VEILBREAKERS
Episode 15: "Hunters in the Dark"
[LOCATION: ABANDONED INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX – MAIN HALL]
The smell of rust and gun oil hangs in the air. Moonlight cuts through broken skylights, glinting off shattered glass on the floor. A chilling silence… until the doors explode inward.
➔ BOOM!
Five figures step through the smoke—black exo-suits, armored like walking fortresses, glowing blue conduits tracing their limbs. Advanced rifles hum with plasma coils.
Commander (helmet voice, cold):"Kael Veylan. Directive's ghost. You're coming with us."
Kael doesn't move. Hands loose. Expression flat. Behind him, Ran tilts his head, his hand on his sword hilt, lips curling into a grin.
Ran (low, teasing):"Five walking trash cans. You want 'em or should I warm up?"
Kael (calm):"Split them. Two each. Leave the leader to me."
[CUT TO: Their POV – THERMAL VISION TARGETING KAEL]His vitals show zero spike. No adrenaline surge. His heartbeat? Steady. Too steady.
Hunter #1 (over comms):"Readings are wrong. He's not human."
Commander:"Shut it. Drop him."
➔ THEY FIRE.
Plasma bursts rip through the air—fzzzt fzzzt. Kael moves. Not fast—precise. Every shot misses by inches, his body weaving like he knows the bullets before they're fired.
[ECHO SENSE ACTIVATES – VISUAL: rippling sonar pulses expanding from Kael.]
Ran dashes left, his sword flashing silver. A hunter's arm hits the ground before his body does. Sparks shower.
Ran (laughing):"You guys paid for this tech? Got scammed."
Kael grabs a fallen rifle, spins it, and fires back—three shots, three helmets crack open.
One soldier lunges with a shock-blade. Kael sidesteps, grabs the blade mid-strike, and SNAPS IT IN HALF barehanded.
Kael (cold):"Wrong fight."
[DOMINION WILL – A LOW RUMBLE.]For a split second, reality bends. Air distorts. The ground vibrates. The hunters freeze, weapons trembling. Pressure crushes the room. Ran staggers, his grin fading.
Ran (thinking, wide-eyed):"What… is this…?!"
One hunter drops to his knees, helmet cracking from the pressure. His visor shatters, blood streaming from his eyes.
Kael blinks—and the effect vanishes. The silence after is deafening.
Commander (gasping):"What… the hell was that?"
Kael doesn't answer. He steps forward, the floor cracking under his boots. The commander raises his rifle, but Kael's already there—one strike, and the man slams into the wall, armor bending inward like foil.
Kael (calmly, to the last standing hunter):"Go back. Tell them this isn't enough."
The man stumbles backward, terrified, then runs.
[CUT TO: AFTERMATH]Bodies lie smoking. Ran sheathes his blade slowly, staring at Kael.
Ran:"...What the hell was THAT?"
Kael (quiet):"Something I'm not using again."
Jett enters from the shadows, scanning the bodies."They're not random hunters. Black Talon Division. High-tier bounty contractors. If they found us… someone leaked our coordinates."
Kael looks at the broken symbol on the commander's chest plate—three interlocking crescents. His jaw tightens.
Kael (under his breath):"Umbra Syndicate…"
[ALERT ON JETT'S WRIST-CONSOLE – INCOMING SIGNAL.]Jett curses, typing fast.
Jett:"They're jamming us. More inbound. Heavy ones."
Kael picks up his sword sheath, sliding the blade across his shoulder, his face unreadable.
Kael:"Then we move. Now."
[WIDE SHOT – THE TEAM RUNNING INTO THE METALLIC CORRIDORS AS RED WARNING LIGHTS FLASH.]
To be continued...