Marik's house loomed in the quiet of the cul-de-sac, a boxy two-story structure with boarded windows and reinforced doors.
It wasn't much, but compared to the chaos outside, it felt like a fortress.
Alex stepped inside while controlling Wren to map the area with the help of the AR Overlay. He was looking for point of interests or anything noteworthy.
Aside from main road intersections and recreational zones, everywhere else is a low-risk zone.
The interior was cramped and dimly lit, cluttered with scavenged supplies, tools, and makeshift defenses.
"Welcome to my humble abode," Marik said with a grin, tossing his hammer onto a battered couch. "Not much, but it keeps the crazies out. It's been only a few hours since the world turned to shit, so don't take my word for it."
Alex nodded, glancing around. His eyes darted to the windows, the exits, mapping his surroundings out of habit.
"You and that drone," Marik said, eyeing Wren. "What's her name again?"
"Wren," Alex replied cautiously.
"Smart little thing. Fast, too. That kind of tech is rare in this side of the city. You build it yourself?"
"Yeah." Alex kept his voice guarded, not liking where this was going.
Marik chuckled, stepping closer. "Impressive. Must've cost you a fortune—or a lot of time. Either way, that kind of tech could fetch a pretty price. Or save a life, depending on who's holding it."
Alex tensed up, regret slowly creeping up on him. "What are you getting at?"
Marik's grin turned predatory. "Look, Alex, I'm not trying to be a bad guy here, but let's be real. A drone like that? It's wasted on someone like you. You'll get yourself killed lugging it around. But me? I can make it work. So why don't you just hand it over, and we'll call it even?"
Alex's hand moved instinctively to the stun rod at his jacket. "Not happening."
Marik sighed, shaking his head. "Didn't think you'd make it easy." He snapped his fingers, and a figure stepped out from behind a pillar on the second level. A woman, her face partially obscured by a scarf, held a pistol trained on Alex.
"Meet Tasha," Marik said, motioning to her. "She's a pretty good shot. And if you think you can run, well..."
A creak came from below. Alex glanced down to see another thug emerging from a crawlspace near the stairs, armed with a crowbar.
"...my buddy Saul will make sure you don't get far," Marik finished with a smirk.
Alex's grip tightened on the stun rod. "You'd really rob me? After I helped save your block?"
"Survival's about taking what you can. It's something you'll learn after living out here for a long time. Besides, I saved your ass to from becoming a crazy's meal." Marik said, stepping closer. "Now, hand over the drone."
For a moment, Alex weighed his options.
The odds were against him—two armed thugs and Marik himself, all for Wren. His mind raced, searching for a way out.
Then Sparc's voice chimed in softly on his wrist. "Analysis: survival probability less than 23.2% if you don't give up Wren. Recommendation: engage neural sync."
Alex hesitated.
Neural sync was dangerous. It linked him directly to Sparc, merging their processing power, flesh and mechanical. The strain on his body and mind could kill him if he wasn't careful or if the duration was too long.
"Neural sync may enhance combat efficiency and removes unnecessary thoughts," Sparc said, almost teasingly. "Would you like to survive, Alex?"
Alex closed his eyes, exhaling slowly. "Do it."
The Nexus hub buzzed violently, sending a jolt through his wrist. The electrifying sensation traveled from his wrist and slowly coursed through his body, causing all his body hair to rise. His vision blurred as data streamed directly into his brain.
The connection was instant and overwhelming—his thoughts and Sparc's algorithms fused into one.
Alex and Sparc's thought's united as one.
With eyes closed, plans after plans were made immediately. Plans with low survival probability were abandoned and high probability plans piled up into a list.
After a round of elimination, the list only had one plan; survival probability: 95%.
Everything took two seconds in real time.
Marik and the group believed Alex already gave up and let fate have his way.
Then they noticed Alex folding his thumb and pinky finger, leaving the index, middle and ring finger stretched.
Marik confused, shouts at him. "Hey, what are you doing?"
When Alex opened his eyes again, they glowed faintly, a cold blue light cutting through the dim room.
"What the hell?" Marik stepped back, startled.
Everything that happened next was a blur for Marik's group.
Something broke through the second floor window and hit every light source in the room consecutively.
After the room got plunged into darkness, something flew in front of Tasha and stopped right in front of her.
Tasha squinted her eyes and finally saw the culprit.
"What's a drone doing here?" She muttered in clear disbelief.
Then she got blinded when two sets of light focused on her, which abruptly turned off, then back on again.
"Ahh! What is this!? Stop it or I'll shoot you!" Tasha used her thin arms as cover, trying to catch a glimpse of Alex.
Alex controlled Wren with precision, his hands danced more fluently than before.
Wren took new angles to blind Tasha, which kept her occupied.
She looked like an unwilling artist getting photographed by dozens of paparazzis as flashes of light came from multiple directions.
Alex moved before the two men could react.
In one fluid motion, he hurled the suitcase to Marik and ran toward Saul unimpeded thanks to his night vision.
Saul tried to defend himself and swung the crowbar blindly, but with the sight advantage, Alex easily knocked him out by getting punched in the face multiple times.
When Marik recovered, he watched a set of blue eyes ran in a certain direction followed by hearing someone getting beat up and falling to the ground.
A pair of blue eyes faced him, telling him Saul was the one on the ground.
Upset with the sudden change in situation, he could only roar in frustration.
"Come and face me, bastard!"
Tasha still busy with Wren, heard the commotion and took pot shots on Alex's previous location.
The shots went wide but scared Marik who stood still in the dark slowly fearing for his life.
Wren swiftly doved towards Tasha's hand then suddenly turning around, having its thruster burn her hand.
"My hand!" Tasha screamed in pain, letting the gun fall off her hand. "N-no, please stop. It's our mistake. Please don't kill me."
While Tasha already gave up fighting, Marik still had the vigor and will to fight.
Due to the sudden change of events, he was more indignant than fearful.
The brief period when Wren turned and burned Tasha's hand, she also lit up the floor for a moment.
It was enough for Marik to see Alex staring at him with eyes emitting a strange blue light.
At the same time, Alex surged forward, faster than Marik could anticipate. He tried to run back to pick his hammer on the couch but suddenly felt an itching sensation on his back.
Alex drove the stun rod into Marik's exposed back, unleashing a burst of electricity.
Marik convulsed and dropped to the ground, pained.
Tasha scrambled to retrieve her gun, but Alex arrived next to her pointing the stun rod at her, his glowing eyes locking onto hers.
"Don't," he said, his voice colder than before.
She froze, her hand hovering over the weapon. Tasha slowly backed up and slumping back to the floor looking defeated.
Alex picked up the gun and turned to Marik, who was groaning on the floor.
"You shouldn't have tried to rob me."
Marik coughed, glaring up at him. Instead of answering, he had something else occupying his mind.
"You... what are you? And what's the deal with your eyes?"
"..."
"You're one of them aren't you? Those Synth bastards who rely on bionics to get ahead." Marik eyed Alex with discrimination. "You're no better than the crazies out there. Your kind is the plague of mankind!"
Alex finally had enough and answered back, his voice distant. "Maybe, maybe not, we don't know for sure. Maybe it's people like you who cause the rot in society."
He stepped over Marik, Wren buzzing protectively beside him.
"I'm leaving, don't try to follow me."
Alex picked up the suitcase on the floor and walked toward the door.
"Neural sync disengaging," Sparc announced. The glow faded from Alex's eyes, leaving him drained but alive.
He took a couple of canned food and a water bottle as he left the house, the sound of his boots fading into the night.