands raised. “I swear… I’m not infected.”
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The room tensed as the man collapsed to his knees, his breathing labored. Elliot took a hesitant step forward, but Lex shot him a warning glare.
“You don’t know what you’re walking into,” the man said suddenly, his voice rasping. His trembling hand reached into his pocket, pulling out a crude blade. “You’ve stirred the Hive Mind’s nest. And now…”
He began to laugh, a low, guttural sound that sent chills through the room. “Now it’s coming for you.”
The words were barely out of his mouth when a clawed hand erupted through his chest. Blood splattered across the floor as the man’s laugh turned into a strangled gasp. His body twitched once, then went limp.
Behind him, towering and shrouded in shadow, stood the Wraith.
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The Wraith’s hollow, glowing eyes swept the room, lingering on each of them before locking onto Lex. The air grew colder, the faint hum of its presence pressing down on them like a physical weight.
“Sophie,” Damien whispered. “What’s it doing?”
Sophie didn’t respond. She was staring at the Wraith, her fingers trembling around her tablet. “I don't know” she said finally, her voice barely above a whisper.
The Wraith tilted its head slightly, its gaze unblinking. Lex didn’t move, her grip on her crossbow tightening as she stared back.
Then, without a sound, It disappeared into the shadows, the faint glow of its eyes the last thing to fade.
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The group remained frozen, their breaths shallow as the silence stretched on. It was Margaret who finally broke the tension, her voice trembling. “What… what just happened?”
“The Wraith,” Sophie said, her voice shaking. “It’s… watching us.”
“Who knows,” Lex said, lowering her crossbow.
The group exchanged uneasy glances, the weight of her words settling over them like a heavy fog.
“Let’s move,” Lex said finally. “We’re not staying here.”
As they gathered their supplies and disappeared into the shadows, the memory of the Wraith lingered—a reminder that in this twisted game, survival was never simple.
And somewhere in the darkness, the Wraith waited.