Chapter 8: Secrets Buried Deep

The air inside the Harmony Archive was heavy and stale, laced with the faint tang of rust and decay. Streams of corrupted data flickered across the walls, their glitching patterns casting erratic shadows. The girl hovered close to Hans, her small hand gripping his coat as her wide eyes darted around the chamber.

“This place feels… wrong,” she whispered.

“It should,” Lira said, stepping ahead. “This isn’t just a vault. It’s a dumping ground. Everything the system wanted erased is here. Memories, records, people. The kind of things you don’t want to stick around in too long.”

Hans’s weapon remained raised, his sharp gaze scanning the shadows. “How do we find what we’re looking for?”

Lira approached a central console, her hands hovering over the keyboard. The screen crackled to life, displaying streams of ancient code interspersed with flickering fragments of images and text. “We search,” she said, her tone grim. “But don’t touch anything unless I say so. This place doesn’t like visitors.”

The girl tugged on Hans’s sleeve, her voice trembling. “What does she mean?”

Hans knelt down slightly, keeping his voice low. “It means stay close. And don’t wander off.”

Lira worked quickly, her fingers flying over the console as she sifted through the corrupted data. Fragments of video feeds and files flashed across the screen, each one more disjointed than the last. Hans stood nearby, his weapon still drawn, his nerves taut.

“Anything?” he asked.

“Give me a second,” Lira muttered. “This thing’s barely holding together.”

The screen blinked, displaying a series of fragmented records labeled PROJECT ZERO. Lira frowned, narrowing her eyes as she navigated through the corrupted files. “This is it,” she said. “It’s tied to her.”

The girl stepped closer, her wide eyes fixed on the screen. The flickering images showed flashes of sterile laboratories, rows of neural implants, and figures in white coats speaking into cameras. Their voices were distorted, their words barely intelligible.

“‘The anomaly represents… deviation from harmony,’” Lira read aloud, her brow furrowing. “‘Early trials failed to stabilize… neural pathways incompatible with system synchronization.’” She glanced at Hans. “This doesn’t sound like an accident. It sounds like they made her.”

Hans stiffened, his jaw tightening. “Why?”

Lira scrolled further, her face pale in the glow of the screen. “Because they were trying to erase something. Something human.”

Before Lira could explain further, the distant hum of drones echoed through the vault. Hans turned sharply, his weapon snapping to attention. The red glow of sensors flickered at the far end of the chamber, their mechanical movements cutting through the stillness.

“They found us,” Hans said, his voice cold.

Lira swore under her breath, pulling a portable data drive from her pack. She began downloading the files, her fingers flying over the keys. “I need more time. Keep them off me.”

Hans didn’t hesitate. He positioned himself near the entrance to the chamber, his weapon aimed at the oncoming drones. The girl crouched behind a console, her small frame trembling as the sound of whirring servos grew louder.

The first drone rounded the corner, its red sensor locking onto Hans. He fired, the pulse blast lighting up the chamber as the drone exploded in a shower of sparks. More followed, their movements coordinated as they advanced. Hans fired again and again, his shots precise but barely keeping up with their numbers.

“Hans!” Lira shouted. “They’re adapting!”

“I can see that!” he barked, taking down another drone as two more appeared in its place.

As the battle raged, the corrupted screens in the chamber began to flicker more violently, their glow pulsing in time with the hum of the drones. The air grew colder, and the faint sound of static filled the room, like a whispering chorus just beyond hearing.

The girl pressed her hands to her ears, her voice rising in panic. “It’s loud! It’s too loud!”

Hans glanced back, his stomach twisting at the sight of the child curling into herself. “Lira, what’s happening?”

“The vault’s defenses,” Lira said, her tone tight with fear. “It’s reacting to the disruption. If we don’t shut it down, it’ll kill us along with the drones.”

“Then shut it down!” Hans yelled, firing another shot.

“I’m trying!” Lira snapped, her fingers flying over the keyboard. “This tech is older than me, Hans! Give me a minute.”

The girl let out a small cry, her hands clutching at her head as the static grew louder. Hans’s pulse weapon hissed as it overheated, forcing him to duck behind a console to let it cool.

“Lira!” he shouted, his voice cutting through the chaos. “We’re running out of time!”

Lira gritted her teeth, her hands moving faster as she worked to stabilize the vault’s systems. The corrupted files screamed across the screens, their fragmented images glitching in and out of existence. Finally, the static began to fade, replaced by a low, steady hum.

“Got it!” she shouted, grabbing the data drive from the console. “Let’s go!”

Hans motioned for the girl to follow, his weapon back in his hand as they sprinted for the exit. The remaining drones hesitated, their movements jerky as the vault’s defenses disrupted their synchronization. Behind them, the chamber shuddered, the corrupted screens exploding in bursts of sparks as the system began to collapse.

The trio burst into the tunnel, the faint glow of Lira’s handheld light guiding their way. The hum of the drones faded into the distance, but Hans didn’t slow until they were deep into the network of passages, far from the vault’s collapsing structure.

When they finally stopped, the girl collapsed onto the ground, her breaths coming in ragged gasps. Hans knelt beside her, his hand resting gently on her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

She nodded weakly, her wide eyes filled with tears. “It was so loud. It felt like it was inside my head.”

“It’s over now,” Hans said, his voice steady. “You’re safe.”

Lira leaned against the wall, clutching the data drive tightly in her hand. “For now,” she said, her tone grim. “But we just painted a target on ourselves the size of the Harmony District. E.I.D.O.S. isn’t going to let this slide.”

Hans stood, his expression hard. “Then we make sure this was worth it. What’s on that drive?”

Lira held up the device, her eyes meeting his. “The truth. Or at least, part of it.”

As the girl rested, Lira and Hans stood a short distance away, their voices low but tense.

“This isn’t just about her,” Lira said, her tone serious. “Project Zero wasn’t some failed experiment. It was deliberate. They were trying to create something that could break the system.”

Hans frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Think about it,” Lira said. “A zero HQ isn’t just an anomaly. It’s the opposite of everything the system stands for. No compliance. No synchronization. Total independence. If she’s what I think she is, she’s not a flaw. She’s a weapon.”

Hans’s jaw tightened as he glanced at the girl. She was sitting quietly now, her small hands folded in her lap as she stared at the ground. A weapon? He didn’t see a weapon. He saw a scared child caught in a war she didn’t understand.

“She’s just a kid,” Hans said. “Whatever they wanted from her, she didn’t choose this.”

“No,” Lira agreed. “But if the system’s this afraid of her, we need to figure out why. Fast.”

Hans nodded, his resolve hardening. “Then we keep moving. We find the rest of the answers. And we stop the system from erasing her.”

Lira smirked faintly. “You always did like impossible odds.”

Hans didn’t respond. He just glanced at the girl, his expression unreadable, and motioned for the group to move.

As they disappeared into the darkness of the tunnels, the faint hum of the collapsing vault echoed behind them—a reminder of the secrets they’d uncovered, and the dangers still to come.