The van rattled as it sped through the rain-slicked streets. Jayden sat in the back, staring out at the blurry lights, his mind racing.
Beside him, Matilda sat shackled, wrists bound loosely but symbolically — a reminder of her betrayal and her hope for redemption.
Wendy drove, eyes sharp.
Jeff was on comms, coordinating the backup plan.
Elias sat silently, like a loaded gun ready to fire.
Time was slipping through their fingers.
---
Matilda spoke, voice barely audible over the rumble of thunder:
"They're keeping Sophia at the 'Iron Fortress.' A private estate guarded like a prison... It's not just soldiers there, Jayden. It's monsters."
Jayden turned to her, eyes narrowed.
"What do you mean by monsters?"
She hesitated.
"They're… altered," she said. "Experiments. Human puppets molded into weapons. They don't feel pain. They don't think. They only follow orders."
The van fell into a heavy silence.
Even Jayden, who thought he had seen every horror the world could offer, felt a shiver crawl up his spine.
---
Later… Outside the Iron Fortress
The estate loomed like a cursed castle, barbed fences and searchlights slicing the darkness.
The team geared up:
Kevlar.
Silencers.
Adrenaline.
Matilda guided them through a maintenance tunnel beneath the fortress.
The air was damp and metallic, heavy with the scent of old blood.
Every step forward felt like a step into a grave.
---
They moved like shadows.
Avoided cameras. Silenced guards.
Until they reached a massive steel door.
Behind it — Sophia.
Jayden's hands trembled slightly as he keyed in the access code Matilda had given.
The door hissed open.
And there she was.
But… not how he remembered.
Sophia was chained, wearing a plain gray gown, her hair chopped unevenly, her face thin — and an iron mask covering half of it.
Her body shook as she looked up at him.
Recognition flashed in her eyes.
And something else: fear.
"Jayden..." she whispered.
Before he could move, alarms blared.
The trap had been sprung.
---
Matilda backed away, tears streaming down her face.
"I didn't have a choice," she choked. "They... they planted a tracker on me. They knew everything."
Doors slammed shut.
Footsteps thundered toward them — dozens, hundreds.
Jeff swore under his breath. Wendy loaded her gun. Elias cocked his weapon.
Jayden didn't hesitate.
He ran to Sophia, ripped the chains off the wall with sheer force, grabbed her hand.
"We're leaving," he said.
She shook her head frantically.
"No... Jayden... I'm not... I'm not the same... they did something to me... if we leave, they can activate me... make me hurt you..."
Her words were like knives.
But Jayden tightened his grip on her trembling hand.
"Then we'll break their hold," he said fiercely.
"Even if I have to burn the world down to do it."
---
As the soldiers stormed in, Jayden, Sophia, and his team made their desperate stand.
Bullets ripped through the air.
Blood. Smoke. Screams.
But Jayden didn't care.
Not anymore.
He would save Sophia — even if it cost him everything.
---