Ethan stood in the observation hall, his reflection distorted in the glass as he stared down at the simulation arena below. It was an industrial labyrinth corridors shrouded in darkness, cold steel walls, and scattered floodlights casting harsh beams over choke points.
Beside him, Elise Laurent adjusted her black gloves, her emerald eyes narrowing as she scanned the layout. Marcus Wren leaned casually against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, wearing that smug smirk Ethan was starting to hate.
Their instructor, Kiera "Shade" Lane, stepped forward. She was small and wiry, her black tactical suit fitting her like a second skin. Her eyes cold and sharp as flint moved across the recruits with surgical precision.
"Welcome to The Shadows Exercise," Kiera said, her voice barely above a whisper, yet it carried through the hall with unsettling clarity. "Today, we test your ability to move unseen, unheard, and untouched."
The room fell deathly silent.
"The mission is simple: infiltrate the facility below, retrieve the red flag, and make it back without being detected by the guards or by me. If you're caught, the consequences will be… unpleasant."
A faint smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, but it didn't reach her eyes.
"Any questions?"
Ethan raised his hand slightly. "What happens if we fail?"
Kiera's smile widened just enough to show her teeth. "You'll wish you hadn't."
Without another word, she gestured toward the steel doors at the far end of the hall. One by one, the recruits stepped forward and disappeared into the darkness beyond.
The first thing Ethan noticed as he entered the simulation arena was the silence, thick, suffocating, and absolute.
The air was damp, the faint scent of oil and rust clinging to every breath. Overhead floodlights flickered erratically, casting long, distorted shadows against the metallic walls. Somewhere in the distance, he could hear faint footsteps....the guards.
"Focus, Cross," he whispered to himself, pulling his black hood up to hide his face.
From somewhere above, Kiera's voice crackled softly through hidden speakers.
"Rule number one: The shadows are your ally. Rule number two: The shadows are not your friend. If you think they'll protect you forever, you're already dead."
Ethan pressed himself against a steel wall, moving low and slow. Every footstep was measured, every breath carefully controlled.
Up ahead, a guard moved past an open corridor, his flashlight beam sweeping lazily across the floor. Ethan froze, his heartbeat hammering in his ears.
The light passed over him and then moved on.
He exhaled silently and slipped into the corridor, his eyes darting left and right. The red flag was somewhere in the central chamber a heavily lit area surrounded by catwalks and patrolling guards.
"Cross, you there?" Elise's voice crackled softly through his earpiece.
"Yeah, I'm here," Ethan replied.
"I've got eyes on Marcus. He's taking the east route. Thinks he's clever."
"Let him think that. Where are you?"
"West corridor, moving toward the main chamber. Watch your six, Ethan. Kiera's out here somewhere."
The line went dead.
Ethan crept forward, slipping between crates and ducking beneath flickering floodlights. His knife was clutched tightly in his gloved hand a thin, black blade designed for silence.
Up ahead, a guard stood near a terminal, his back turned.
Ethan moved closer, each step as silent as a breath. His hand shot out, grabbing the guard by the collar and dragging him backward into the shadows. With a swift, practiced motion, Ethan pressed the flat of the knife against the guard's throat.
The guard let out a muffled gasp before falling unconscious from the pressure on his carotid artery. Ethan eased the man to the ground and kept moving.
The central chamber loomed ahead. Bright floodlights washed over the metal floors, leaving almost no shadows to hide in. On a platform suspended over the open area, the red flag hung like a beacon.
Ethan's earpiece crackled again.
"Elise, you see this?" he whispered.
"Yeah. The flag's bait, Ethan. No way Kiera doesn't have something planned."
Ethan scanned the area again. Marcus was already there, moving along the eastern catwalk. The cocky bastard was going for it.
"Of course he is," Ethan muttered.
Marcus reached the platform and grabbed the flag. A faint click echoed across the chamber.
Floodlights snapped on.
From above, a hail of rubber bullets erupted, pelting Marcus as he dove for cover. Guards swarmed the chamber from every direction, shouting orders and firing blanks into the air.
Ethan flattened himself against a steel beam, his breath held tight in his chest.
"Cross!" Elise's voice was sharp in his ear. "Marcus triggered the trap. You need to move!"
But Ethan wasn't looking at Marcus anymore. He was looking at Kiera Lane, perched silently on a catwalk high above, her sharp eyes scanning the chaos below.
For a brief moment, her gaze locked onto his hiding spot.
And she smiled.
She knows I'm here.
Ethan's mind raced. He couldn't run Kiera would intercept him in seconds. He couldn't stay guards were closing in.
Think. Think.
His eyes darted to the guard Marcus had taken out earlier. A tactical vest. A helmet.
Moments later, Ethan walked calmly across the central chamber, wearing the stolen guard uniform. His movements were brisk, purposeful just another guard responding to the alarm.
He passed two patrols without a glance and slipped out of the central chamber through an unmarked exit.
The moment he was clear, he yanked off the helmet, his hair damp with sweat.
"Elise," he hissed into the earpiece. "I'm out. Where are you?"
"Near the extraction point. Marcus is still pinned down."
"Forget Marcus. Move now."
The extraction point was a narrow steel corridor lit by blinking red lights. Elise was already there, crouched near a doorway.
Ethan stumbled in beside her, his chest heaving.
From behind them, Kiera's voice crackled over the speakers.
"Well done, Cross. And Laurent. You survived. Barely."
Ethan's stomach tightened. She had seen him. She had let him go.
"You both have potential," Kiera continued. "But remember this: In the field, there are no second chances."
The corridor door slammed shut, locking them inside as the lights dimmed.
Ethan leaned against the cold steel wall, sweat dripping from his brow.
"Cross?" Elise said, her voice steady but quiet.
"Yeah?"
"That was… insane."
Ethan let out a shaky breath, his knife still clutched in his hand.
"Welcome to the Helix Institute," he said softly.
They sat in the dark, the sound of their ragged breaths filling the silence.
Lex's words echoed in his mind:
"Once you're in… there's no turning back."
End of Chapter 3.