Marcus stepped inside, and the world shifted just enough to feel wrong.
The alarms behind them stretched into something distant and uneven, like the sound had been pulled too far away.
Marcus stopped after two steps.
"The sound changed," Marcus said.
Maya stepped in behind him, glancing back once.
"That's not distance. That's dampening."
Elias hesitated, then stepped in fully.
"I don't like that we can still hear it," Elias said.
Marcus glanced back.
The chamber door was still there.
Too close.
"That door should look farther away," Marcus said.
Maya frowned. "Yeah. It should."
Elias swallowed. "So either we're not moving, or the space isn't letting us leave properly."
Marcus turned forward. "We're moving."
Elias gave a quiet breath. "That's worse."
They continued forward.
The hallway remained unchanged.
But the air resisted them slightly.
Maya held her hand near the wall, then pulled it back.
"Do not touch anything," Maya said.
Marcus glanced at her. "Wasn't planning to."
"That wasn't just for you."
Elias pulled his hand back. "I wasn't going to."
"You were thinking about it," Maya said.
Marcus almost smiled.
The radio crackled.
"Commander Hale, do you copy?"
"Go."
"Your position is fluctuating."
"Define fluctuating."
"You're not maintaining a fixed distance."
Maya shook her head. "Of course we aren't."
Marcus said, "Keep tracking."
"We're trying. Your signal keeps shifting."
Elias exhaled. "That's comforting."
Marcus stepped forward.
The lights flickered in sequence.
Maya looked up. "That's reactive."
"To what?" Marcus asked.
Maya answered quietly. "…Us."
They moved again.
The door behind them did not change.
Marcus stopped.
"We've moved," Marcus said.
Elias turned. "…No, we haven't."
Maya exhaled slowly. "So movement isn't consistent."
A sound echoed ahead.
Footsteps.
Marcus froze.
"That's too controlled," Maya said.
A figure appeared.
Same armor.
Same shape.
But wrong.
Marcus tightened his grip.
"Contact."
Elias squinted. "Duplicate."
"No," Maya said. "Look at it."
It moved.
Too smoothly.
Marcus shifted.
It reacted—
early.
"It's ahead of me," Marcus said.
"It's predicting," Maya said.
"That's worse," Elias added.
The radio crackled.
"Multiple heat signatures—"
"How many?" Marcus asked.
"…Unknown."
Marcus stepped forward.
It moved before him.
Then stopped.
Perfectly.
The lights flickered again.
Something moved between them.
When the lights returned—
It was closer.
Without moving.
Marcus raised his rifle.
"Stop."
It stopped.
Maya exhaled. "It's responding."
"No," Marcus said.
"It's testing."