Chapter 19: Voice Behind the Wall
The humming of the lockdown doors faded into a heavy silence.
For a moment, all that remained was the sound of shallow breathing, the buzz of static overhead, and the slow drip of fluid from a ruptured pipe. The Hollow Nexus felt less like a battlefield now, and more like a tomb.
Zayn crouched by the terminal, checking the status screen.
\[Containment Status: Stable]
\[Lifeform Signatures Detected: 4]
\[Alert: One Unknown – Non-Hostile]
\[Location: Sublevel Chamber – Signal Intermittent]
He blinked. "There's someone else down here."
Max raised an eyebrow. "Another Echo?"
Iris leaned in. "No. It says 'non-hostile.' That's not how Echoes are flagged."
Zayn tapped the display again. A grainy feed flickered onto the monitor—an old security camera still barely functioning. The image was distorted, but it showed movement: a figure huddled in the corner of a flickering chamber, wrapped in torn gear, clutching a flare stick for light.
They were alive.
\[Signal Source: Username – Kira.99]
\[Designation: Beta-Class Survivor / Previous Match Data: Corrupted]
\[System Flag: Forgotten Player / Respawn Rights Revoked]
Max tilted his head. "Forgotten…? Wait, you think that's an actual player?"
"Or what's left of one," Zayn muttered.
The system had no mercy for glitches. He knew it firsthand. But seeing someone who'd survived all this time, trapped beneath infected ground—*that* hit different.
"We're going," Zayn said. "We're getting her out."
\[Sublevel Pathway Access: Maintenance Tunnel – Manual Override Required]
\[Warning: Nest Activity Detected Near Tunnel Entrance]
Iris turned toward the far wall where faded arrows pointed toward a rusted bulkhead.
"I hope you're not afraid of tight spaces," she said quietly.
Max groaned. "Tight spaces and zombies? Why not throw spiders in while we're at it?"
The team approached the bulkhead. Zayn pressed his palm to the scanner. It sparked.
\[Override Required – Enter Security Phrase]
The screen blinked.
A prompt appeared:
\[To Walk Where Others Fell, Speak the Name of the First Lost.]
Zayn frowned. "This again…"
He remembered the log file from earlier. That file—Z\_Prototype\_001—had a name in its metadata.
He typed: **Rafiq.0**
The door hissed open.
A blast of cold air spilled out, thick with rot and damp stone. The maintenance tunnel was narrow—just enough space to crouch-walk single-file.
Zayn went first.
Each step echoed.
After several meters, the tunnel widened into a small service room littered with old data slates and smashed crates. Cracks in the walls let through dim red light and soft clicking sounds.
\[Movement Detected: Nest Spawn – Passive Phase]
They froze.
In the corner of the chamber, nestled among cords and bone-pale vines, were four humanoid shapes—zombie-like, but smaller, curled into fetal poses. Their skin was translucent, pulsing faintly with digital light.
Zayn whispered, "They're… not active?"
Iris examined one closely. "Still incubating."
Max backed away slowly. "Let's not wake the babies."
They moved carefully through the nest.
Past it, a staircase led down into darkness.
The signal on Zayn's HUD blinked stronger.
He called out softly. "Kira?"
Silence.
Then, a voice—hoarse, ragged.
"Stay back… I'm still me. But not for long…"
Zayn reached the bottom of the steps. The room beyond was low-ceilinged, walls patched with moss and rusted panels. A dim emergency light flickered from above.
Kira sat in the corner, wrapped in a weathered player jacket. Her hair was matted, one eye covered by a cracked visor. Her body trembled.
\[Scan Complete – Infection Status: Stage 2]
\[Transformation Delayed by Personal Anti-Virus Injection – Effect Duration: 00:12:43]
\[Option: Assist with Recovery / Administer Cleanse Shot]
Zayn crouched beside her.
"You're not alone anymore."
Kira's voice was faint. "They told me I was deleted… that I didn't exist anymore. But I remembered my login. I stayed in the respawn chamber. Kept the beacon burning in my mind…"
Zayn pulled a cleanse shot from his inventory. "This will hurt."
She nodded. "So does forgetting."
He injected her.
Her body arched in pain, and she screamed—high and raw—but slowly, the red lines on her arms faded. Her breathing steadied.
\[Infection Status: Suppressed]
\[Survivor Class Restored – Respawn Rights Temporarily Reinstated (1x)]
\[Team Member Added: Kira.99 – Class: Scout / Legacy Loadout Enabled]
Max watched from the stairwell. "That's one hell of a recruit."
Kira stood slowly, legs shaking. "I can still fight. I remember every path down here."
Zayn met her gaze. "Then lead us. We need to find the core before this zone eats us alive."
She smiled faintly. "Good. Because Zone\_7… still has a secret. One you're not supposed to see."
\[Zone Recalibration in: 01:12]
And from far above, the lights flickered once more.
Something else had woken up.