Emergency Reroute

Haruto unfolded the crumpled slip Kurosawa had slipped into his pocket before parting ways. The paper was faintly damp, stained with sweat, and the ink was smudged in places.

“Emergency Alert triggers alternate reroute access.

Sector 4 – Control Hub. Follow the vents.

Password is ZF-Aux03.”

No help from Kurosawa. None from Kusaragi (the second interrogator). He was alone now.

The door to the Experimental Wing loomed in front of him, sealed like the vault of a tomb. A sleek ID scanner next to a mechanical keyhole. Neither yielded. The stolen’ nurse’s ID wasn’t enough. No override panel. No hidden slot. Just a flat, merciless wall.

He gritted his teeth and turned. Sector 4. Emergency reroute. The path was vague and dangerous. But it was the only one left.

He moved quickly, silent as a breath. He made his way out and found an unused vent near the infirmary. The grate groaned with rusted reluctance. Haruto wedged it open and crawled inside. The vent’s edges clawed at his sleeves.

Dust rose in stagnant clouds. The air was warm, stale, tinged with copper and oil.

Sanctuary Seven had secrets buried in its bones.

As he crawled deeper, sweat trickled down his temple. Pipes vibrated beneath him as he pushed forward.

Then, he heard voices.

“…Naomi’s not happy. Subject R’s vitals keep fluctuating.”

“Still breathing?”

“Barely. They say it’s not stable. He might collapse before they even start the phase.”

“You think Yukawa’s really coming back?”

Haruto froze as his muscles tightened.

He inched forward, desperate to hear more. The guards were right beneath him now. He shifted –

Clink.

One of the men looked up sharply.

“Did you hear that?”

Haruto’s heart jammed into his ribs.

A flashlight beam flicked on. A grate below hissed open.

“Probably just another rat,” the second guard muttered.

“Rats don’t make that kind of noise.”

Footsteps moved forward. A pause. Then a sharp inhale.

Haruto had already slipped further down the vent. A minute passed. Then two.

“They’re always making a fuss about the damn ducts. Nothing’s ever in there.”

The grate clicked shut and the guards walked off.

Haruto allowed himself a silent breath.

Sector 4… come on…

He kept crawling. The shift narrowed. Pipes snaked past him like veins. He reached a junction and followed the rightmost path, which sloped downward at a subtle angle.

Finally, the shaft spilled into a narrow crawlspace above a humming room. He peered through a slatted grate.

Two guards, armed and armored. Fluorescent lights flickered overhead.

This was it.

The Emergency Control Hub. Sector 4.

Haruto quietly lifted the grate and dropped into the room behind a supply rack. Timing was everything. He waited… listened… then moved like liquid through the blind spots.

A quick strike and one guard went down with a gurgled grunt.

The second turned and raised his voice. But it was too late.

Haruto’s elbow crushed into his windpipe. The body slumped over the terminal.

He dragged them out of sight before sliding into the seat. The console flickered alive with dozens of protocols. Lockdown zones. Bio-readings. Surveillance feeds. Most of it was encrypted.

The control terminal blinked to life. A maze of code and admin trees.

“ENTER ACCESS STRING: “

Haruto typed in the password Kurosawa had mentioned in the slip.

It worked.

Lines of emergency procedure opened in a cascade. Haruto scanned for the right sequence.

“EMERGENCY LOCKDOWN – MANUAL REROUTE PROTOCOL

Only to be used when Sector 3 or 4’s bridges have been compromised.”

He started digging.

First, the failsafe. They guarded against false alerts, unless overridden by an admin, or unless a real threat was registered.

Haruto tried toggling them off. But was blocked.

The console prompted:

“Failsafe Lock Engaged: Awaiting sensor data from Sensor C-12, C-13, C-17…”

That was it. Unless one of the zone’s emergency sensors had registered a contamination breach or damage, the system wouldn’t do anything.

He scanned the map. Sensor C-13 was just two halls over, attached to a power conduit above a junction tunnel. Still active.

But before getting out there, he disabled the warning alert to ensure no sound would be made as he delt with the sensor.

He slid back into the shadows and made his way there.

The hallway was empty. The sensor panel blinked green above a junction box; its casing labeled: C-13.

The sensor’s casing was shielded. A direct strike wouldn’t do it. But if he could short the power source –

He jammed the rod between the casing and the conduit plate.

Sparks burst. The smell of scorched plastic filled the air. The light turned yellow, then flickered red.

He made his way back to the console where the failsafe toggle had lit up. He flipped it. Done

Second, he queued the reroute and authorized it using the guard’s ID.

There it was – a hidden routine Kurosawa had flagged. He used it to reclassify the Emergency Wing as an Evacuation Zone. Regular routes were sealed while emergency detours were opened.

The system processed for three tense seconds. Then:

“Alternate route: Corridor 4B -> Emergency Shaft D -> Wing 3C.

ADMINISTRATOR EXECUTION CONFIRMATION REQUIRED.

LEVEL-2 BIOMETRIC SCAN NEEDED.”

Haruto cursed under his breath. He knelt and gripped the hand of the slumped guard by the terminal.

But it wasn’t enough. Temperature-based spoof protection. They thought of everything.

He snatched the guard’s hand and fished the thermal pack Kurosawa had handed him, pressing it against the guard’s palm. “Come on. Warm up, you bastard…”

He moved back to the console, and pressed the index finger to the scanner. A pause.

Then:

“Protocol authorized. Emergency lockdown in effect.”

He was in.

But then, just as he began to stand, another screen flashed. Not his doing.

Incoming Transmission: Internal Channel // Priority Zero

“Protocol authorized. Subject R transfer initiated.”

His blood chilled. They’re moving Ren.

He couldn’t stop now.

He left the hub, running through the corridor, and slipped into Emergency Shaft D. The passage sloped steeply, running parallel to the main lab corridor. If Kurosawa’s sketch was accurate, it would land him behind Wing 3C.

Haruto moved fast. The light at the far end was faint and flickering.

As he reached the last bend, distant footsteps echoed back—returning toward the control hub. He didn’t look back.

Let them chase me, he thought grimly. I’ll be gone by then.

Haruto, now pressed against the final wall of the shaft, stared up at the glowing entry panel of Experimental Wing.

The reroute had worked.

The scanner pulsed faint green.

He reached for it.

“ACCESS GRANTED.”

The door hissed open with a reluctant sigh. Haruto stepped into the sterile gloom and froze.

There, slumped against the far wall, was Kusaragi.

Or what was left of him.

His eyes were open, glassy with death.

But it wasn’t because of fear. It was surprise.