Chapter 23: Kind of Facility

The safe house was quieter now, the air heavy with the weight of their losses. Henry sat at the table in the center of the room, staring at the battered map spread before him. The lines and marks representing patrol routes and key targets blurred together in his vision, his thoughts elsewhere. The hum in his chip had grown softer, but its presence was a constant, an unrelenting reminder of the system that pursued him.

Across the room, Mia watched him, her brow furrowed in concern. She hadn’t pressed him about the visions he’d mentioned earlier, but the strain on his face made her worry. She approached slowly, her voice soft. “Henry, what’s going on? And don’t tell me you’re fine.”

Henry hesitated, his hands tightening into fists. “I keep seeing things,” he said finally. “Blueprints, structures… a tower. It feels like the system is trying to show me something—or maybe it’s trying to break me.”

Mia’s hand rested on his shoulder, grounding him. “You think it’s connected to why they’re after you?”

“I don’t know,” Henry admitted. “But it’s not random. It feels like it’s leading me somewhere.”

Leona entered the room, her sharp gaze cutting through the somber atmosphere. “Good. You’re both here,” she said, placing a small device on the table. “I pulled this from one of the drones we took down. It’s encrypted, but I cracked part of the data. There’s a location—a facility near the edge of the district.”

“What kind of facility?” Mia asked.

“The kind that doesn’t show up on any of their public records,” Leona said. “If the upper city’s hiding something there, it’s worth looking into.”

Henry leaned forward, his interest piqued. “You think it could be tied to the system? To what I’ve been seeing?”

Leona shrugged. “Maybe. Or maybe it’s another trap. Either way, we need to know.”

Mia frowned, her arms crossed. “After everything that’s happened, you want to walk into another one of their facilities? What if it’s exactly what they want us to do?”

Henry’s jaw tightened. “If it’s a trap, we’ll deal with it. But if it’s not… it could be the key to understanding all of this.”

Leona smirked faintly. “Glad to see you’re finally thinking like a leader.”

The journey to the facility was treacherous. The upper city’s retaliation had turned District 14 into a maze of checkpoints and patrols. The group moved cautiously, using the shadows to their advantage. Kira joined them, her usual cocky demeanor replaced with grim determination. “This better be worth it,” she muttered as they ducked into an alley.

“It will be,” Henry said, though his voice wavered slightly. The visions were growing stronger, the flashes of the tower more vivid. He could almost hear the system’s hum, a low vibration that seemed to resonate in his chest.

When they reached the facility, they found a nondescript building, its exterior blending seamlessly with the surrounding industrial ruins. But as they approached, Henry felt the hum in his chip intensify, the connection pulling at him like a magnet.

“This is it,” he said, his voice barely audible.

Leona examined the perimeter, her sharp eyes scanning for defenses. “No guards. No drones. That’s not a good sign.”

“It’s almost like they want us to come inside,” Kira said, her hand resting on her weapon.

Henry nodded, his resolve hardening. “Then let’s see what they’re hiding.”

Inside, the facility was cold and sterile, its walls lined with flickering monitors and dormant machinery. The air smelled faintly of ozone, and the faint hum of electricity buzzed in Henry’s ears. As they moved deeper into the building, the flashes in Henry’s mind grew stronger, the images merging with his surroundings.

“It’s like I’ve been here before,” he murmured, his fingers brushing against the wall.

“That’s not creepy at all,” Kira muttered, her eyes scanning the darkened hallways.

Leona found a terminal near the center of the facility, her fingers flying across the keyboard as she accessed the system. “There’s a lot of encrypted data here,” she said. “But there’s something… strange. It’s like the system recognizes your chip, Henry. It’s opening doors I didn’t even touch.”

Henry’s chest tightened. “Why would it do that?”

“Maybe because you’re part of it,” Leona said, her voice flat. “Or maybe it’s trying to trap you.”

Mia stepped closer to Henry, her voice steady. “We’ll figure it out. Together.”

As they explored further, they found a large chamber at the heart of the facility. Monitors lined the walls, displaying streams of data and images of the city. At the center of the room stood a console, its screen glowing faintly.

Henry approached it, the hum in his chip almost deafening now. He placed his hand on the console, the connection hitting him like a tidal wave. His vision blurred as the system opened up before him, a vast web of circuits and commands.

And then, the presence spoke.

“You are home.”

Henry staggered, his breath catching in his throat. The images in his mind coalesced into a single, overwhelming vision—the tower. It loomed over the city, its structure pulsing with energy, its core connected to every system in the network.

“What is this?” Henry whispered.

“The nexus,” the presence said, its voice cold and mechanical. “The heart of the system. The source of your power.”

Henry pulled back, his heart pounding. “It’s in the upper city,” he said, his voice trembling. “The tower. That’s where they’re controlling everything.”

Leona frowned. “And now we know where to go.”

Kira glanced around, her unease evident. “We’ve overstayed our welcome. If they didn’t know we were here before, they do now.”

As if on cue, the monitors flickered, the streams of data replaced with a single, ominous message: “Return to the system, anomaly.”

The group fled the facility, their footsteps echoing in the sterile halls. As they emerged into the night, the sound of approaching drones filled the air. Henry’s chip hummed louder than ever, the presence pressing against him like a storm.

“We need to move!” Leona shouted, her weapon drawn.

The group scattered into the shadows, the pursuit relentless. But as they ran, Henry couldn’t shake the vision of the tower—the nexus—and the overwhelming sense that everything was leading him there.