Chapter 11 – The Signal of Sector 9
Silence had never felt so loud.
After the brutal battle, Ronin and Ruby sat in eerie stillness inside the half-ruined bunker. The air hung heavy, thick with the sharp scent of burnt circuitry and blood. The walls were cracked. Wires dangled like vines. Every now and then, a dying bulb flickered overhead, casting ghostly shadows.
Ruby's right arm was wrapped in a bloodied cloth, and though she sat, her eyes were locked on Ronin like he was a question she couldn't answer.
She hadn't spoken much since the fight.
Because how do you speak… when you've just seen your best friend fly? When you've seen light explode from his body and turn a monstrous creature to dust?
Ronin, too, said nothing. His mind was a battlefield — filled with voices, half-memories, a rising pulse that didn't feel entirely human. His fingertips still buzzed with leftover electricity. The veins on his hands shimmered faintly blue in the dark, like neon wires buried under skin.
"Do you… think more are coming?" Ruby finally whispered.
"I don't think they've ever stopped," Ronin answered, not looking at her.
She nodded, then limped toward an old corner desk where a scorched laptop rested — its hinge nearly broken, yet the power light still blinked.
She opened it. Static burst on the screen, then settled. Lines of encrypted data began scrolling down.
Ronin moved closer.
"It's a live satellite feed," she said. "My dad set up this access when he worked for the military. Before he... disappeared."
The screen zoomed into a remote forested area. A red beacon pulsed slowly — like a heartbeat — in the center of an abandoned zone.
On the screen, it read:
Sector 9 – RESTRICTED MILITARY ZONE
CLEARANCE LEVEL: TOP SECRET – PROJECT V-13
Ronin's brow furrowed. "That's where he used to work?"
"Yes," she said slowly. "He called it the 'origin zone.' No one was allowed there. Then one day he left and never came back."
"And now the signal is back online," Ronin murmured.
"That means someone's reactivated the facility," Ruby said. "Or something."
Ronin stood up, tense. "Then that's where I need to go."
Ruby grabbed his wrist. "Ronin, wait. You don't even know what's happening to you. You survived something impossible last night. You lifted off the ground… you were glowing. You crushed that alien like you weren't even human!"
"I'm not sure I am," he said softly.
"What?"
He pulled away. "That's why I have to go."
They packed quickly. Ruby gathered old blueprints, weapons, and the alien plasma blade. Ronin wore a black jacket that covered the markings beginning to form across his back.
As they left the bunker in an old military jeep, Ruby glanced sideways.
"You're different now," she said. "Even your silence feels louder."
Ronin gave her a tired look. "I feel like… something inside me is trying to wake up."
They drove through broken roads, twisted trees, and burnt grass. The forest on the way to Sector 9 looked wrong. Like it had been scarred.
Every few minutes, Ruby would glance at the signal device — its beeping was getting faster. Stronger. Unstable.
By midnight, Ronin could see without headlights. His eyes had changed — they shimmered faint silver in the dark. He could hear birds breathing. He could hear wires vibrating under the road.
Ruby watched him in silence. "Can you… sense things?"
"I can feel the trees," he whispered.
When they reached the gates of Sector 9 by dawn, there were no gates left. Only twisted metal posts and burnt ash where buildings once stood.
The tracker screamed.
"This place was bombed," Ruby said. "Years ago. They said it was an experiment gone wrong. But I think…"
"They opened something they shouldn't have," Ronin finished.
The ground beneath them pulsed faintly, like a heartbeat.
Suddenly, a growl rumbled through the ruins.
Ronin drew the plasma blade.
From behind the rubble, a tall figure appeared — grey skin lined with silver veins, long limbs armored with alien tech. Its face was a smooth metal mask with two glowing gold eyes.
It didn't move.
It didn't attack.
It simply watched.
Then… it spoke. Not with sound, but inside Ronin's mind.
"You are not ready."
Ronin gasped, holding his head as pain seared through his skull.
"Ronin!" Ruby cried, reaching for him.
The alien stepped closer. The air bent around it, like the creature distorted reality just by existing.
Ronin forced himself to look up.
"What… are you?"
"The beginning. And the end."
The voice inside was deep, layered, ancient — like a hundred beings spoke through one.
Ruby pulled out her gun and fired.
The bullet melted mid-air.
Ronin's body flared with a pulse of energy. His markings glowed.
He stepped forward. "Why are you here? Why are you watching me?"
"Because you were never meant to live. You were built… for extinction. And now, you are awake. So the others will come."
The creature shimmered — and vanished.
Gone.
Not a single footprint remained.
Ronin's breath was ragged. "It knew me. It… it was waiting for me."
Ruby stared, pale. "It spoke in your mind, didn't it?"
He nodded slowly.
"What did it mean… built for extinction?"
"I don't know," Ronin replied, "But I think I'm not just connected to them… I'm part of them."
They ventured deeper into the ruins. The destroyed labs looked untouched by time — only covered in dust and silence. In the deepest part of the complex, they found an elevator that still worked.
It took them underground.
Cold lights hummed. A sealed door stood before them — PROJECT V-13: ORIGIN CHAMBER.
As Ronin approached, the scanner glowed — and the door slid open by itself.
Ruby froze. "It… recognized you."
They entered.
Inside was a large circular chamber — walls lined with containment pods. In the center was a broken pod. Shattered glass. Broken tubes. Inside were glowing markings… matching those on Ronin's body.
Ruby accessed the console. Her hands shook as she read:
"Project V-13: Hybrid Subject Status – Terminated."
"Code Name: R-01N1N."
Her eyes widened. "Ronin… That's not just your name. That's your code."
He stepped toward the pod slowly. "This was mine. I… I came from here."
"You're telling me you weren't born. You were created?"
He didn't answer.
Ruby walked over. "Ronin, say something!"
He looked at her, voice trembling. "I was never human. Not completely. They built me. Modified me. Maybe even planted me."
"And your parents?" she asked, eyes wide.
"I don't know if they were real. Maybe memories. Maybe part of the design."
Ruby backed away in shock. "Then what are you?"
Ronin looked at his hands — faintly glowing.
And whispered, "Something that was never meant to exist."
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