Chapter 96 Phase Two

Chapter 96 Phase Two
Marcus

The giant machine stood in the centre of the broken stage, its single violet eye boring straight into my soul. Dust and splinters were still floating in the air where it had thrown Mason. Behind the thick velvet curtains, everything was completely silent. No groans. No movement. Mason was gone.

My heart pounded against my ribs. I scrambled backwards on my hands and knees, my skin scraping against the rough wood.

"What are you?" I choked out.

This thing wasn't Julian. It was larger, the metal plates on its chest thicker and stained a dark, oily gray. It looked like a ghost built from old battlefield scrap. But the violet light in its eye was the exact same shade as my brother's.

"Extraction protocol active", the machine repeated. Its voice didn't have the glitchy, human edge that Julian’s had. It sounded cold. Perfect. " Target: Marcus Thorne. Status: Key unlocked."

"Marcus, get away from it!" Jax yelled. He was already running across the stage, his hands searching the floor until he found Mason’s dropped rifle. He brought the weapon up to his shoulder, aiming straight at the robot's head. "I don't care who built you; step back!"

The machine didn't even turn to face him. A small, circular hatch on its left shoulder clicked open. A tiny, silver cylinder shot out with a soft pfft.

Jax didn't even have time to blink. The cylinder exploded mid-air, releasing a thick, glittering cloud of purple dust. The moment the dust touched Jax’s skin, his eyes rolled back. His knees buckled, and he dropped the rifle, crashing hard onto the stage floorboards.

"Jax!" Sarah screamed from the aisle. She sprinted up the stairs, but the machine finally moved. It whipped its heavy arm around, the back of its steel hand catching Sarah right in the chest.

The impact sounded like a wet sack hitting a wall. Sarah flew backward off the stage, crashing down into the front row of velvet seats with a sharp cry of pain.

"Stop it! Leave them alone!" I shrieked.

I forced myself up, my legs shaking violently. The anger inside me exploded, a hot, liquid fire that washed away the exhaustion in my muscles. This thing had just hurt the only family I had left. I didn't care about the codes. I didn't care that my power was gone. I lunged at the machine, my fists swinging wildly.

I slammed my hands into its chest plate. It felt like hitting a solid mountain of concrete. My knuckles cracked, shooting a blinding wave of pain up my arms, but I didn't stop. I kept hitting it, tears of pure rage burning my eyes.

"You killed my brother! "You ruined everything!" I screamed, my voice breaking in the empty hall. "I'll tear you apart!"

The machine let out a low, mechanical hum. It didn't strike me. It just reached out with its massive, heavy fingers and clamped them around my forearms, freezing me in place with an unbreakable grip.

Sarah

My ribs felt like they were on fire. Every breath I took felt like breathing in broken glass. I crawled out from the smashed velvet seats, my vision swimming in a sea of gray and black.

"Marcus..." I wheezed, my hand reaching out toward the stage.

Through the haze, I saw Lily running toward me, her small face completely soaked with tears. "Sarah! Get up, please get up!"

On the stage, the giant gray robot was lifting Marcus off his feet. Marcus was fighting with everything he had, kicking his legs against the machine's steel torso, but it didn't do a single thing. The robot turned toward the back of the stage, ignoring the director who was still groaning in the dark corner.

"Jax, wake up!" I shouted, my voice barely a whisper.

Jax was totally out, his breathing heavy as the purple dust sparkled on his jacket. We were broken. We were beaten. The revenge we had crawled through hell to get was slipping right through our fingers, and now they were taking the boy who started it all.

Marcus

The machine dragged me toward the massive hole in the back wall. The cool night air rushed over my neck, but I couldn't even appreciate it. My mind was racing, trapped in a dark pit of fear.

Who sent this thing? I thought. Vance is dead. Mason is gone. The director is broken. Who is left?

The robot stopped right at the edge of the brick debris. It held me out over the alleyway below, where a sleek, black transport ship was hovering silently without any lights. The side door of the ship slid open, revealing a small, lit cabin.

The machine’s violet eye flared brightly, and a small speaker on its neck clicked. The cold, mechanical voice disappeared. A new voice came through the static.

It was a woman’s voice. It sounded older, sharp, and dripping with an authority that made my blood run completely cold.

"Bring him inside, Unit Seven," the woman said from the speaker. "The third phase of the network is already live in the northern sectors. We don't need his consent anymore. We just need his brain."

"Who are you?" I screamed into the dark cabin of the ship. "Show yourself!"

A figure stepped into the light of the ship's doorway. She was dressed in a dark red military coat, her silver hair pulled back tightly. Her face looked exactly like the director's, but she didn't have the scar.

"The woman you fought in the city was just my shadow, Marcus," the woman said, looking up at me with a sickeningly sweet smile. "I am General Vance’s commander. And your father’s true creator."

Before I could even scream, the robot dropped me straight through the open hatch of the ship, and the steel doors slammed shut, locking me in total darkness.

The director was just a puppet for a much larger enemy! Locked in the dark ship with his father's true master, how will Marcus save his friends from the final phase?