Ascendancy Facility
Cold air burns down my throat as they shove me forward.
I don’t know how long it’s been since they pulled me off the aircraft. Minutes? Hours? Months? Time blurs in a place like this — stripped away, piece by piece, until all that’s left is instinct.
And instinct is screaming.
Don’t fall. Don’t show weakness. Don’t let them think they’ve broken me.
My bare feet slap against the metal ramp as the guards drag me toward another elevator carved into the mountain’s core. My legs tremble, but I force them to move. The last time I slowed, I paid with a blow to the ribs so hard I couldn’t breathe for a minute.
The elevator doors groan open.
One guard grips my arm so tightly my skin burns. Another pushes me between the shoulder blades. I stumbleinside, my wrists still cuffed in front of me. The metal bites deep — a reminder of how long I’ve been held here.
How long have I survived? What year is it?
The doors begin to close.
Then a distant explosion shakes the walls.
The guards stiffen—one curses in Russian.
My heart slams.
Another explosion — closer this time. Then shouting. Footsteps. The echo of boots running in formation.
Something is happening.
Something big.
The guard to my left grabs his radio. “Control, what was that? Is the breach drill active?”
Static. Then a voice, tense and clipped:
“Negative. We have an incursion. Repeat — we are under attack.”
Under attack.
The elevator shudders as the lights flicker. The guard jerks me close, fury and fear twisting his face.
“What did you do?” he snarls.
“I’ve been locked up in a cell,” I rasp. “What do you think I did?”
He raises a gloved hand like he might strike me — but he hesitates. Orders blast through the radio again.
“Lock down Level Three! Subject Hart is priority. Move her to Chamber Nine — now!”
My stomach drops.
Chamber Nine.
I’ve heard that name whispered by the guards when they thought I was unconscious.
No one comes back from Chamber Nine.
The elevator halts abruptly between floors, throwing us off balance. The guard curses, slams a fist against the panel.
