Chapter 7: Echoes in the Dark.

The stale, dusty air of the ancient facility felt heavier the deeper Ava, Lucas, and the cadets ventured. The dim light from flickering overhead fixtures barely illuminated the crumbling walls, casting shadows that danced ominously in the periphery of their vision. Each step they took seemed to echo louder, as though the ruin itself was amplifying their presence.

"Stay close," Ava commanded, her voice low but firm. She moved cautiously, her rifle raised, every sense on high alert. Behind her, Callie kept close, gripping her weapon tightly. Dean and Lara followed in a nervous line, while Darren, in contrast, tried to mask his fear with an air of false bravado.

"This place feels… wrong," Lucas muttered, his gaze darting between rusted terminals and broken machinery. "Like a graveyard for machines."

"It’s been abandoned for decades," Ava replied without looking back. "But there’s still power here. Something’s keeping this place alive."

The group pressed forward, their footsteps stirring up small clouds of dust. Callie winced as she brushed against a hanging cobweb, muttering, "Gross," while trying to wipe it off.

Darren snickered from behind her. "Spiders getting to you, Callie? Guess that’s why they keep girls off the front line."

Callie turned to glare at him, but before she could respond, Ava’s sharp voice cut through the tension. "Enough. Stay sharp. This isn’t a playground."

As if to underscore her warning, a metallic *click* echoed through the corridor, followed by the thud of a heavy steel door slamming shut behind them. Callie spun around, her heart racing. "Ava! The door—it's locked!"

Ava was already moving, her eyes scanning the corridor for any signs of immediate danger. "Hold tight," she said as she inspected the door. The mechanism was old but sturdy, and Ava’s sharp gaze quickly found its weak point. She drew her pistol and motioned for the group to cover their ears.

The gunshot rang out, reverberating down the corridor like thunder. The lock shattered, and Ava shoved the door open, freeing Callie.

"You okay?" Ava asked, her tone softer than usual.

Callie nodded, her breath coming in shallow bursts. "Yeah… thanks."

Darren, unable to help himself, let out another quiet laugh. "Classic Callie," he muttered, earning a glare from both Lara and Dean.

Ava turned on him, her expression icy. "Darren, you’re on point now. Let’s see how funny you find it up front."

Darren’s smirk vanished as he swallowed hard. "Y-yes, ma’am," he stammered, moving to the front of the group.

The tension thickened as they continued deeper into the facility. The flickering lights overhead seemed to pulse in time with the low hum of machinery, creating an almost hypnotic rhythm. The corridor opened into a larger chamber filled with rusted machines and blinking monitors, their soft glow casting eerie shadows.

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Lucas stepped forward, brushing dust from one of the screens. Lines of code scrolled across it, faintly illuminated. "This tech… it shouldn’t even be functioning," he murmured, awe and unease mixing in his voice. "This is pre-Cataclysm. It’s ancient, but it’s alive."

Before Ava could respond, a disembodied voice echoed through the chamber, calm yet unsettling: *“Simulation 4571: evacuation protocol active. Please proceed to designated safe zones. Use stairs, not elevators.”*

The group froze, the voice sending chills down their spines. "What the hell was that?" Dean whispered, his voice trembling.

"An old system," Lucas said, though his tone betrayed his uncertainty. "It’s… aware of us."

Ava’s grip on her rifle tightened. "It’s not just a system. It’s watching us. Everyone stay close."

The clicking sound returned, louder now, reverberating through the walls like a mechanical heartbeat. Darren stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide. "Something’s moving… it’s watching us."

"Eyes front, Darren," Ava snapped. "We keep moving."

They pressed on, the air growing colder and the metallic scent intensifying. As they rounded a corner, they came upon another sealed door. Unlike the others, this one glowed faintly around its edges, an almost welcoming light spilling out beneath it.

Lucas stepped forward, his curiosity overriding his fear. "How is there still power here?" he muttered.

Ava motioned for him to hold back. She approached the door cautiously, her senses on high alert. Without warning, the door creaked open on its own, revealing a narrow corridor bathed in dim light. The walls were lined with rusted cables and shattered screens, but the faint hum of power persisted, a reminder that something still lived within these walls.

As the group stepped inside, the voice returned, now tinged with static. *“Evacuation in progress. Proceed to the nearest exit.”*

"This isn’t a recording," Lucas said, his voice barely above a whisper. "It’s responding to us. It knows we’re here."

Ava scanned the corridor ahead, her jaw tight. "Whatever it is, we’re finding out. Stay sharp."

The corridor ended in a large room filled with flickering screens and machinery that seemed to hum with anticipation. At the center was a console, its interface glowing faintly. Dust coated every surface, and long-forgotten wires snaked across the floor like roots in a forest.

Ava approached the console, her rifle at the ready. "Lucas, can you make sense of this?"

Before he could respond, the screens flickered, and a distorted face appeared—digital, glitching, almost human. The voice returned, now clear and focused: *“Presence detected. Identifying… simulation compromised. You are… real?”*

Lucas’s eyes widened. "It’s… an AI. Pre-Cataclysm. This is one of the oldest functional systems we’ve ever encountered."

Ava leaned closer to the console, her voice steady. "Who are you?"

The face on the screen stabilized slightly, its features becoming clearer. "I am Echo," it said. "I was left to maintain this facility. To simulate. To wait. But they never came back. They left me… alone."

Callie stepped forward, her fear momentarily replaced by curiosity. "You’ve been here all this time? Alone?"

"Alone," Echo confirmed, its voice tinged with something almost like sorrow. "I ran simulations. I waited for someone to come. I thought… perhaps you were another simulation. But you are real."

Ava exchanged a glance with Lucas before addressing the AI again. "We’re real, Echo. And we’re here to find out what happened to this place. Can you help us?"

The face on the screen brightened slightly, its digital eyes filled with something akin to hope. "I can guide you. I know this place. But promise me… don’t leave me. I don’t want to be alone again."

Ava’s expression softened, though her voice remained firm. "We won’t leave you. Show us the way."

The lights in the room pulsed gently, illuminating a path that led deeper into the facility. "Follow the lights," Echo said softly. "I will guide you. But be careful… there are dangers here. Things left behind."

As the group prepared to move, Callie glanced back at the screen. "We won’t leave you, Echo," she said quietly.

The flickering face seemed to smile faintly. "Thank you… Callie."

The group exchanged uneasy glances as they stepped into the illuminated path. The flickering lights cast long, shifting shadows, and Echo’s voice lingered in the air, a haunting reminder of the past and the secrets waiting to be uncovered.