The hum of the dying facility followed Jack and Lena like a shadow, a constant reminder that they were not alone — not anymore. Somewhere in these halls, more soldiers of the Red Circle hunted them, their footsteps and shouts echoing faintly through the labyrinth of rust and forgotten steel.
But Jack was no longer running blindly. Something had awakened in him — the Echo of the Eclipse — and its presence was like a second heart beating beneath his ribs, cold and ancient. He could feel it even now, a flicker of consciousness separate from his own, watching, waiting, whispering.
As they navigated a series of narrow service corridors, Lena stole glances at him, her eyes reflecting both relief and fear. She hadn't said much since his transformation — since she'd watched him move with inhuman speed, eyes glowing with something not entirely mortal.
> "You're quiet," Jack murmured as they moved, his voice low.
> "I've never seen anything like what you did back there," she replied, her tone careful. "I've heard stories about people touched by the Mist. About... things growing inside them. But I didn't think any of them lived long."
Jack chuckled softly, though there was no humor in it.
> "Maybe I'm just too stubborn to die."
She didn't laugh.
> "Or maybe you're becoming something else."
The words hung between them, heavier than the stale air.
They emerged into a larger chamber — a collapsed control room, consoles shattered, screens dark and dead. In the center stood a broken platform, once an elevator that had long since lost its power.
Jack surveyed the space, his mind working through possibilities.
> "We need to get deeper," he said. "These facilities always have an emergency access tunnel. If we find it, it might lead us to the surface."
Lena's eyes scanned the chamber.
> "And if it doesn't?"
> "Then we die in here."
She nodded grimly.
Jack approached the remnants of the elevator. Around it, faded signage in fractured text hinted at different facility sectors: Upper Maintenance, Sector Theta, Sublevel Omega. One direction was marked in scratched, nearly illegible paint: "OMEGA CORE — DO NOT ENTER".
> "That's a warning if I've ever seen one," Lena muttered, pointing to the sign.
> "Which means that's where we'll find something important."
Jack knelt, brushing dust and grime off a nearby console. When his hand passed over the surface, the Echo inside him stirred — faint sparks danced across his fingertips. The console flickered to life briefly, old code scrolling across the screen, though the language was partially corrupted.
One word blinked, flashing red:
> CONTAINMENT FAILURE
Jack grimaced.
> "Whatever was down here... it broke free a long time ago."
> "Is it the same thing inside you?" Lena asked cautiously.
Jack shook his head.
> "No. Or... not entirely. I think what I carry is just a fragment — a piece that didn't get out."
> "But I will."
The voice bloomed in his mind, clearer now. Not his thoughts, but another — the Echo, awake and aware.
Jack froze. The sensation was intrusive but... not hostile. Not yet.
> "You're speaking," Jack whispered under his breath.
Lena frowned.
> "What?"
> "It's nothing," Jack said quickly. He pushed the voice aside — for now.
He found a rusted ladder embedded in the wall, leading down into darkness.
> "We go down," he said. "No other way."
Lena looked at the ladder, then at Jack.
> "If you turn into one of them... one of those things... I'll kill you."
Jack smiled faintly.
> "Good. Make sure you do."
She took a breath, then began descending.
Jack followed, the metal groaning beneath their weight. The deeper they went, the colder it became, the air heavy with moisture and the scent of mold. Somewhere below, water dripped steadily, an endless rhythm in the dark.
They reached the bottom — a tunnel, barely lit by emergency lights struggling to stay alive. Pipes lined the walls, some leaking steam or fluid, others ruptured completely.
Ahead, Jack spotted a sign:
> EMERGENCY EGRESS — 2.3 KM
> "There," he pointed. "That's our way out."
But then his senses screamed — a prickling in his spine, a shift in the air.
> "We're not alone," he muttered.
From the shadows ahead, shapes began to move. Tall, thin — humanoid but wrong. Limbs too long, heads tilted unnaturally to the side. Their eyes — when visible — glowed faintly amber, like the reflection of a dying flame.
> "Mist-Touched," Jack hissed.
Lena raised her newly acquired rifle, hands trembling.
> "Can you... do what you did before?"
Jack shook his head.
> "I don't know how. It just... happened."
> "Let me in again," the Echo whispered inside.
"Let me guide your hand, and I will make them fall like dust."
But Jack hesitated. Every time he let it in, he lost a piece of himself. How many times could he do it before there was nothing left?
The Mist-Touched approached, moving in a stuttering, jerky gait — like puppets on broken strings.
Jack gritted his teeth.
> "Lena, stay close. We move together. If I change... you know what to do."
She nodded.
Then the first of the creatures lunged, shrieking.
Jack moved, steel flashing in his hands. But the Echo pressed at the edges of his mind, offering power, promising dominance.
And this time... he didn't fight it.
The cold surged back into his veins, vision sharpening, muscles light and fluid. Time slowed. Every creature's path was clear, every strike predictable. Jack weaved through them like a phantom, blades carving with precision, guided by the Echo's whispers.
Lena fired beside him, cutting down those that tried to flank them.
When the last Mist-Touched fell, gurgling on the floor, Jack stood amidst the bodies, his breath steady but his mind heavy.
He was still himself.
But barely.
Lena stared at him, breathless.
> "That... wasn't human."
Jack turned, his eyes still faintly glowing.
> "Neither is the world anymore."
He looked down the tunnel — still 2 kilometers to go.
> "Let's finish this."
They pressed on, deeper into the earth, where the pulse of the facility and the presence of the Echo grew stronger. And somewhere ahead, beyond steel and shadows, Jack knew they would either find escape...
Or the truth about what he was becoming.