For a moment, I let myself collapse onto my back, the cold metal floor biting through my clothes and into my skin. "This is the end," I thought to myself. Closing my eyes, I waited for the darkness… but what came instead was a flood.

A world of sharp memories dragged me down like an anchor.

----------------------------------------

—No one wants you here, worm. Why are you defiling our home with your disgusting presence?

—Ha! Look at the bastard playing at being important. You're nothing but a shadow of what this family should be.

—Do you think someone like you has a future? You don't even have the basics to survive in the real world.

—What are you doing here, bastard? You should be shoveling shit in the stables, not sitting among us.

—Pathetic! —A mocking laugh pierced the memory—. Did you actually think I wanted to work with you? I only stuck around because your applied sciences grades were useful, not because you had any worth.

—Your mother… everyone knows what she was. A whore from the Pits. That’s why your father was cast out, and you’re just the trash they left behind.

—Look at him, the “protected one.” The only reason you're here is because Grandpa pities you. If it weren’t for his pride, you'd be begging in the streets like the stray dog you really are.

—You're a replacement, you know that? A cheap spare part. And now, obedient dog, it’s time for you to fulfill your purpose and head off to the army in my place.

—Gods, how useless. If anyone deserves to disappear into a forgotten hole, it’s you.

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The voices spun in my head like knives, each one sharper than the last, stabbing into the gaping wound of my pride.

"You're going to fail."

"You're nothing."

"You'll always be a mistake."

"I'm going to wipe that damn smile off your face, you piece of shit."

Strength surged back into my limbs, a torrent washing away the debris in my mind. My eyes shot open, adrenaline coursing through me.

I sprang to my feet, my companions staring at me in stunned disbelief. Ignoring their gazes, I made my way to one corner of the room. My mind was clouded, but my hands moved with precision. I inspected the welds on the metal plates, one after another, my movements frantic yet meticulous.

—This is it.

I stopped dead in front of a corner that protruded slightly, different from the others. The plate had something off about it, an irregularity that gave it away. I crouched and ran my fingers over the thick bolts holding it in place.

But they weren’t bolts.

When I touched them, the texture felt strange, almost soft. With a light tug, one of the “nuts” peeled away, revealing itself to be an incredibly realistic decal.

Hidden beneath the decal was a button. Pressing it caused the plate to release, and I pulled it away effortlessly.

We had found our way out.

—Everyone into the vent, now!

I ran to retrieve the VIP as the other two slipped into the narrow space and began crawling.

For my part, I had to carry the girl. I lay on my back, held her tightly against my chest, and started to move, pushing myself along with my shoulders and legs.

I pressed my weight onto my left shoulder, pushed with my right heel, and shifted my hips slightly. Right, left, right... over and over again. A mechanical, repetitive movement, but a necessary one.

Minutes crawled by with exasperating slowness.

At first, a loud commotion filled the air as the machines burst into the room. The noise was deafening, like an unstoppable stampede of steel. I could hear them entering one by one, moving and searching through everything in their path, every corner of the room.

I held my breath when the noise drew dangerously close to the ventilation duct’s entrance. For a moment, I thought they would follow us, that this would be the end.

But for some inexplicable reason, all the machines withdrew with the same intensity as they’d arrived, as if they’d received an order.

I continued crawling through the ventilation shaft, each movement feeling endless. My body was already aching from the effort when I finally reached a room where Melena and Kan were waiting for me.

—You made it —Kan said with a smile, extending a hand to help me up.

—I can’t believe we did it... There was actually an escape route —I replied, panting as I stood up.

The pain in my limbs and back was a sharp reminder of how narrow and long the duct had been.

—We’ll rest for a while. Use the time to catch your breath. If possible, try to contact the others —I ordered.

Melena, as if just remembering, pulled out the radio he’d been carrying this whole time. However, after several attempts, it was clear we were too far down to get any signal.

We fell silent, each of us breathing deeply, letting the exhaustion begin to fade. Then, something broke the calm.

—Who are you?

The girl had finally woken up. Her intense yellow eyes stared at us with a flicker of distrust, her furrowed brow clearly showing her displeasure.

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—Watch your tone, brat. Show some respect to your rescuers! —Kan snapped, raising his voice.

The girl flinched instantly, taking a step back with obvious fear.

—We’re friends —I intervened quickly, gripping Kan’s arm to make him understand he needed to calm down. He sighed and, though clearly unconvinced, nodded.

—We were sent to rescue you —I continued in a softer tone—. My name is Kailen, and these are my companions: Yalen and Kanemiya. Can you tell me your name?

The girl eyed Melena and Kan warily, keeping her distance as though evaluating whether we were a threat.

—My grandpa calls me Sum Sum —she finally said in a faint voice.

—And what do others call you? —I asked.

—Summer. Summer Von Feuron.

We exchanged glances, realizing we had gotten ourselves into the wrong mission. After all, the Von Feuron family was one of the six great families, along with the Neuvaks.

I saw Melena shake his head upon hearing the girl’s surname, while Kan, though unimpressed, made it obvious to me that he was regretting his earlier outburst.

—Alright, Summer...

—You can call me Sum Sum —she interrupted me quickly, shooting me an intense look before pointing a finger at the other two—. But they can’t!

—Very well, perhaps in private —I said with a faint smile before taking on a more serious tone—. Now, Miss Summer, I need you to come closer so I can give you this armor.

—What is that? And why are you giving it to me? —she asked, crossing her arms with a distrustful look.

—It’s a suit of armor...

—What’s armor?

The question caught me off guard for a moment.

—Armor is a protective layer… to keep you from getting hurt.

—Why would anyone want to hurt me? Where’s my grandfather?

Bad question.

—Do you have any memory of why you’re here? What’s the last thing you remember?

—I remember eating at a restaurant with my family. We were on the fifth dessert when I started feeling sleepy and went to the resting area.

The three of us exchanged uneasy glances.

—Summer, as far as we know, you were kidnapped over a week ago. Don’t you remember anything else?

—No.

—Alright. To answer your questions, it seems someone wanted to use you to gain access to something in this facility. As for your grandfather, he’s probably at your family’s estate, far from here. But don’t worry, our job is to get you back to him.

—Are you workers for the family?

—No.

—My parents told me not to trust anyone outside the family.

Not bad advice, though in time she’ll learn not to trust everyone inside the family either.

—I understand. You don’t need to trust us —I replied calmly—, but if you don’t cooperate, it’ll be very difficult to get you back to your grandfather.

The girl seemed to ponder my words. At least that’s what I thought, because she eventually took a step toward me to receive the armor.

Still aching, I began removing the armor and adjusting it to her size. Due to her much smaller frame, the protection it provided increased drastically. It was clear the armor had been designed with her in mind, as it fit perfectly and didn’t hinder her movements.

—It’s heavy. I don’t like it; I prefer dresses. Do you have a dress?

—Unfortunately, I don’t.

She made a sort of pout.

—Listen closely, Summer. From here on out, things are going to get dangerous. I need you to stay close to me at all times. Try not to wander off, and don’t let anyone get too close to you, understood?

—Not even them?

—They’re allies, but they shouldn’t get too close either. It’s my job to keep you safe; they’ll help me.

—Sum Sum understands.

—Is everyone ready to move? —I asked, looking at the others.

Melena nodded.

—My weapon broke during the retreat —Kan said.

I handed him my assault rifle along with the magazines, leaving myself only with my revolver. We had very little ammunition left, and my knife wouldn’t be much use against droids.

I still had the kinetic shield folded on my back. When deactivated, it was nothing more than a piece of metal with a circular mechanism in the center. But it wasn’t the right time to use it yet.

We both reloaded and took a careful look at the room we were in.

It was a simple maintenance room, with valves and other instruments used to cut off fluid or current flows and perform basic diagnostics. The most important feature was the three doors, one of which was marked as an emergency exit.

—Let’s move. Kan, take the lead; Melena, you’re next. Miss Summer, make sure you stay within arm's reach.

The path was much more straightforward than I had expected. We finally arrived in a room with a vertical ladder that seemed to lead up to the surface.

During the climb, Summer grew tired at several points, and I had to let her rest on me. Even I, on the verge of exhaustion, knew I couldn’t push her further. After all, I was familiar with people like her—flowers raised in greenhouses, who withered at the slightest breeze.

Once we reached the surface, we emerged into a small, dark room lit only by faint rays of sunlight filtering through makeshift-blocked windows.

Peeking through the windows, I confirmed that we’d surfaced in a slum neighborhood near the base of the scrappers.

—Melena, get in touch.

Melena pulled out the radio and managed to establish communication, but what greeted us on the other end was one of the brainiacs panicking.

I took the radio from him.

—Olaf, you damn punk! Are you there?

—What took you so long, soyboy?

—I’ve got the VIP. We’re in a slum neighborhood on a hill. I can see the scrapper fortress in the distance.

—Say no more. I know the place. We’re heading your way.

Not even three seconds passed before a powerful explosion shook the scrappers' base.

—Alright, folks, no rest. The others are on their way. Once they get here, we’ll dig in at this position and hold out until the transport arrives.

We’d been fighting continuously for hours, and exhaustion was beginning to take its toll on everyone. Kan was in the worst shape.

I mulled things over for a moment. I had a couple of high-tech medical vials. Whatever infection he had, those vials could cure it almost instantly.

—Lie back on your side. I’m going to disinfect that wound.

Kan glanced at the vial in my hand and spoke seriously:

—Are you sure? That looks expensive.

—It is, but I can’t face what’s coming alone. You’d better not die here.

He smiled. We both knew it was a lie, but there was no need to say it out loud.

—Brace yourself; this is going to hurt.

I stabbed the needle into the side of his abdomen, and the liquid flowed into his body. Kan let out a scream and began writhing in place.

—Stay down for now.

I moved to a window and removed some of the panels blocking the view to get a better look at the scrappers' fortress.

It was pure chaos. Just as they had said, there seemed to be multiple groups fighting, and Olaf’s retreating group was just one of them. However, before long, they were able to focus solely on fleeing, as the other groups didn’t chase them beyond a certain area. They were too caught up in claiming the fortress.

—Melena, do we have any way to contact the drivers?

—The initial plan was for you to transmit a beacon using your processor.

—A beacon would be visible to everyone. If it sends out a signal like that, everyone and their mother will come here. That’s a shitty plan.

—That was your plan, sir.

—It’s still a shitty plan —I rubbed my hand over my face. "What the hell was I thinking?"

With no other option, I activated a distress signal, creating a beacon that anyone with a processor could detect on their devices from a great distance.