ECHOES OF ORION
291 Words
You take the left tunnel.
Your boots splash through shallow water as the sound of your pursuers echoes behind you—steady, controlled, relentless.
Not human movement.
Not normal.
The tunnel narrows, forcing you closer to the wall. Your hand brushes against cold concrete, grounding you.
Then—
A voice in your ear.
“Still running, Alex?”
You freeze.
That voice.
Impossible.
“…Maya?”
Static crackles, then clears.
“I was wondering how long it would take you to recognize my voice,” she says.
Dr. Maya Reyes.
Lead systems engineer of Project Orion.
The one who disappeared the night everything went wrong.
The one you thought was dead.
“Where are you?” you whisper, ducking behind a support pillar as footsteps approach.
“Somewhere safe,” she replies. “You, however, are about to have company.”
Right on cue, a beam of white light slices through the darkness.
One of them enters the tunnel.
Tall. Silent. Wearing a matte-black suit with no insignia.
Helmeted.
Featureless.
Maya speaks again, calm but urgent.
“They’re called Null Agents. You don’t fight them. You survive them.”
You clench the metal case tighter.
“You could’ve led with that.”
“I’m leading with this: you still owe me, Alex.”
Your jaw tightens.
“You vanished.”
“I saved your life.”
A beat.
“Now move.”
Up ahead, a rusted maintenance door hangs slightly open.
You didn’t notice it before.
“Inside,” Maya says. “Hurry.”
Behind you, the Null Agent speeds up.
Too fast.
CHOICE 4
What do you do?
A. Trust Maya and enter the maintenance room
B. Keep running forward instead
C. Turn and confront the Null Agent
- Writer
