The Last Signal

Chapter 3: First Blood

That’s when Ryker moved.

One second he was in front of me. The next, the pillar behind him melted. Liquid metal. Silver and fast. It poured down like water and hardened into a shield between us and them.

The fire guy attacked first.

He threw a ball of flame. Not big. Not yet. Testing.

It hit Ryker’s shield with a WHUMP. The metal glowed orange. Heat washed over my face. I could smell burning paint.

"Stay behind me," Ryker said in a low voice. No looking back.

"Don’t tell me what to do," I snapped. But I stayed anyway. For now.

The clawed one went for the side. Fast. Too fast.

He ran along the wall, claws scraping sparks against the concrete. He was aiming for me.

"Galiana, down!"

I dropped.

Ryker’s baton shot out from his shield. It was a spear now. It caught the clawed guy in the shoulder. Not deep. Just enough to knock him back.

The clawed guy screamed. Sounded more animal than human.

He rolled, came up, and charged again.

That’s when the wire guy moved.

His wires shot out. Dozens of them. Like black snakes. They went for Ryker’s legs, for his arms, for his throat.

Ryker spun. The metal baton became a whip. It cracked against the wires. Cut 3 of them. They sparked and died on the floor.

"They’re trying to separate us," I said. My heart was pounding. My hands were sparking. Blue and angry.

"I know," Ryker said. "Don’t let them."

The fire guy laughed. "She’s pretty when she’s scared. Makes the Signal taste better."

"Taste this," I said.

I slammed both hands on the ground.

CRACK

Lightning shot out in a circle. 360 degrees. White and loud.

It hit the floor, the walls, the air.

The fire guy jumped back.

The clawed guy yelped. The wire guy’s wires sizzled.

The lights blew.

The station went dark except for the fire and the lightning and the sparks.

For 3 seconds, we had chaos.

I grabbed Ryker’s arm. "Far Sight!"

The world zoomed and I saw everything.

Rooftop. 200 meters. Same sniper from before, aiming at us.

At the Exit, 2 Static members coming from the maintenance tunnel.

And behind us... a fourth. Hiding in the shadows. Watching our every move.

"There’s 4 of them," I said. "Not 3."

"I know," Ryker said. "The fourth is their leader. Don’t look at him."

Too late.

I looked.

He was tall. Taller than Ryker. His mask was different. No skull. No wires. Just smooth black. Like oil.

And where his hands should be... there was nothing. Just static. Like TV static. Like the air was glitching around him.

The Static. The leader.

He raised his hand. No fingers. Just static.

And pointed at me.

The world went quiet.

My Echo died.

Just... gone. Like someone hit mute.

I couldn’t hear Ryker’s heartbeat. Couldn’t hear the rain. Couldn’t hear my own breathing. Couldn't hear everything.

Panic shot through me. That’s my power. That’s me.

"Ryker," I whispered. "I can’t hear—"

"I know," he said. "He’s a Null. He cancels Signals. 10 meter radius."

The Null took a step forward. The static around his hands grew.

The other 3 attacked.

Fire guy threw another fireball. Bigger this time.

Clawed guy came from the left.

Wire guy came from the right.

Ryker moved. God, he moved.

His shield became a sword. He cut the fireball in half. It exploded behind him. Heat on my back.

He spun, kicked the clawed guy in the chest. Sent him flying into a bench. The metal screamed.

He grabbed the wires with his bare hand. They cut into his palm. Blood. But he didn’t let go instead he pulled, and yanked the wire guy off his feet.

"Run!" he yelled at me. "The Null is coming!"

I couldn’t.

My legs were frozen. My Signal was gone. I was normal. Weak.

The Null was 5 meters away now. 4... 3...

I could see my reflection in his mask. Scared. Small.

Then Ryker was there.

He threw himself between us.

The Null’s hand hit Ryker’s chest.

There was no sound. No lightning. No fire. Just... static. White noise. Like a dead channel.

Ryker gasped. His body jerked. His eyes rolled back.

"No!" I screamed.

I grabbed his arm. Pulled. My hands were sparking again. The Null’s radius was moving with him. As soon as he stepped back, my Signal came back.

The pain hit me like a truck.

All the noise of the city rushed back into my head at once.

Car horns.

People shouting.

A baby crying.

A dog barking.

And the 3 Static members.

Breathing.

Moving.

Coming.

It was too much.

I screamed.

And lightning answered.

It came from me. From my hands. From my mouth.

It shot up to the ceiling. Hit the metal beams.

The whole station lit up white.

When I could see again, the 3 attackers were on the ground.

Full of smoke.

The Null was gone. Vanished into the dark.

Only Ryker and I were standing.

He was on his knees. Breathing hard.

There was a burn on his chest. In the shape of a hand. Black and red.

"Ryker," I said. My voice shook. "Hey. Look at me."

He looked up. Sweat on his face. Pain in his eyes.

But he smiled a little. I could see how tired he was.

"You didn’t run," he said. "Good girl."

"Don’t call me that," I snapped. But my hands were already on his chest. Checking.

His heartbeat was fast.

Too fast.

110.

"We need to go," I said. "Now. Before they come back."

He nodded. Tried to stand. Wobbled.

I put his arm over my shoulder. He was heavy. Taller than me.

But I held him.

We limped toward the maintenance tunnel.

Behind us, the fire guy groaned. "She’s... she’s strong..."

"Yeah," I said without looking back. "She is."

We were at the Maintenance Tunnel now. The tunnel smelled like mold and oil. Water dripped from the ceiling.

Every 10 steps, a light would flicker on. Motion sensor. Old.

Ryker was leaning on me more now. His weight was dragging me down.

"Talk to me," I said. "Stay awake."

"I’m awake," he muttered. "Just... tired."

"Liar."

We walked in silence for 5 minutes. Just our footsteps and the drip of water.

Then he spoke. "Why did you save me? Back in the alley. And just now."

"Don’t flatter yourself," I said. "I needed you alive. You know things."

"Right," he said. "That’s it."

We both knew it was a lie.

The tunnel opened up into a small room.

Old office.

Desk. Chair.

Broken radio.

I sat him down in the chair. He hissed in pain.

"Let me see," I said.

I pulled his shirt up.

The burn was bad. 2nd degree. In the shape of 5 fingers.

My stomach turned.

"I can help," I said. "Storm Call. I can... I can cauterize it. Stop it from getting worse."

"Don’t," he said quickly. "It’ll hurt. And you’ll pass out. Using lightning on people... it drains you."

"I don’t care," I said. "You saved me. Twice."

I put my hand over the burn. Closed my eyes.

The lightning was gentle this time. Small. Controlled.

Blue light. Warm.

It stitched the skin together. Sealed the wound.

When I opened my eyes, I was shaking. Sweating.

And Ryker was watching me.

"Why?" he asked. "Why help me?"

"Because," I said. "No one deserves to die alone. Like Agent Cruz."

He nodded. Slow.

We sat there for a while. Just breathing.

The only sound was the drip of water.

Then his burner phone buzzed.

He pulled it out with shaking hands.

New message. Unknown number.

`Nice try. But we got what we came for. -S`

"What does that mean?" I asked.

Ryker’s face went pale.

He stood up. Too fast. Wobbled.

"The power plant," he said. "It wasn’t the target. You were.

They used the explosion to get close to you. To scan you. To copy your Signal."

My blood went cold. Again.

"They have my Echo now," I whispered.

"Not all of it," Ryker said. "But enough. Enough to track you. Enough to mimic you."

He looked at me. Really looked.

"Galiana," he said. "You can’t run anymore.

If you do, they’ll find you. And next time, they won’t just take a sample."

"What then?" I asked.

"Next time," he said. "They’ll take all of you."

He held out his hand.

Not to arrest me.

To help me up.

"Come with me," he said. "To the safe house.

We fight them together. Or we die alone."

I looked at his hand. At the burn on his chest. At the blood on his knuckles.

3 years of running.

Ended tonight.

I took his hand.

"Okay," I said. "But the moment you lie to me, I’m gone."

"Deal," he said.

We walked out of the tunnel together.

Into the rain.

Into whatever came next.

Behind us, the station was silent again.

But this time, I wasn’t running.