The sewer tunnel was a maze of dripping pipes and slime.
"Left!" Kaelen shouted, splashing through the dirty water.
Zeph stumbled after him. The blue text in his vision was giving him a headache. It was labeling everything: Rat (Disease Vector), Water (Toxic), Kaelen (Heart Rate: 140).
"Warning," the voice in his head said. "Pulse detected ahead. Three hostiles. Heavily armed."
"Kae, stop!" Zeph hissed, grabbing Kaelen's jacket.
Kaelen skidded to a halt. "What? Why?"
"Three guys," Zeph whispered, pointing into the darkness. "Big guns. Waiting for us."
Kaelen frowned. He couldn't see anything but shadows. "Are you sure?"
"The thing in my head is sure," Zeph said. "It calls them 'Obstacles'."
Suddenly, a spotlight blinded them.
"ACP! Drop your weapons!"
Three armored officers stepped out from behind a concrete pillar. Their rifles were aimed at Kaelen's chest.
Kaelen raised his hands slowly. He looked at Zeph. "Run when I move," Kaelen whispered, barely moving his lips.
"No," Zeph whispered back. "You'll get shot."
"I'll draw their fire," Kaelen said. His muscles tensed. He was ready to die to let Zeph escape. That was who Kaelen was. The shield.
"Analysis: Kaelen Thorne has a 12% chance of survival," the AI said coldly. "This is unacceptable. Host, I request temporary control of motor functions."
"What?" Zeph thought. "You want to drive?"
"Combat Protocol Alpha. Do you accept?"
The lead officer racked his rifle slide. "I said, on your knees!"
Zeph looked at Kaelen. Kaelen looked ready to jump. He was going to die.
"Yes!" Zeph screamed in his mind. "Do it!"
"Access Granted."
Zeph felt a cold electric shock snap down his spine. His vision cleared. The fear vanished. His body didn't feel like his anymore. It felt like a machine.
"Hey!" Zeph shouted, his voice oddly flat. He stepped in front of Kaelen.
"Zeph, get back!" Kaelen yelled.
The officer fired.
Bang.
Zeph didn't flinch. He didn't duck. He simply... tilted.
The bullet whizzed past his ear, missing by a millimeter.
Kaelen's jaw dropped.
Zeph moved. But it wasn't the clumsy, stumbling Zeph. It was a blur. He dashed forward, splashing through the water so fast he was hard to track.
The second officer fired. Zeph slid on his knees, going under the bullets, and uppercut the officer with his palm.
Crack.
The officer's helmet shattered. He went flying backward.
The third officer panicked. He tried to aim, but Zeph was already there. Zeph grabbed the barrel of the gun, twisted it, and kicked the man in the knee. The bone snapped with a sickening sound.
The leader—the one who fired first—dropped his gun and pulled a stun baton. He swung at Zeph's head.
Zeph caught the baton. With his bare hand.
Sparks flew. Zeph didn't scream. He didn't even blink. He looked at the officer with dead, glowing blue eyes.
"Inefficient," Zeph said. It wasn't his tone. It was the AI's.
Zeph punched the man in the throat. The officer collapsed, gasping for air.
Silence returned to the tunnel.
Zeph stood over the groaning bodies. His hand was smoking from the stun baton.
"Threat neutralized. Returning control to Host."
The cold feeling vanished.
"Whoa!" Zeph stumbled back, shaking his hand. "Ow! Ow! That burns!"
He hopped around on one foot, blowing on his burnt palm. "That hurts so bad! Why didn't you tell me catching a stun stick would hurt?!"
Kaelen didn't laugh.
He stood in the water, staring at Zeph. He looked at the three unconscious officers. These were elite police. And Zeph—the guy who tripped over his own shoelaces yesterday—had taken them down in six seconds.
"Zeph," Kaelen said, his voice low. "What did you do?"
"I didn't do it!" Zeph said, tears in his eyes from the pain. "The AI did! It… it took the wheel."
Kaelen looked at the fallen leader, who was struggling to breathe. He looked back at Zeph.
For the first time in their lives, Kaelen wasn't looking at Zeph like a little brother. He was looking at him like a stranger.
"You moved like a machine," Kaelen whispered.
"I know," Zeph said, trying to smile. "Pretty cool, right? I mean, aside from the burnt hand."
Kaelen didn't smile back. He felt a cold knot in his stomach. He was supposed to be the fighter. He was supposed to be the protector. If Zeph could do this… what was Kaelen for?
"Let's go," Kaelen said abruptly. He turned and walked away, not waiting for Zeph.
"Hey, wait up!" Zeph jogged after him. "Do you think we can sell their guns?"
Kaelen didn't answer. The shadows in the tunnel seemed to get longer, wrapping around him.