The underground city fell into complete darkness.
The moment Mara switched off her flashlight, the faint glow from the distant machine eyes became the only light in the entire cavern.
Orange.
Cold.
Watching.
For several seconds, no one moved.
Even the air itself felt frozen.
Kael could hear his own heartbeat pounding loudly in his ears.
Then one of the lights shifted.
Slowly.
Another moved beside it.
More appeared between the abandoned buildings.
Five.
Seven.
Ten.
The glowing eyes spread across the ruined streets like silent hunters circling their prey.
Kael swallowed.
"…that's definitely more than enough."
Arin slowly lifted his rifle.
"Stay behind the vehicles."
Mara nodded and quietly slid behind an overturned cargo truck.
Kael followed, crouching beside the rusted metal frame.
The machines continued moving forward.
Now their shapes could be seen more clearly.
They were smaller than the Guardian they had fought earlier—but faster.
Much faster.
Each machine stood roughly the size of a large wolf. Their bodies were sleek and narrow, built with curved armor plates and flexible joints designed for speed rather than brute force.
Their legs bent backward like predators.
Their heads were triangular, with a single glowing eye in the center.
Mara whispered softly.
"Stalkers."
Kael frowned.
"I don't like the sound of that name."
"You shouldn't," she replied.
The machines spread across the street, surrounding the vehicles where the three humans hid.
Their movements were disturbingly silent.
No heavy footsteps.
No mechanical grinding.
Just smooth, controlled motion.
Machines designed for hunting.
One of the Stalkers climbed onto the roof of a nearby transport vehicle and looked down at them.
Its eye brightened.
It had seen them.
The machine shrieked.
The sound was sharp and metallic, echoing violently across the cavern.
The entire pack moved instantly.
"Move!" Arin shouted.
The first Stalker leaped from the rooftop.
Kael rolled aside just as the machine crashed into the ground where he had been standing.
Its claws tore deep gouges into the concrete.
Mara fired two quick shots.
The bullets struck the machine's side, knocking it sideways but not destroying it.
Another Stalker sprinted across the street and launched itself directly at Arin.
Arin ducked beneath the attack and slammed the butt of his rifle into the machine's head. Sparks exploded as the impact cracked its eye lens.
Kael thrust his spear forward.
The metal tip pierced one of the machine's leg joints.
The Stalker screeched violently as its limb collapsed.
But there were too many of them.
Three more rushed forward.
Mara climbed onto the cargo truck and fired down into the pack.
Her rifle echoed across the cavern as one of the Stalkers collapsed in a burst of sparks.
But the others adapted quickly.
Two machines sprinted along the sides of the buildings, climbing walls like mechanical insects.
"Above you!" Kael shouted.
Mara barely had time to react before one of the machines leaped from the wall toward her position.
Arin fired.
The shot struck the machine mid-air.
It spun sideways and crashed into the ground below.
But the remaining Stalkers were still advancing.
Kael felt panic rising.
"They're everywhere!"
Arin scanned the street quickly.
Then he saw something.
"Inside the building!"
He pointed toward a nearby structure.
The sign above the doorway read:
SECTOR COMMAND – CONTROL CENTER
"Go!" Arin shouted.
The three of them sprinted across the street.
The Stalkers chased them immediately.
Their claws scraped across the pavement as they ran with terrifying speed.
Kael burst through the doorway first.
The interior hallway was dark but intact.
Old computer terminals lined the walls.
Mara slammed the door shut behind them.
But the machines were already there.
The first Stalker smashed into the metal door with a loud clang.
The entire frame shook.
"Not good," Kael said.
The second impact came even harder.
The hinges began to bend.
Arin looked around the control room quickly.
Old monitors.
Dead servers.
Dust-covered equipment.
Then something caught his eye.
A large holographic table stood in the center of the room.
Kael frowned.
"What is that?"
Arin wiped dust from the surface.
The screen flickered weakly.
Then suddenly—
the entire table lit up.
A glowing map appeared in the air above it.
A massive underground network of tunnels stretched across the projection.
Mara's eyes widened.
"The tunnel system…"
Kael leaned closer.
The map showed dozens of underground cities connected by transport routes.
Some were marked as destroyed.
Others sealed.
Then one location began blinking.
A bright blue light pulsed at the far southern end of the map.
Arin stared at the name beneath it.
SANCTUARY – PRIMARY HUMAN REFUGE
Kael whispered slowly:
"…we found it."
Behind them—
the metal door exploded inward.
A Stalker burst through the broken frame.
Its glowing eye locked onto them instantly.
But Arin didn't look afraid.
Instead, he studied the map again.
Because something else had appeared.
Another signal.
Moving rapidly through the tunnel network.
Heading directly toward their position.
Mara noticed it too.
"That's not us…"
Arin's voice became cold.
"No."
Kael looked between them.
"Then who is it?"
The signal moved closer.
Fast.
Very fast.
Arin finally understood.
"ORION knows we're here."
And something much larger than the Stalkers was already on its way.