Chapter 14 — Where Shadows Divide
Three Kilometers Underground
Sirens screamed through layers of concrete, their wail never fading.
Red emergency lights pulsed along the tunnel as massive steel doors across the prison slammed shut one by one.
The walls trembled.
Ray led the way, his pace sharp and efficient—movement honed far beyond normal training.
Tatt ran behind him, gasping for breath.
Dr. Amporn stayed close, gripping Tatt’s arm to keep him moving.
Cold air blasted from the ventilation shafts, biting into skin.
The roar of the circulation system echoed endlessly through the tunnel that stretched far beyond sight.
“H–ha… ha…” Tatt wheezed.
“Is this a prison or a damn battlefield!?”
Ray didn’t slow.
Dr. Amporn glanced at the scanner on Ray’s wrist, his voice tight.
“Ray… Iron Shade signals behind us are increasing.”
Ray checked the Cheetar scanner.
Red dots flooded the display—twenty of them already.
More appeared every second.
“They’ve sealed every main gate,” Ray said.
“This tunnel is the only route left.”
He accelerated.
“If we get pinned here—none of us make it.”
Tatt struggled to keep up.
The Brutal Fork
After nearly eight hundred meters, the tunnel widened.
Then split.
Three paths branched out beneath flickering red lights.
The rhythmic thump of the ventilation system echoed like something breathing inside the walls.
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Ray stopped abruptly and raised his hand.
Silence.
From behind them—
the pounding footsteps of Iron Shade soldiers, closing fast.
A pack in pursuit.
Tatt’s face went pale.
Dr. Amporn instinctively stepped in front of him.
Ray pointed toward the far-left tunnel.
“You two take that path,” Ray said.
“The exit is about two kilometers down the auxiliary tunnel.”
Tatt’s eyes widened.
“W–What about you!?”
“If you go another way, they’ll surround you!”
Ray didn’t answer.
Instead, he pulled out a key fob.
An Iron Shade vehicle key—stolen earlier during the chaos.
He handed it to Dr. Amporn, his tone firm.
“When you reach the surface,” Ray said,
“there’s a black van in the logistics yard.”
“Use this key. Leave immediately.”
Dr. Amporn hesitated.
“And you, Ray…?”
Ray smiled faintly.
Not a reassuring smile—
but one worn by someone who understood his role perfectly.
“I’ll draw Iron Shade to the right,” Ray said.
“Make them think I’m escaping through the main route.”
Tatt swallowed hard, clearly wanting to argue—but fear stole his voice.
Ray placed a hand on Tatt’s shoulder, his voice gentle now.
Almost brotherly.
“Don’t stop running,” Ray said.
“Don’t look back.”
“When you reach the lab—I’ll follow.”
Dr. Amporn stared at Ray.
There was something in this man he couldn’t read.
But courage was unmistakable.
“…Thank you, Ray,” Dr. Amporn said.
Ray nodded.
In his eyes, something flickered—
a glint no one there could interpret.
The look of a man executing a plan beneath another plan.
Ray Breaks Away
Footsteps thundered closer.
Ray shoved Tatt and Dr. Amporn toward the left tunnel.
“Go!”
They ran.
Tatt’s smaller figure vanished into the darkness.
Dr. Amporn followed, never once turning back.
Ray faced the main tunnel.
Dark silhouettes of Iron Shade soldiers began to emerge.
He inhaled slowly.
Rolled his shoulders.
Like a man deliberately choosing to become prey.
Ray ripped an Iron Shade helmet from a fallen soldier and slammed it onto his head.
Then he shouted—
his voice detonating through the tunnel.
“HEY!!
I’M RIGHT HERE!!
COME AND GET ME IF YOU CAN!!!”
The sound echoed like a blast wave.
Iron Shade units roared in response.
“That’s him! Primary target!”
“He broke out—don’t let him escape!”
“Seal the right route—now!”
Ray smirked.
The smile of a hunter leading the chase exactly where he wanted it.
He tore the helmet off and hurled it aside.
Then sprinted into the right tunnel—
a black streak of motion, barely real.
Iron Shade poured after him.
Every last one of them.
Exactly as Marcus had planned.
The Plan No One Sees
Far behind, Dr. Amporn and Tatt ran deeper into the left tunnel.
Ahead of them—freedom.
Behind them—nothing but darkness.
Ray ran alone through the twisting, most dangerous route.
His pace steady. Controlled.
His right hand slid beneath his sleeve.
A concealed communicator activated.
The screen glowed red.
The symbol of Death Cheetar pulsed softly.
Ray spoke quietly.
Calmly.
“…The operation has begun, sir,” he said.
“Prepare to receive updated coordinates on Theer.”
The device powered down.
Ray vanished into the shadows, pulling the entire Iron Shade force away from Tatt and Dr. Amporn’s path.
The view shifted—
The left tunnel.
Tatt and Dr. Amporn ran with everything they had, hearts pounding, lungs burning.
Unaware that the man who saved their lives—
was also guiding the hunt straight into Marcus’ jaws.
Fade out.
