The drive to Nexus Biotech felt longer than usual, every second stretching into infinity. Silas's knuckles were white against the steering wheel as his mind raced. Potenus had always been volatile, but now, it was becoming something else entirely—something he couldn't control, something even Nexus couldn't predict.
As the towering glass building of Nexus Biotech loomed ahead, Silas's thoughts briefly flickered back to Elias. His son was furious, storming off to practice, likely focused only on football now. Silas couldn't blame him. If the world he'd known crumbled overnight, he'd be just as angry, just as unwilling to face the truth. But Potenus was far from a distant threat—it was here, and it was growing.
He parked his car in the underground garage and rushed through the familiar corridors of Nexus Biotech. The sterile, metallic scent of the lab hit him immediately, but it was the uneasy silence that set his nerves on edge.
He reached the security desk, and the guard nodded at him. "Dr. Dane. They're waiting for you on the third floor."
"Thanks," Silas muttered, walking past without breaking stride.
On the third floor, the door to the containment chamber was wide open. Silas froze at the sight. Normally, the doors were sealed, locked down tight to prevent any potential breaches. But now...
Marlowe was there, his back turned, hands resting on the control panel. "I should've known you'd show up, Dane," he said without looking back.
"What happened?" Silas demanded, his voice tight.
Marlowe turned, his expression uncharacteristically strained. "It's bad, Dane. Potenus is expanding beyond its containment. It's growing... rapidly. The energy readings are off the charts. We need to do something now, or we risk a full outbreak."
Silas's heart sank. "What do you mean, an outbreak?"
Marlowe nodded toward the glass walls of the chamber. Inside, the once-contained tendrils of Potenus now reached out, pressing against the glass as if trying to escape. The plant's sickly green glow had turned a vibrant crimson, pulsating with an almost sinister rhythm.
"We tried stabilizing it," Marlowe said, his tone grim. "But it's like it's feeding off something. The energy spikes happen at random, and it's... communicating with something."
Silas's mind raced. He had seen the signs—visions, strange disturbances. Potenus had been reacting, but to what? And why now?
Suddenly, the sound of frantic footsteps echoed down the hall. Silas turned, seeing a team of technicians hurrying toward them, panic clear in their eyes.
"It's not just the plant," one of them said, voice shaky. "The lab... it's starting to—"
Before he could finish, a sharp, high-pitched alarm blared throughout the building.
"Lockdown," Marlowe snapped. "Now!"
The technicians scrambled to seal the doors as Silas's heart raced. The air felt heavy with tension, the urgency palpable. Potenus was no longer just an anomaly—it was a force that was spreading, pushing its way out of the lab and into something more dangerous.
And he still didn't know why.
"Dr. Dane, there's something you need to see," one of the technicians said, her voice urgent.
Silas followed her to a terminal at the far side of the room. The screen flashed with live data, but it was the images that caught his attention.
A map of the surrounding area.
And then, a series of locations marked with a red circle—places Elias had visited. Silas's blood ran cold.
"Elias..." Silas whispered, more to himself than anyone.
The technician glanced at him. "What's going on, sir?"
"He's been near the epicenter," Silas said, his thoughts racing. "The plant's energy is somehow... reaching him."
Marlowe stepped forward, brow furrowed. "What do you mean, reaching him? You don't think this is about your son, do you?"
Silas didn't answer. He couldn't afford to think about it—couldn't afford to believe it. But as he looked at the map, everything was starting to make sense. Potenus wasn't just growing in the lab. It was extending outward, targeting certain locations, and Elias had unknowingly been at the center of it all.
"I need to get to him," Silas said, already turning toward the door.
"Wait!" Marlowe called after him. "This is bigger than your son. We need to contain the situation before it spreads further. There are people in the city—if we don't get a handle on this now—"
"I'll handle it," Silas snapped, not looking back.
He didn't wait for Marlowe's response. His only thought was Elias. If Potenus had already latched onto him, if it was beginning to use him as a conduit to spread, then Silas's worst fears were coming true.
His son was in danger, and there was only one way to stop it.
He had to get to Elias before it was too late.