Chapter 147: The Birthplace of Monsters
The sound came first.
Not footsteps.
Not voices.
A low mechanical rumble deep beneath the floor — like something massive waking up after years of sleep.
Then the hybrid soldiers stepped forward.
One.
Two.
Ten.
Twenty.
By the time the last metal chamber finished sliding open, nearly thirty of them stood between us and the corridor leading deeper into the facility.
They looked human at first glance.
But the longer you looked, the more wrong they became.
Their eyes glowed faintly.
Their movements were too smooth.
Too controlled.
Like predators trying to mimic people.
Selene watched us with calm amusement.
“You see?” she said softly. “All roads lead back here.”
Aidan slowly raised his weapon.
“Everyone spread out,” he said quietly.
Echo was already moving, positioning herself near the left wall.
Callum cracked his neck.
Elena loaded another magazine into her pistol.
Ethan stepped back toward the rear, laptop already open, trying to hack into the facility systems.
But Selene wasn’t looking at them.
She was looking at me.
Always me.
“You must feel it,” she said.
I didn’t answer.
Because she was right.
Something inside me was reacting to this place.
The air felt heavier.
The ground beneath my feet vibrated faintly.
And that strange energy under my skin had grown stronger.
Like the facility itself was… recognizing me.
Selene’s smile widened.
“Yes,” she whispered.
“You feel it.”
\---
One of the hybrids lunged forward.
And the battle exploded.
Aidan fired first.
The rifle shot echoed like thunder in the corridor.
The bullet struck one of the hybrids square in the chest.
The creature barely flinched.
“Of course,” Elena muttered. “Why would bullets work?”
The hybrid soldier charged.
Echo intercepted it before it reached Aidan.
Her blade flashed silver.
The creature’s arm hit the ground.
It kept coming.
Callum tackled another one to the floor, slamming it into the concrete with brutal force.
“Yeah,” he grunted.
“They definitely upgraded these things.”
Three more hybrids rushed us.
Gunfire filled the corridor.
Glass shattered.
Metal screeched.
But they kept coming.
Selene watched the chaos like someone enjoying a theater performance.
\---
One of the hybrids grabbed Elena by the throat.
She fired her pistol directly into its eye.
The creature collapsed instantly.
“Okay!” she shouted. “Eyes work!”
That information spread instantly.
Everyone began aiming for the head.
But the hybrids were fast.
Too fast.
One slammed into Callum hard enough to send him crashing through a metal table.
Another tackled Echo against the wall.
She stabbed it twice through the skull before it stopped moving.
Aidan moved like lightning, firing precise shots that dropped enemies one by one.
But there were too many.
And they were getting closer.
I stepped forward.
Selene’s eyes brightened.
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Show them.”
\---
A hybrid charged straight at me.
I moved instinctively.
Faster than I ever had before.
The creature swung at my head.
I caught its arm.
And snapped it.
The sound echoed through the corridor.
The hybrid froze.
So did everyone else.
Because I had just broken its arm with one hand.
The creature tried to attack again.
But something inside me surged.
Energy.
Raw.
Wild.
I didn’t even understand what I was doing.
I pushed my hand forward—
And the hybrid flew backward like it had been hit by a truck.
It smashed through a metal door.
Everyone stared.
Including me.
Selene laughed softly.
“Oh Roxanne…”
Her voice carried through the chaos.
“You’re finally waking up.”
\---
Three hybrids rushed me at once.
This time I didn’t hesitate.
I moved.
Everything slowed.
Their movements felt predictable.
Clumsy.
I ducked the first attack.
Kicked the second hybrid hard enough to crack the concrete beneath it.
The third tried to grab me—
And I threw it across the hallway.
It slammed into two others.
The corridor fell silent for a moment.
The team stared at me.
Elena blinked.
“…Well.”
She cleared her throat.
“That’s new.”
But Selene wasn’t surprised.
She looked proud.
Like a scientist watching her experiment succeed.
“You see?” she said softly.
“They tried to hide you from the world.”
Her voice darkened.
“But greatness cannot be hidden forever.”
Aidan stepped between us.
“Shut up.”
Selene tilted her head.
“You really think you can protect her?”
Her eyes flicked toward me again.
“She is the future of evolution.”
My fists tightened.
“I’m not your weapon.”
Selene smiled.
“You already are.”
\---
Suddenly alarms began blaring throughout the facility.
Red lights flashed.
Ethan’s voice shouted from the back.
“Guys! I hacked the security system!”
“Good!” Elena yelled. “Turn off the hybrids!”
“That’s the bad news!” Ethan shouted back.
“What bad news?!” Callum asked.
“The facility is about to self-destruct!”
Everyone froze.
Selene didn’t.
She smiled wider.
“Of course it is.”
Aidan glared at her.
“You planned this.”
Selene nodded calmly.
“The Creed cannot allow this laboratory to fall into enemy hands.”
She gestured around us.
“So when you arrived…”
Her smile sharpened.
“The countdown began.”
My heart dropped.
“How long?”
Ethan looked at his screen.
“Ten minutes.”
Elena threw her hands up.
“Fantastic. Love that for us.”
Aidan turned to me.
“We get Dominic.”
I nodded immediately.
No hesitation.
Selene stepped aside slowly.
“Go ahead,” she said.
Her voice was almost playful.
“He’s waiting.”
Something about that tone made my skin crawl.
But there was no time to argue.
The facility trembled again.
Pieces of ceiling fell.
The countdown had started.
\---
We ran.
Down dark corridors.
Through broken laboratories.
Past old test chambers filled with shattered glass tanks.
The deeper we went, the worse the place looked.
Old blood stains on the floor.
Chains hanging from walls.
Medical equipment rusted with age.
This place had been a nightmare factory.
Finally Ethan pointed toward a reinforced door at the end of the hall.
“There!”
Aidan kicked the door open.
Inside—
A single chair sat under a hanging light.
Dominic was tied to it.
Exactly like the video.
Bruised.
Weak.
But alive.
His head lifted slowly.
His eyes met mine.
For a moment neither of us spoke.
Then he smiled faintly.
“Took you long enough.”
My throat tightened.
“Dominic…”
Aidan rushed forward and cut the restraints.
Dominic collapsed slightly but caught himself.
“Easy,” Aidan said, helping him stand.
The facility shook violently again.
Ethan shouted from the door.
“Five minutes!”
Dominic looked at all of us.
“You shouldn’t have come.”
Elena stared at him.
“Dude we literally buried you.”
Dominic winced.
“Yeah… sorry about that.”
Even now, Elena looked like she wanted to punch him.
But there wasn’t time.
Aidan turned toward the exit.
“Move!”
We started running back through the collapsing corridors.
But halfway down the hall—
Selene appeared again.
Standing calmly in our path.
Flames flickered behind her from broken machinery.
Her eyes locked onto Dominic.
“Ah,” she said softly.
“The prodigal wolf.”
Dominic’s expression hardened.
“You should have left me dead.”
Selene smiled faintly.
“Oh Dominic.”
Her gaze moved to me.
“You still don’t understand, do you?”
I stepped forward.
“Understand what?”
Selene’s smile turned almost… sad.
“Dominic was never your enemy.”
My stomach tightened.
Then she said the words that made everything stop.
“He was your handler.”
The corridor fell silent.
Dominic closed his eyes.
And that was answer enough.
The betrayal hit harder than any weapon.
Before I could speak—
The facility trembled violently.
The countdown reached its final minute.
Selene stepped backward into the shadows.
“We will finish this another day,” she said calmly.
Then she disappeared into the collapsing facility.
And we were left standing there—
With one minute to escape…
And a truth that had just shattered everything.