Not like a person—slow, steady, alive. Moss clung to tree trunks slick with dew, and the air smelled like crushed pine needles and rust. Lena's boots sank into the soil, each step a squelch that mixed with the distant hum of something mechanical. Drones, she thought. Or maybe worse.
Maria lagged behind, her breath ragged. "You sure this 'core server' ain't just a fairy tale?" she whispered, squinting at the horizon.
Lena followed her gaze. There, cutting through the trees like a jagged tooth, stood the tower. Even in the dark, it was impossible to miss: a skeletal metal giant, its frame bent and scarred, topped with a spinning green light that pulsed like a dying star. Wires snaked down its sides, vanishing into the earth, and every so often, a red blinker flared on its surface—scanning.
"It's real," Lena said, her voice tight. Her arm throbbed where the blue veins crawled, now just below her jawline. She could feel her thoughts fraying at the edges: her mom's laugh, the smell of coffee, the way 7A had looked at her with those desperate, hopeful eyes—all slipping away, dissolving like sugar in rain.
7D, ahead, held up a fist. They froze.
From the trees, a low buzz grew louder. Not drones. Mechanical bees. Dozens of them, no bigger than fists, zipped out of the underbrush, their wings whining. Each carried a tiny camera where their stinger should've been.
"Code watchers," 7D muttered, yanking a device from her belt—a sort of net launcher. "They track heat. Don't move."
But Lena's skin was on fire. Her body heat spiked as the code surged, and the bees swerved toward her, their red sensors flaring.
"Lena!" Maria grabbed her arm, yanking her into a bush. The branches tore at her jacket, but the movement hid her from the bees' gaze.
7D launched the net. It unfurled, a sticky web of thin wires, and caught three bees mid-flight. They buzzed angrily, trapped, until 7D crushed them under her boot—their screens going dark with a crack.
"Move," she said, grabbing Lena's hand again. "They'll call for backup."
They ran, the forest closing in. Branches lashed at their faces, and the ground turned rocky underfoot. Lena's breath came in short gasps; her legs felt like lead, but the code pushed her—faster, faster. It wanted her to collapse, to forget, to surrender.
"Almost there," 7D panted, gesturing to a break in the trees.
The tower loomed closer now. Up close, it was even more unsettling: its metal plates were pockmarked with bullet holes, some old and rusted, others fresh. A chain-link fence surrounded the base, half-collapsed, with signs that read DANGER: AUTHORIZED ACCESS ONLY in peeling red paint. Beside the fence lay a skeleton in a tattered lab coat, its skull cracked open like an egg.
"Welcome to Blackwood's playground," 7D said, kicking aside a rusted bolt. "They used to test clones here. Now it's just… leftovers."
Lena's boots hit the fence. The metal was cold, but her hands were burning. She gripped the wire, pulling herself over, when a clang echoed from above.
A door slammed open on the tower's second level. A figure stepped out, silhouetted against the green light.
"7D," the figure said, voice smooth as oil. "Took you long enough."
7D froze. "Rook? What the hell are you doing here?"
Rook. Lena remembered the name from 7A's whispers—another clone, one of the first to "break." She'd been a scientist before Blackwood got their hands on her.
Rook leaned against the doorframe, her arms crossed. Her blue veins were bright, almost electric, snaking up her neck like lightning. "Blackwood sent me. They want the drive. And the girl." She nodded at Lena.
Maria stepped in front of Lena. "Over our dead bodies."
Rook laughed. "You think I care about dead bodies? I am one, remember? Or did you think that lab coat was fashion?" She tossed a device from her hand—it landed at 7D's feet with a thud. A tracker.
7D's face paled. "You… you ratted us out."
"Of course I did. Blackwood pays better than your dead friends." Rook's eyes flicked to Lena. "But the girl? She's special. The code's hungry for her. I wanna watch it eat her alive."
Lena's arm burned hotter. She could feel the code clawing at her throat, trying to silence her. "You're… one of them," she croaked.
Rook tilted her head. "Was. Now I'm something else. Something better." She stepped down, her boots clanging on the metal. "Give me the drive, and I'll make your deaths quick. Or I'll let the drones do it. Your choice."
Maria tightened her grip on Lena. "No way. We're not—"
A roar cut her off.
From the trees, a shadow emerged. Not a drone. Not a bee. Something bigger.
It was a clone, but not like 7A or 7D. This one was fused with the forest—bark grew over half its face, vines coiled around its arms, and its eyes glowed a sickly yellow, like rotting apples. Its mouth stretched into a grin, revealing jagged metal teeth.
"Rook," it growled. "You're late."
Rook froze. "Mother? No. You're… decommissioned."
The clone—Mother—lunged. Rook dodged, but Mother grabbed her by the throat, her vines coiling tighter. "You left me here. Rotting. While you played Blackwood's games." Her voice was a mix of static and screams, like a radio tuned to the wrong frequency.
"Let her go!" 7D yelled, lunging with a knife.
Mother snapped her head, and 7D froze, her eyes glazing over. "Another traitor. How… quaint."
Lena's vision blurred. She could barely stand, but Maria was dragging her forward, toward the tower's door. "We gotta get in!" Maria shouted. "Now!"
The tower's door was half-open, hanging off its hinges. Inside, it smelled like burnt plastic and chemicals. Lights flickered on the walls—security cameras, still active.
"Upstairs," 7D panted, leading them. "The server's on the third level. But there's… things here. Things Blackwood left behind."
They climbed the stairs, each step creaking. On the second level, a lab lay in ruins—broken test tubes, charred papers, a chair with restraints still bolted to the floor. On the wall, a message was scrawled in red paint: THE CODE EATS MINDS. THE CODE EATS SOULS. THE CODE EATS YOU.
Lena's head throbbed. She grabbed her temples, but the pain only got worse. Memories flickered—her dad teaching her to ride a bike, her best friend's birthday party, the day she'd found that box under the floorboards. All of it slipping away, replaced by a single thought: Run. Run. Run.
They reached the third level. The server loomed at the end of the room—a monolith of black metal, its surface covered in glowing circuits. Wires snaked from it to the walls, connecting to… people. Clones, strapped to tables, their eyes wide and unblinking. The code's light pulsed in their veins, just like Lena's.
"Mommy?" a small voice said.
Lena froze.
A little girl, no older than six, sat up on one of the tables. Her hair was matted, her face streaked with dirt, but her eyes were clear—too clear. "Are you here to take me home?"
Maria gasped. "Oh my god. She's… she's a clone. A kid."
The girl slid off the table, her movements jerky, like a marionette. "I want my mommy. Where's my mommy?"
Lena's heart ached. She wanted to hug her, to tell her it was okay, but her legs felt like jelly. The code was winning. Her vision went dark at the edges, and she stumbled, catching herself on the server.
The server hummed. Its green light flared, and a voice—Blackwood's voice—boomed from hidden speakers: "Ah, 7B. So good of you to visit. Let's see how far your little rebellion has gotten."
Lena's blood ran cold. "You're… you're in the server?"
"I am the server," Blackwood said. "And you, my dear, are the key to my masterpiece. The code that will make clones perfect. Obedient. Silent."
The little girl giggled, a sound like nails on glass. "Silent. Silent. Silent."
Maria grabbed Lena's hand. "We have to destroy it. Now."
Lena looked at the server. At the clones strapped to the tables. At the little girl, whose eyes were starting to glow blue.
The code's voice whispered in her head: "Join us. Be whole. Forget the pain."
But then she thought of 7A, screaming as the drones fired. Of 7D, fighting to keep them alive. Of the little girl, who shouldn't have to live like this.
"No," Lena said, her voice steady. "Not today."
She pulled the drive from her pocket, its edges digging into her palm. The code's veins on her arm flared, but she ignored the pain.
Maria grinned. "About time."
They ran toward the server, the drive held high.
Blackwood laughed. "You can't stop progress, 7B. The code is inevitable."
Lena slammed the drive into the server's port.
A high-pitched scream filled the room—from the server.
Lights flickered, then died. The green light on the tower's top winked out.
The clones on the tables stirred, their blue veins dimming. The little girl looked around, confused, her glow fading.
And then… silence.
7D stared at the server, now just a black box. "Did we…?"
Maria hugged Lena. "Yeah. We did."
From below, a crash echoed.
Mother.
She was breaking through the floor, vines tearing through the walls. Her eyes locked on them, and her mouth stretched into a snarl.
But for the first time in her life, Lena didn't feel afraid.
She felt alive.
And ready to fight.