THE EXTRACTION BEGINS
1083 Words
EPISODE 4
The moment the door exploded inward, time felt like it slowed.
Dust filled the red-lit room.
And then he stepped inside.
No rush. No fear. No urgency.
Only certainty.
He wore a dark coat, neatly pressed, as if chaos outside did not apply to him. His eyes scanned the room once—then landed on Cherry.
And stayed there.
“Hello, Cherry,” he said calmly. “Let’s begin the extraction.”
Cherry’s body went cold.
“No…” she whispered, stepping backward. “No, I’m not going anywhere with you.”
Mira moved instantly, positioning herself between Cherry and the man. “You shouldn’t be here.”
The man smiled faintly.
“Mira,” he said. “Still choosing sides you can’t win.”
Nolan’s voice came through Cherry’s phone immediately, sharp and urgent.
“Cherry, DO NOT let him touch you.”
Cherry tightened her grip on the phone. “Who is he?!”
A pause.
Then Nolan answered:
“That is Agent Sable.”
Draven, standing near the screens, exhaled slowly. “So they finally sent him.”
Cherry turned sharply. “You know him too?!”
Draven didn’t answer.
That silence was enough.
Agent Sable took a step forward.
“Cherry Adebayo,” he said softly, like reading from a file only he could see. “You are not in danger.”
Cherry barked a bitter laugh. “Everyone who says that tries to kill me!”
Sable tilted his head slightly.
“I’m not here to kill you,” he replied. “I’m here to complete what your father started.”
Cherry froze.
“My father is dead.”
Sable’s expression didn’t change.
“Yes,” he said. “Because he failed the extraction process.”
Mira whispered sharply, “Stop talking.”
But Sable continued.
“Your father was one of the original architects of Project Keyline. He embedded a living encryption system inside you when you were a child.”
Cherry shook her head violently. “No! That’s not real!”
Draven finally spoke.
“It is.”
Cherry turned to him in disbelief. “Why are you agreeing with him?!”
Draven’s voice was low.
“Because denial won’t stop activation.”
Suddenly—
A sharp beeping sound filled the room.
One of the screens flashed red.
SUBJECT RESPONSE DETECTED
Cherry clutched her head. “What is happening to me?!”
Sable stepped closer.
“Your biological system is reacting to proximity triggers,” he said calmly. “We are very close now.”
Mira drew a small device from her pocket. “Back away from her.”
Sable glanced at it.
“You won’t use that.”
Mira hesitated.
Because she knew he was right.
Nolan’s voice came again, louder now.
“Cherry, listen to me carefully. Focus on my voice. Don’t let him synchronize you.”
Cherry whispered, panicked, “Synchronize?!”
Sable stopped directly in front of her.
Now only a few feet away.
“You don’t need to be afraid,” he said gently. “This will feel like waking up.”
Cherry stepped backward until her back hit the control desk.
“No,” she breathed. “I don’t want to wake up.”
Sable raised a small metallic device from his pocket.
It looked like a thin black chip.
Cherry’s breath hitched. “What is that?”
Draven answered quietly.
“The trigger.”
Mira snapped, “Don’t do it, Sable!”
But Sable didn’t even look at her.
His eyes stayed on Cherry.
“This is not an attack,” he said softly. “It’s completion.”
Cherry’s phone shook in her hand.
Nolan’s voice turned urgent, almost strained.
“Cherry, if he activates you manually, you lose control permanently. You must resist.”
Cherry shook her head, tears forming. “How?! I don’t even know what I am resisting!”
Sable lifted the device slightly.
“Your father tried to protect you from full activation,” he said. “But partial activation already exists inside you.”
Cherry’s breathing quickened.
“No… no, I’m normal…”
Sable stepped closer.
“Tell me, Cherry,” he said quietly. “Why do you remember things you were never told?”
Silence.
A memory flickered in her mind.
A hospital room.
A red symbol glowing.
Her father saying: “Don’t let them find her fully awake.”
Cherry gasped.
Her knees weakened.
Draven whispered, “It’s starting.”
Mira moved toward Cherry. “Stay with me!”
But Cherry wasn’t listening anymore.
Her vision blurred.
The room flickered.
For a split second—
She saw numbers.
Symbols.
Layers of information moving behind reality.
She screamed, stumbling back.
“No—stop—my head—!”
Sable immediately raised the device.
“Activation confirmed.”
Mira shouted, “NOW?!”
Nolan’s voice broke through sharply:
“CHERRY, FIGHT IT!”
But Cherry dropped to her knees.
Her hands pressed against her head.
And then—
Everything stopped.
Silence.
No sound.
No rain.
No voices.
Only a strange stillness inside her mind.
Then a second voice appeared.
Not Nolan.
Not Sable.
Not Mira.
Inside her.
Calm.
Familiar.
“Hello, Cherry.”
Her eyes widened in terror.
“Who… is that?”
The voice replied softly:
“You already know.”
Suddenly—
The room lights flickered violently.
Every screen turned white.
Alarms shut off instantly.
Even Sable stepped back slightly.
Mira whispered, “Oh no…”
Draven’s face darkened.
“It’s active…”
Cherry slowly rose to her feet.
But something had changed.
Her expression was no longer fear alone.
It was awareness.
Too much awareness.
She looked at Sable.
And said softly:
“You’re not supposed to be here.”
Sable narrowed his eyes.
“Subject coherence increased,” he muttered.
Cherry tilted her head slightly.
Then she spoke again.
But her voice… had changed subtly.
Calmer.
Stranger.
“You’re trying to open something you don’t understand.”
Mira whispered, “Cherry…?”
Cherry didn’t look at her.
Her eyes stayed locked on Sable.
And then—
She smiled faintly.
That made everyone in the room step back.
Even Sable.
Because she wasn’t afraid anymore.
And she said the final line:
“If you continue the extraction… you will wake what even you cannot control.”
A long silence.
Then—
Deep inside the system… something responded.
A distant alarm far beyond the room began to ring.
Sable’s expression changed for the first time.
Just slightly.
Concern.
- Writer
