CHAPTER 10: THE BURNING RIVER
1119 Words
Water exploded through the tunnel like a living monster.
The Blackwater Train tore apart beneath the ocean passage as fire and steel erupted into darkness. Entire carriages twisted violently off the tracks while alarms screamed through the collapsing tunnel.
Vaelora slammed hard against the vault wall as the explosion ripped through the train.
Everything became noise.
Metal.
Fire.
Screaming.
Then water burst through shattered walls.
Kaedrin grabbed her instantly.
“MOVE!”
The carriage tilted violently sideways.
The ocean tunnel was flooding fast.
Vaelora struggled to keep balance while freezing water surged around their legs. Sparks exploded from broken electrical systems overhead.
The Red Cipher container skidded across the flooding floor.
Kaedrin saw it.
“So much for a simple train robbery.”
Vaelora snatched the container just as another explosion ripped through the rear carriage.
The floor cracked beneath them.
Water roared upward.
The entire train was sinking inside the tunnel.
Kaedrin shoved open an emergency hatch above them.
“Climb!”
Vaelora grabbed the ladder first while icy water swallowed the carriage below.
The train groaned like a dying beast.
She climbed hard through smoke and steam until her hands slammed against another hatch.
Locked.
Wonderful.
Kaedrin reached her seconds later.
“Move.”
He planted an explosive charge against the hatch.
Three.
Two.
BOOM.
The hatch blasted open.
Cold night air slammed into them instantly.
They emerged onto the roof of the wrecked train just as it burst partially through the side of the ocean tunnel.
Rain poured across the river outside while flaming debris scattered into black water below.
The surviving carriages hung dangerously over the burning river cutting through Neo-Vesper’s industrial sector.
Half the train remained inside the collapsing tunnel.
The other half dangled over open water.
Sirens screamed in the distance.
Military drones swarmed overhead.
Vaelora steadied herself against the violent wind while clutching the Red Cipher container tightly.
Kaedrin looked toward the collapsing tunnel behind them.
“We need to jump.”
Vaelora blinked once.
“The river?”
“The exploding train seems worse.”
Fair point.
Another carriage behind them detonated violently.
The shockwave hurled flames across the roof.
Kaedrin grabbed Vaelora’s wrist.
“Now!”
They jumped together.
The freezing river swallowed them instantly.
---
Vaelora burst upward gasping violently.
Rain hammered the dark water around her while burning train wreckage floated nearby.
Her lungs burned.
Her body ached.
But the container was still in her hand.
Good.
A spotlight suddenly swept across the river.
Military drones.
Search teams already arriving.
Kaedrin surfaced several meters away.
“This way!” he shouted.
They swam beneath burning debris toward the abandoned riverside district hidden beneath the eastern bridge systems.
The district had once housed factory workers decades earlier.
Now it was dead.
Broken buildings.
Flooded streets.
Rusting metal skeletons swallowed by fog.
Perfect place to disappear.
---
Hours later—
Vaelora sat beside a weak fire inside an abandoned warehouse overlooking the river.
Rainwater dripped from her soaked black clothes while flames crackled softly nearby.
For the first time in days—
Silence.
No gunfire.
No explosions.
Only exhaustion.
Kaedrin leaned against a concrete pillar across from her while cleaning a knife with methodical precision.
Blood stained his shirt near the shoulder from a grazing bullet wound Vaelora hadn’t noticed earlier.
“You’re injured,” she said quietly.
“I’ve had worse.”
“Very inspiring.”
He glanced up briefly.
“You’re still alive too.”
Vaelora carefully opened the silver container beside the fire.
Inside rested a crimson data chip glowing faintly beneath the flames.
The Red Cipher.
Finally.
Kaedrin stepped closer slowly.
“That tiny thing nearly drowned us.”
Vaelora inserted the chip into a portable decryptor.
Lines of encrypted code flooded the screen instantly.
Satellite systems.
Defense grids.
Military launch protocols.
But beneath it all—
Another hidden file appeared.
PROJECT HELIX — PRIMARY FUNCTION
Vaelora opened it carefully.
Then froze.
Kaedrin moved beside her.
“What is it?”
Her voice came out quieter than expected.
“This isn’t a defense weapon.”
The screen displayed global infrastructure maps.
Power grids.
Communication towers.
Water systems.
Hospitals.
Airports.
Everything connected.
Kaedrin’s expression darkened.
“Helix controls civilian networks too.”
Vaelora kept reading.
“If activated fully… it could shut down entire countries.”
Silence filled the warehouse.
Then Kaedrin muttered softly—
“That’s not warfare.”
“No,” Vaelora agreed.
“It’s collapse.”
Thunder rolled across the river outside.
The fire flickered between them.
Kaedrin sat beside her now, close enough for her to notice the faint scar beneath his collarbone.
Old knife wound.
Deep.
Someone once tried very hard to kill him.
Strangely—
She wondered who succeeded in hurting him emotionally instead.
Dangerous thought.
She ignored it immediately.
Kaedrin suddenly looked toward the necklace resting against her throat.
The silver crescent shimmered in the firelight.
“You really don’t remember my sister?” he asked quietly.
Vaelora hesitated.
The honest answer frightened her.
“I remember fragments.”
His eyes sharpened instantly.
“What kind of fragments?”
She stared into the fire.
“A girl screaming.”
“White rooms.”
“People running.”
Her fingers tightened slightly around the necklace.
“And someone holding my hand.”
Kaedrin went completely still.
Then very softly—
“Lyrielle always held people’s hands when they were scared.”
Vaelora looked up slowly.
For one dangerous moment—
Neither looked away.
The fire crackled quietly between them while rain whispered against broken warehouse windows.
Something shifted.
Not trust.
Not yet.
But something close enough to become dangerous.
Kaedrin reached toward her face slowly.
Vaelora’s breath caught unexpectedly.
His fingers brushed a strand of wet hair away from her cheek.
Gentle.
Careful.
Nothing about Kaedrin Vale should have been gentle.
Which somehow made it worse.
Then suddenly—
A loud metallic crash echoed somewhere deeper inside the warehouse.
Both spies instantly pulled weapons.
The moment shattered immediately.
Kaedrin moved toward the shadows silently.
Vaelora followed close behind.
The warehouse remained dark except for moonlight filtering through broken windows.
Then—
They found the source.
A dead man hung from the ceiling beams by metal chains.
Fresh blood dripped onto the floor beneath him.
Vaelora’s stomach tightened coldly.
The corpse wore tactical black armor marked with the serpent-and-crown symbol.
Soryn’s men.
Pinned to the body’s chest with a knife—
Was a photograph.
Kaedrin pulled it free carefully.
His expression changed instantly.
Vaelora stepped closer.
The photo showed them beside the burning river only hours earlier.
Someone had been watching them.
But that wasn’t the worst part.
Written across the photograph in dark red ink were three words:
I FOUND YOU.
- Writer
