Zeph was bored out of his mind. Being a hyper-intelligent mix of man and machine, he found his existence surprisingly mundane when there was nothing to engage his mind.
"Boredom is a waste of processing power," the AI voice inside his head suggested, "Why not do some push-ups? Or study advanced calculus?"
"I'd rather eat dirt," Zeph grumbled under his breath, flicking a pebble against the tunnel wall.
Just then, Kaelen reappeared, stepping back into the light. He seemed... different. He wasn't taller, but he was definitely heavier. His boots landed with a thud that resonated in Zeph's chest.
"Took your time," Zeph remarked, propping himself up, "Did you find any rats to befriend?"
Kaelen didn't respond with his usual smirk. He didn't even glance at Zeph. He simply walked past him, declaring, "We need to move. Now."
"Who died and made you king?" Zeph retorted, trying to lighten the mood, but a sense of unease was creeping over him.
"Alert," the AI voice whispered in his head, "Scanning Subject: Kaelen Thorne… Error. Scan failed."
Zeph stiffened. "What do you mean, failed?"
"Data corruption. Subject reads as… empty. Like a black hole. I cannot calculate his vitals."
"Kae?" Zeph's voice wavered, his humor fading. "Are you okay?"
Kaelen turned to face him. His eyes were a shade darker than usual. "I'm fine. Better than fine. I'm solid."
Suddenly, the ceiling vent overhead exploded. Metal shards rained down and a gigantic, four-legged machine landed in the tunnel. It resembled a grotesque, headless dog made of gunmetal and red lights.
"Hunter Drone!" Zeph shouted in alarm.
"Threat Level: Critical," the AI voice blared, "Armor piercing rounds detected. Evasive maneuvers plotted."
The machine's turret spun, locking a red laser dot onto Zeph's chest.
"Run," the AI ordered.
Zeph's legs tensed to sprint. He yanked at Kaelen's jacket. "Kae! Move!"
But Kaelen didn't budge. He stood there, immovable as a statue.
"Kaelen!" Zeph screamed just as the machine's gun barrel whirred to life.
"Get behind me," Kaelen commanded calmly.
"Are you out of your mind? It'll shred you!"
The machine opened fire. A hailstorm of bullets ripped through the air towards them.
Zeph flinched, bracing for the blood, for Kaelen to drop to the ground.
But the bullets never hit.
They stopped mid-air.
Right in front of Kaelen, the air shimmered like black water. The bullets hit an invisible barrier and… disappeared. They didn't ricochet. They just vanished.
The machine ceased firing, seemingly baffled. It whirred, recalibrating.
Slowly, Kaelen raised his hand towards the machine.
"Crush," he whispered, closing his fist.
A screeching sound filled the tunnel.
The air around the machine distorted, as if an enormous invisible hand was squeezing it.
The machine's metal legs gave way. Its armor groaned and crumpled inward. Sparks flew as the machine compacted into a ball of scrap metal.
It didn't even have time to explode. It was just… imploded.
Kaelen lowered his hand. The crumpled ball of metal fell to the ground with a heavy clang.
Silence.
Zeph stared at the wreckage, then back at Kaelen.
"Analysis: Impossible," the AI voice sounded almost terrified. "Violation of physical laws detected. Gravity manipulation? No. Reality distortion."
"Kae," Zeph stammered, "What… what just happened?"
Kaelen looked at his own hand, flexing his fingers as if seeing them for the first time. The shadows seemed to cling to them.
"I don't know," Kaelen admitted softly. He looked up at Zeph. There was no fear in his eyes, only a cold, hard satisfaction. "But it worked."
Zeph took a step back. The AI was screaming warnings in his head. Danger. Anomaly. Unstable.
"We're even," Kaelen declared, picking up his bag. "You have your brain. I have my… strength."
He strode past the crushed machine without a second look.
"Coming?" Kaelen called back.
Zeph swallowed hard. "Yeah. Coming."
He followed his best friend into the dark. But for the first time, Zeph wasn't looking at Kaelen's back. He was looking at the shadows stretching out from Kaelen's feet. They were long. Too long. And they were reaching for Zeph.