Chapter 4: Inside the Wolf's Den
1445 Words
The steel door opened with a low sound. Jace keeping his acting n silence and wearing the expression of a loyal soldier stepped out under heavy escort. They weren’t guarding him rather they were leading him.
Two guards flanked him silent, rigid, deadly. Black ops armor polished but scarred from battles, covered their bodies. Their faces were hidden behind expressionless visors. They had no name or whatsover, no ranks or title deem worthy or even humanity.
Jace didn’t need to scan them to know for him to know these weren’t regular guards.
As they walked through the dim corridors, he kept his posture sharp , his movements robotic and emotions buried deep to avoid being detected. He couldn’t afford getting another brainwash session again. The pain and fear he had felt still lingered in his Mind and body.
---
[Passive Scan Activated]
[Scanning Nearby Equipment…]
[High-Energy Railgun Variant Detected]
Model: X-R9 Sentinel Reaper
Type: Magnetic-accelerated Gauss Rifle
Damage Output: Capable of full spinal disintegration in one hit.
Cooldown: 3.7 seconds | Armor Piercing: 98% Efficiency
Warning: One shot from this unit can result in instant kill or critical damage based on hit location.
Jace’s heartbeat slowed.
'He knew it.. they’re not just guards… they’re walking executioners and small mistake to launch and attack was a death sentence'
The corridor opened into a vast chamber.
Jace walked silently between them as his steps were echoing in sync with theirs. They didn’t speak a single word nor did they bat at eye at him because they didn’t need to.
He could feel it the weight and pressure of standing between two loaded weapons with minds of their own.
Jace’s instincts screamed for him to be careful and to make matters worse his system gave him nothing. No profile to be able to identify them and he couldn’t use scan not unless he made contact.
'Not yet' He said to himself.
Jace needed them to underestimate him so they could give him the training he required. Then he make them build trust in him.
He lowered his gaze just enough to avoid the scan of a drone flying past but inside his mind raced.
The drone was recording and scanning everywhere with only little blind spot. Ever since he attempted to escape security has been right after then
Jace resolve was strengthen. He would build a blueprint for what he had in mind and when the time came.
'I won’t need to scan their stats l’ll already know how to break them' In no time they arrived at the training ground and Jace stopped walking.
'So this is where they train the super soldiers and sharpen them into killers'
Jace made a decision instantly. He wasn’t going to make any resistance or raise suspicion on him.
' Jace don’t act out you need to blend in, plan it out learn their patterns, steal their tech detail their routines for your escape ' He told himself as his heart rate was increasing he tried calming it down.
He would pretend to be one of them and learn their combat styles then earn access to their equipment and stations.
And when the time came he’d bring this entire place down but first he needed to play the long game.
He looked around slowly scanning gear, studying enemy types, noting training schedules. Every detail mattered. Every observation was a future tool.
Jace stood in line with the other trainees as an instructor walked in taller, broader, more scarred than anyone in the room. The mask didn’t hide the command rolling off him.
“Today,” the instructor barked, “we see who earns their right to stay alive.”
Jace glanced around and counted quickly.
'Twenty-four… twenty-five… including me, that’s twenty-six out of thirty' His jaw tightened as he counted in his mind
'Which means four… maybe five… are already gone...definitely dead'
Drained of their energy cores and sacrificed to fuel that biomech war machine.
Each of the others wore matching gear: white tactical tops with black army grade trousers and combat boots.
They were all uniformed and enhanced but they were still brainwashed controlled super soldiers. Jace wondered if they were even humans again.
They stood shoulder to shoulder in four even rows, rigid like statues and all eyes forward.
The heavy steel door ahead groaned open.
A figure stepped through tall, built like an armored tank, glowing red implants running down the sides of his face.
It was the commander, his presence made the air thicker.
He stopped in front of the formation with his hands behind his back and his eyes scanning them like parts of a machine he was about to test.
“Today” he said in voice that was deep and tough “you will demonstrate your survival capability and adherence to kill with no hesitation.”
The Commander moved to the center of the combat zone, his mechanical limbs clicking into place as he looked over the formation.
“Now…”
His voice dropped into a harsh growl.
“Everyone attack.”
For a moment, no one moved.
Then chaos erupted.
Twenty five super soldiers all genetically enhanced all forged for battles and war charged.
---
Jace barely had time to breathe.
Boots pounded the reinforced ground and the air cracked from sonic fists and metal lined strikes. The first punch came at him like a cannonball but he bent avoiding it yet the second soldier caught him with a spinning back kick that sent him flying across the floor.
'Tch..damn, they hit hard'
Pain ripped through his side, but no bones cracked. His enhanced body was holding. Barely.
Another soldier grabbed him from behind. A third went low for a sweep. Jace twisted mid-air slipping through the grip and he rolled clear not to fight back but to observe.
[Passive Skills Engaged]
[Observation Mode: Active]
[Combat Analysis: In Progress]
Analyzing enemy footwork… scanning joint velocity… recording counter sequences…
Progress: 6% → 12% → 18%
Jace could tell how fast they were and brutal but he saw a flaw...they predictable. There was no adaption or creativity in their fighting style they were like programmed robot not trained soldiers with trained mind.
He narrowed his eyes. One soldier’s shoulder shifted just before he punched. Another always favored her right knee when pivoting.
Jace ducked under a roundhouse, rolled between two others, and let them crash into each other.
' They’re not trained to fight as a team only as weapons...this is an advantage for me'
He wasn’t trying to win. He was downloading every style he saw even every flaw and every reflex.
Meanwhile, in the center of the chaos, The Commander was demolishing the others.
His bionic arm split into three segmented blades. He caught a soldier mid-leap and slammed him down with seismic force.
Another charged with a grappling hookThe Commander crushed the wire in midair and flung the attacker into a wall.
Even among monsters he was the apex predator.
Jace took another blow to the ribspainful but not lethal. He twisted with it, using the momentum to slide beneath a spinning kick and land near a dropped stun baton. He didn’t pick it up not yet. He didn’t want them to know what he could do.
Instead, he kept weaving through the chaos, scanning with his system-enhanced eyes.
> [Combat Styles Analyzed: 9/25]
New Skill Gained: Hybrid Combat Memory I
+10% evasion vs repeated attack patterns. Allows partial mimicry of observed physical styles.
Passive Boost Applied: Dexterity +2, Reflexes +1
“Half of you are too slow. The rest? Too arrogant.”
The Commander slammed his fist into the ground a shockwave knocking half the trainees flat.
“Learn. Or be turned into spare parts.”
Jace slid to a stop at the edge of the arena. Breathing hard, bruised, but still standing. Several others weren’t.
> Let them think I’m average.
But by the end of this, I’ll know how to beat every one of them.
He wasn’t winning today.
After a while, the Commander barked for everyone to stop and dismissed them.
“Subject 30, report to Engineering Bay 4. It’s time we test your synchronization with the Biomech Frame.”
Dr. Patrick’s voice echoed through the training grounds.
Jace’s heart sank.
They planned to make him the first pilot of the war machine powered by the failed subjects.
They want me to command the thing built from the corpses of my past selves.
Jace frowned.
Just before he was escorted out:
[System Alert: Rogue Code Detected Within You]
[Another Consciousness Has Awakened]
Would you like to initiate internal contact?
Jace froze.
“…I’m not alone in here?”
- Writer
