Winter’s boots barely made a sound as he walked down the dimly lit corridors of the base, but his mind was a storm. The conversation with Marcus and the rest was still fresh, their words ringing in Winter’s ears like a warning bell.
Human experintation. The base not being safe for ability users. Sothing on the loose that even the soldiers were worried about...
What the fuck was running loose in the base?
He exhaled sharply, forcing himself to focus. If he let his emotions take over, he’d make mistakes. And mistakes got people killed. The hallways stretched ahead, tallic walls humming faintly with the vibrations of distant machinery. The air slled of oil, sweat, and sothing stale—like secrets rotting in the dark.
As he approached Bale’s hideout, he double-checked his surroundings. The storage room was tucked away in an abandoned section of the barracks, away from prying eyes. He rapped his knuckles against the steel door—three short taps, a pause, then two more.
The door creaked open just a sliver before Bale pulled him inside and shut it quickly behind him.
The small room was a ss. Wires snaked across the floor, leading to multiple monitors that flickered with endless streams of encrypted data. Papers were scattered over the only desk, so with hastily scribbled notes, others with redacted reports that Bale had been desperately trying to piece together. The glow from the screens cast deep shadows on Bale’s face, emphasizing the exhaustion in his eyes.
"You look like shit," Winter muttered.
Bale huffed, rubbing a hand over his stubbled jaw. "Yeah, well, decrypting governnt-level encryption on a tir will do that to you." He gestured to the screen. "But I got sothing."
Winter leaned in. "Tell ."
Bale’s fingers tapped against the keyboard, pulling up a file filled with redacted paragraphs and ominous code nas.
"They were running experints," Bale said, voice tight. "On people with... abilities." He paused, looking up at Winter with sothing that resembled regret. "I had no fucking idea, Winter. This was happening right under my nose, and I didn’t know."
Winter studied him carefully. Bale was part of the top brass. He was supposed to be in the know. If he hadn’t been looped in, that ant soone high up had kept this buried deep.
"How long has this been going on?" Winter asked.
Bale shook his head. "Don’t know. But here’s the worst part—" He pulled up another decrypted section. "This isn’t just so passive study. They had a contingency plan in place."
Winter frowned. "What kind of contingency?"
"The kind where, if these ’subjects’ got out of control, they had thods to control them. Conditioning. Drugs. Other things I haven’t cracked yet."
A bitter taste settled in Winter’s mouth. This was worse than he expected.
Bale continued, eyes dark. "And then there’s this—’Subject 17.’ Whoever the hell that is, they escaped recently. They could still be in the base."
Winter clenched his jaw. "So that’s what the patrols are for."
Bale nodded. "They’re trying to contain this before it gets out. And if the higher-ups are scrambling like this, it ans Subject 17 is dangerous."
Winter exhaled through his nose, his mind already making connections. He hadn’t seen anything out of the ordinary yet, but the fact that Adrian Locke had co to him, of all people, ant he was already on their radar.
"I need to tell you sothing," Winter said.
Bale raised an eyebrow. "That’s never a good sign."
Winter crossed his arms. "Adrian Locke approached . He wanted to join him. Said my ability would be useful."
Bale went rigid. "...Are you fucking kidding ?"
"Wish I was."
Bale ran a hand through his hair, muttering a curse. "Adrian is one of us. He’s in the sa damn etings I am. If he’s involved, that ans this goes even higher than I thought."
"You think the General knows?"
Bale’s lips pressed into a thin line. "I don’t know what the General knows anymore." He looked back at the screen, rubbing at his temple. "I need more ti to break the rest of this encryption. But you—keep your head down. Keep investigating. We need more pieces before we can do anything about this."
Winter nodded. "Understood."
Bale sighed, rubbing his face again. "Get out of here before soone starts wondering why you’re sneaking around the barracks."
Winter gave him one last nod before slipping out.
*****
As soon as Winter stepped into the hallway, sothing was off.
The air was heavier. Tighter.
Then he saw them—four soldiers, walking in formation, scanning the area like bloodhounds.
They weren’t on routine patrol.
Winter kept his pace even, forcing himself to blend in. He was just another soldier walking through the base. No reason to stop him. No reason to question him.
Then—
"You there."
Shit.
Winter turned, his expression carefully neutral. The soldier who had spoken was tall, built like a wall, and his eyes were sharp.
"Haven’t seen you around this part of the base before."
Winter tilted his head, feigning mild annoyance. "I was looking for supplies. Didn’t realize wandering around was a cri."
The soldier narrowed his eyes. "Depends on what you’re looking for."
The tension crackled in the air. Winter could feel the weight of their suspicion pressing down on him.
They were looking for soone.
They were looking for Subject 17.
If they decided he was suspicious, they’d drag him in for questioning.
Then—
"Winter!"
A slurred, obnoxious voice broke through the air.
Winter turned just as Richard stumbled around the corner, grinning like a drunk idiot.
"There you are, man! We’re waitin’ for ya! Don’t tell you were sneakin’ off without us?"
Winter barely missed a beat, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I’m coming."
The soldier gave Richard a once-over, then scoffed. "Get out of here."
Winter and Richard walked off, their pace steady but quick.
When they were out of earshot, Winter muttered, "You’re a terrible actor."
Richard smirked. "Saved your ass, though."
Winter forced his breathing to stay even as they walked, the tension from the encounter still tight in his chest. The patrols were getting more aggressive. That ant sothing had changed. The higher-ups were getting desperate.
Richard—forrly playing the part of a drunk idiot—was walking beside him now, his gait steady, sharp eyes scanning the dimly lit path ahead.
Winter had known Richard well enough to recognize that restless energy in his movents. He was wound up, not just from the run-in with the soldier but from sothing else.
Winter kept his voice low. "Where were you going when you bumped into ?"
Richard glanced at him, his smirk fading into sothing more serious. "Barracks. I was heading back when I saw you getting stopped."
Winter frowned. "You ca to find ?"
Richard gave a small nod. "Yeah. I wanted to talk to you. But then I saw the way that guy was looking at you—knew sothing was up. I figured I had to step in before things went sideways."
Winter exhaled sharply, his mind racing. "And what exactly did you want to talk to about?"
Richard hesitated, his jaw clenching for a second before he spoke. "I found out so crazy shit while I was out in the main base today."
Winter tensed. His pulse, already running high, kicked up another notch. "What the hell were you doing in the main base?"
They kept walking, their pace relaxed, blending in with the few other civilians passing by. It was the only way to keep from drawing attention.
Richard shoved his hands into his pockets, keeping his tone casual despite the gravity of his words. "Recon. While your team was sent back for whatever reason, ours was sent out." He exhaled, glancing around before continuing. "Security’s doubled at the outer periter. More high-clearance personnel are walking around—people I’ve never seen before. Sothing big is happening, and they’re scrambling to contain it."
Winter clenched his jaw. "And you just decided to wander in and take a look?"
Richard smirked, but there was no real amusent in it. "Figured it was worth the risk. Turns out I was right."
Winter’s mind was already piecing together the implications. If security was tightening, it ant they were afraid of sothing—or soone. Subject 17. He had been kept in the dark before, but now, piece by piece, the truth was clawing its way out.
"What exactly did you find out?" Winter asked.
Richard’s expression darkened. "I overheard so officers talking near the command centre. They ntioned an operation—so classified shit. They’re moving people to the other bases, Winter. And not just the usual transfers. This is different." He hesitated before adding, "They’re relocating test subjects."
Winter nearly stopped in his tracks but forced himself to keep moving. His pulse thundered in his ears.
*****
By the ti Winter made it back to the room where Zara and Leo were staying, his mind was still running circles around everything he had learned.
Zara was already watching him when he entered, arms crossed, eyes sharp. She knew sothing was wrong. She always did.
But she didn’t press—yet.
Instead, the mont was interrupted by a small giggle.
Leo.
The little boy toddled over to him, tiny hands grabbing onto his leg, beaming up at him as if the world wasn’t a fucking disaster.
Winter felt sothing in his chest loosen.
Kneeling down, he ruffled Leo’s hair. "Hey, kid."
Leo giggled again, throwing his arms around Winter’s neck in an excited hug.
Winter hesitated—then wrapped his arms around the boy, grounding himself in that warmth.
For a mont, just a mont, he let himself breathe.
But his mind never stopped.
Because out there, in the dark corners of this base—sothing dangerous was waiting.
And Winter wasn’t sure how much longer they had before it found them first.
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