Chapter 127

Chapter 127

The forest erupted into war.

Gunfire shattered the night.

Bullets tore through trees.

Branches exploded into splinters.

Children scattered in every direction, screaming as the battle consumed the clearing.

For one terrifying second, Damon thought the Guardians would fire directly into the crowd of children.

Then he realized something worse.

They didn't care if they did.

The realization hit like a punch to the chest.

The children weren't people to them.

They were assets.

Numbers.

Tools.

Replaceable.

Just like Damon and Luca had once been.

Just like every child the Program had ever touched.

"Get the kids out of here!" Damon shouted.

His voice barely carried over the chaos.

Nova heard him anyway.

Of course she did.

"On it!"

She immediately changed direction.

Instead of attacking the Guardians, she sprinted toward the children.

Seraphine followed.

Mira right behind them.

The three women moved through the battlefield, pulling terrified children toward safety while bullets flew around them.

The Guardians didn't even try to stop them.

Every weapon remained focused on one target.

Damon.

The lead Guardian stepped forward.

The black visor of his mask reflected the fires burning behind the crashed aircraft.

"Primary objective identified."

His distorted voice echoed across the clearing.

"Capture Damon alive."

The words sent a chill through everyone.

Because there was no emotion behind them.

No hatred.

No anger.

No excitement.

Nothing.

Like a machine reciting instructions.

Like something that had forgotten how to be human.

Then the Guardian pointed toward Luca.

"Secondary target identified."

Silence.

The leader's voice remained calm.

Cold.

Dead.

"Terminate Luca Moretti."

Everything stopped.

Not physically.

The battle continued around them.

Bullets flew.

People shouted.

Trees splintered.

Yet for Damon

Everything stopped.

Terminate Luca.

The words echoed through his head.

Again.

And again.

And again.

Then something inside him snapped.

The lead Guardian never saw him move.

One second Damon was twenty feet away.

The next

He was directly in front of him.

A punch slammed into the armored soldier's helmet.

The force sent the Guardian flying backward.

Actually flying.

His body crashed through a tree.

The trunk shattered.

Wood exploded everywhere.

The clearing fell silent.

Just for a second.

Because nobody expected that.

Least of all the Guardians.

The leader slowly rose from the debris.

Helmet cracked.

Armor damaged.

Yet somehow

Still standing.

Damon hated that.

The Guardian touched the damaged helmet.

Then looked at his fingers.

Almost curiously.

Like he was examining an interesting scientific result.

Then he spoke.

"Strength confirmed."

The words made Damon want to hit him again.

Very hard.

Meanwhile

Luca had his own problems.

Three Guardians moved toward him simultaneously.

Not rushing.

Not charging.

Advancing.

Methodically.

Like hunters approaching wounded prey.

Big mistake.

A very big mistake.

The first Guardian swung.

Luca caught the man's wrist.

Twisted.

A loud crack echoed through the clearing.

The Guardian's arm bent the wrong way.

The second soldier attacked immediately.

Luca sidestepped.

Grabbed the man's shoulder.

Used his momentum against him.

And slammed him headfirst into a tree.

The impact sounded painful.

Extremely painful.

The third Guardian hesitated.

Just for a second.

Just long enough.

Luca drove an elbow into his throat.

The armored soldier collapsed instantly.

Three Guardians.

Less than ten seconds.

Done.

Yet Luca wasn't smiling.

Wasn't relieved.

Because something felt wrong.

Very wrong.

The Guardians weren't reacting normally.

Most soldiers would've fallen back.

Regrouped.

Adjusted strategy.

The Guardians simply kept advancing.

Like nothing had happened.

Like losing people didn't matter.

Like pain didn't matter.

Like death didn't matter.

The realization unsettled him.

Then Isabella appeared beside him.

Breathing hard.

Eyes wide.

"Luca."

He immediately turned.

"What?"

Her face had gone pale.

Very pale.

"The masks."

Silence.

Luca frowned.

"What about them?"

For a moment she couldn't answer.

Then finally

"They never used masks before."

The words hit him instantly.

Because he understood.

The Program always showed faces.

Always.

Fear worked better when victims knew who was hurting them.

Masks served only one purpose.

To hide identity.

The realization made his stomach drop.

Slowly.

Terribly.

"No."

Isabella nodded.

Tears filling her eyes.

"No."

Luca's voice barely worked.

Because suddenly

He knew.

The Guardian closest to them raised his weapon.

Luca moved before the man could fire.

His knife flashed.

The mask shattered.

The soldier stumbled backward.

And everyone froze.

A boy.

The Guardian was a boy.

Seventeen.

Maybe eighteen.

Not much older than the others.

The boy stared at them blankly.

Eyes empty.

Expression hollow.

Like his soul had been carved out and replaced with commands.

Isabella looked away immediately.

A broken sound escaping her throat.

Because she recognized him.

Not his name.

Not exactly.

But his face.

She remembered him from the facility.

Years ago.

A child.

Just a child.

Now transformed into this.

The boy lifted his weapon again.

Without hesitation.

Without thought.

Like a machine following instructions.

Luca couldn't move.

For the first time since arriving on the island

He couldn't move.

Because suddenly he wasn't fighting soldiers.

He was fighting children.

Again.

Always children.

The Program never changed.

It simply found new victims.

A gunshot echoed through the clearing.

The weapon fell from the boy's hand.

Nova stood several yards away.

Her bullet had struck the rifle.

Not the child.

The precision was ridiculous.

The timing even more so.

"Stop staring and move!"

She sounded furious.

Terrified.

Both.

Luca blinked.

Then nodded.

Because she was right.

There would be time to grieve later.

Hopefully.

If they survived.

Across the battlefield, Damon fought two Guardians simultaneously.

And wasn't enjoying himself.

The problem wasn't skill.

The problem wasn't strength.

The problem was restraint.

Every Guardian seemed determined to die.

Which made defeating them without killing them significantly more difficult.

One Guardian lunged.

Damon sidestepped.

Grabbed the man's arm.

And used his momentum to throw him into another soldier.

Both crashed to the ground.

A third Guardian appeared immediately.

Then a fourth.

Then a fifth.

Wonderful.

Absolutely wonderful.

The lead Guardian watched the exchange carefully.

Observing.

Learning.

Analyzing.

Like a scientist.

Like Vale.

Exactly like Vale.

Then he touched the side of his helmet.

"Subject confirmed."

Silence.

The distorted voice echoed across the battlefield.

"Ascension compatibility: one hundred percent."

Damon froze.

"What?"

The Guardian looked directly at him.

Then repeated:

"One hundred percent."

The words meant nothing.

Yet somehow

They terrified him.

Because the Guardian sounded pleased.

Very pleased.

Before Damon could ask another question

A loud explosion echoed from deeper inside the forest.

Everyone turned.

Instinctively.

Smoke rose above the trees.

Thick black smoke.

The sight immediately changed Isabella's expression.

Fear.

Pure fear.

"No."

Damon looked at her.

"What is it?"

Her voice trembled.

"The nursery."

Silence.

The words landed heavily.

Dangerously.

"The youngest children are there."

The realization hit everyone at once.

Children.

The youngest children.

Directly in the direction of the explosion.

Then another blast echoed through the night.

Closer this time.

The ground actually shook.

The lead Guardian lowered his weapon.

Then spoke calmly.

Almost casually.

"The purification has begun."

The world seemed to stop.

Purification.

Nobody liked that word.

Nobody.

Damon's stomach dropped.

Because he knew exactly what it meant.

Not rescue.

Not evacuation.

Not protection.

Destruction.

The Guardian confirmed it a second later.

"Children deemed incompatible with Ascension are being removed."

Silence.

Then absolute silence.

Because everyone understood.

Removed.

Killed.

The Guardian was talking about killing children.

Like discussing inventory.

Like discussing numbers on a spreadsheet.

Damon felt something cold settle inside him.

Something dangerous.

Something furious.

The countdown flashed across a surviving screen attached to one of the Guardian's arms.

01:31:58

Less than ninety minutes.

Less than ninety minutes before Ascension.

Less than ninety minutes before hundreds of children died.

Then Damon made a decision.

A simple one.

A terrifying one.

He looked at Luca.

Then Isabella.

Then the others.

And said the words that would change everything.

"We split up."

The group immediately understood.

Because there wasn't enough time anymore.

Not for caution.

Not for careful planning.

Not for anything.

The final battle for the island had officially begun.

And somewhere inside the towering fortress at the island's center

A prisoner listened to distant explosions.

Then slowly smiled.

Because after twenty years

Damon Moretti had finally come home.