The convoy rolled through the ruined overpass just before sunrise.
After hours of silence, the Resistance finally reached the entrance to their fallback base—an abandoned underground metro station tucked beneath what used to be a city. Weeds and moss grew out of the cracked pavement. Graffiti coated the collapsed pillars. The world above was dead.
But below—there was still life.
Heavy steel doors groaned open, and one by one, the vehicles disappeared into the shadows.
Scene: Underground Base
Inside, the station had been fortified with salvaged metal, makeshift lighting, and thick blast doors. Old trains had been gutted and repurposed into barracks. Resistance fighters unloaded supplies, carried wounded, and quietly counted the dead.
Xin sat slumped against the wall of the medbay, eyes half-shut, shoulder wrapped in blood-stained bandages. His ribs ached with every breath.
Kaila kneeled beside him, gently brushing dirt off his face. "You're lucky you're not dead."
He looked away. "Feels like I should be."
"Shut up," she snapped, her voice shaky. "Don't say shit like that."
He didn't respond.
Across the room, Andy paced like a restless dog. "I can't believe we made it. That guy—Cassius—what the fuck even was that?"
Kaila didn't answer.
She kept her eyes on Xin. Her hands trembled just a little.
Scene: Debrief
Tara stood on a broken metro platform, surrounded by her squad. Dr. Alaric was beside her, wiping his glasses. Tension filled the air like poison.
"We lost six," Tara said, her voice flat. "Two MIA. We won't find bodies. Not with Dive's cleanup."
Some soldiers muttered under their breath. A younger fighter yelled, "Why'd we even bring them here?! They brought Dive right to our doors!"
"We would've been found anyway," Tara said coldly. "They just sped up the clock."
Another voice cut in. "And what about that monster in armor? The one that almost killed Tara and the kid? You think they didn't know that freak would come?"
Kaila stood near the back of the group, hearing every word.
She didn't say anything.
Not yet.
Scene: Broken Strength
Later, Xin sat on a rusted bench near the old platform, staring into the darkness of the unused tunnels.
Kaila walked up behind him quietly. "You okay?"
"No."
She sat next to him.
"I couldn't touch him," Xin said, fists clenched. "I hit that bastard with everything I had. It didn't even scratch him."
"Xin, no one expected you to win."
"But I didn't even matter," he said bitterly. "Tara saved me. Again. You saved me. Again."
"You're still standing."
"Barely."
Kaila looked down at her hands. "You're not weak. You're just… early."
He shook his head. "I need to be more than that, Kaila. That guy—Cassius—he looked at me like I was a bug. Like I wasn't even worth killing right away. I can't let that happen again."
His voice cracked at the end.
Kaila placed her hand on his. "We'll get stronger. Together."
Xin looked at her and finally gave a small nod.
Scene: Andy and Kaila
That evening, Andy found Kaila sitting alone on the top level of a half-destroyed train car, watching the flickering lights below.
He climbed up and sat next to her.
"You holding up?" he asked.
She shrugged. "I don't know. Not really."
Andy lit a cigarette but didn't smoke it. Just held it. "Feels like we're all just running from one horror to the next, huh?"
"Yeah."
He was quiet for a second. "You were strong back there. Real strong. Got people out. Held shit together. I don't know how you do it."
Kaila turned to him. "I didn't feel strong."
"Well, you were. Honestly? I'd have lost my mind already if you weren't here."
She smiled slightly. "That's the nicest thing you've ever said."
"Don't get used to it."
They both laughed—tired, broken, but laughing anyway.
Scene: Alaric's Truth
Later that night, Tara brought Xin and Kaila to a locked storage room where Dr. Alaric was working with old files and projection equipment.
"Come in," Alaric said. "It's time you knew more."
He dimmed the lights and started a flickering old projector. Images flashed—alien symbols, creature anatomy charts, blueprints of syringes.
"This is the truth about the Spinat Symbol," he said. "It's not just a drug. It's a parasite. Engineered from alien matter. Modified to fuse with human nervous systems."
Kaila's eyes widened. "So it's alive?"
"Yes. And once it enters your system, it doesn't just give power. It reshapes you. Slowly. Violently. It changes your body… and then your mind."
Xin leaned forward. "That's what Joden took. That's what made Andy's shop get attacked."
"Yes. Dive injects it into soldiers, prisoners, even children. Most die. A few survive. Those that do… become something else entirely."
Alaric paused, then pulled up an old photo.
Two familiar faces.
Xin and Kaila's parents.
"This," Alaric said softly, "is where you come in. Your parents were researchers. Scientists. Good ones. They helped create the early prototypes of the Spinat Symbol—but they defected once they saw what it really did."
Kaila's heart dropped. "Wait—what?"
"They were going to leak everything. Warn the public. But Dive found out. Had them eliminated. Made it look like an accident. I know because I was there when the order came in."
Xin's fists shook. "You knew them?"
"They were brave. Smarter than me. I ran. They didn't."
Silence filled the room.
"Why are you telling us this now?" Kaila asked.
"Because the next steps of this war are going to need people who still remember what's worth fighting for."
He looked directly at Xin.
"And because you have a long road ahead. And very little time to walk it."
End Scene
Back in the darkened metro tunnels, Xin sat alone again.
He touched the bandages on his side. He remembered Cassius's voice. The way it felt to be thrown like garbage. The helplessness.
Then he remembered his parents.