The silence that followed Elric Vahn's final words clung to the air like a fog. The massive projection blinked out, leaving the room dim once more, lit only by the cool overhead lights that hummed gently from the high ceilings. Then, like a dam breaking, the chamber erupted into noise.
Teenagers, scattered across the sleek metallic room, broke into hushed whispers, startled murmurs, and full-blown questions.
"Did he say die?"
"This has to be a sick experiment."
"Why didn't I leave? What am I doing here?"
Others stood differently—shoulders straight, eyes glinting with curiosity or defiance. A few even grinned as if the whole thing thrilled them. These had nothing left to lose, or maybe everything to prove.
Amid the storm stood Jayden Cole.
He hadn't moved since the projection faded.
His mind was a maze of fragmented thoughts: his parents, the fire, the labs, the memory chip, Ren, the facility, the man who said he knew his father, and the things crawling at the edge of his memories like ghosts trapped behind a wall.
Why hadn't he walked out?
It would've been so easy.
But something deep inside him—instinctive and buried—kept him rooted. Maybe it was the fact that he had more questions than answers—maybe it was the chip inside him that made him feel like his life didn't belong to him anymore.
Or maybe he didn't want to feel helpless again.
He was still lost in those thoughts when he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder.
He turned.
The man standing behind him wasn't quite like the others. Older, but not by much. Just shy of twenty, maybe nineteen going on twenty. Calm. Sharp-eyed. A quiet confidence in the way he stood—not forced but practiced.
"Are you Jayden Cole?"
Jayden nodded, guarded.
"Mind if I ask you something?"
Jayden shrugged. "Depends."
The man tilted his head slightly, studying him. "Did you recognize the guy in the projection? The one who gave the speech."
Jayden blinked. "Elric Vahn? I didn't even know his name until now. The last thing I remember, I was jumped by some people in an alley, and the next thing I know, I woke up in a diagnostics lab. How did I end up here? No idea."
The man extended a hand. "Name's Luca."
Jayden took it.
Luca leaned closer. "But most people... used to call me the Shadow Fox."
Jayden recoiled slightly. Eyes wide. "No way. That's not possible. The Shadow Fox is a myth. An urban legend. Half-criminal, half-spy, vanished years ago."
Luca gave a modest smile and rubbed the back of his neck with his left hand. "Yeah—wish that were true. Would've saved me a lot of trouble. Instead, I got locked in Blackridge for a mission I didn't walk away from."
Jayden frowned. "So you're telling me you're that Shadow Fox?"
"Guilty. And useful enough for Vahn to come crawling back."
Jayden's mind raced. "You knew him?"
Luca nodded. His tone dipped into something heavier.
"We worked together. He recruited me for a black ops mission a few years back. Said it was off-grid, state-critical. Promised me money. Autonomy. A clean slate. You know, all the usual lies."
Jayden asked, "What kind of mission?"
Luca's gaze drifted upward, as if replaying something only he could see.
"There was a facility in Siberia. Underground. Off-record. It was kind of like a search-and-destroy mission. My job was to get in, destroy the data, and get out without triggering the AI security."
"And?"
"I did it," Luca said. "But the exfil plan changed. The rendezvous team never showed. Instead, I got intercepted. Captured. Labeled as an international threat. Everything else… blank. Months in isolation. Then Blackridge. I thought I got caught. But the deeper I thought about it, the more it made sense. Vahn burned me. I knew too much."
Jayden shook his head. "That's insane. Why would he bring you here, then?"
Luca smirked. "That's what I'm tryna find out."
Jayden looked down at his wrist device. Still offline.
He sighed. "I think all this has to do with the alien appearance. You remember? The one that happened twenty-seven days ago?"
Luca looked puzzled. "I didn't hear about any alien appearance."
"Of course you didn't. You were locked up. But it was all over the news. I thought it was another hoax until NASA went quiet and the military scrambled half their assets into orbit. Rumors said governments were coordinating something global. But no one knew what.
Luca folded his arms. "So we've got memory chips, secret facilities, alien signals, and a bunch of kids selected by a man who likes playing God."
Jayden laughed under his breath. "We've gotten ourselves in quite a mix, haven't we?"
Luca nodded. "Yeah. But I've survived worse. You stick with me, kid. Might help you stay alive."
"Thanks. I think I'll take that offer."
The two stood silent momentarily, looking at the others around them.
Some still sat on the ground, cradling their heads.
Others huddled in groups, whispering conspiracies and theories.
A few just stared at the ceiling like it might give them answers...