Chapter 35 - The Storm Starts

The night sky hung like a suffocating shroud, thick clouds swirling as though they mirrored the turmoil brewing below. Thunder rumbled in the distance, yet it wasn't the storm in the heavens that sent tremors through the city—it was the uprising.

A restless energy surged through the streets, where voices rose in defiance, the chant of "I WILL FIGHT!" echoing like a war cry. But beneath this roar, Alice moved like a shadow, slipping through the back alleys, her focus on a far more personal mission.

Damian and Emilia had taken charge of the revolution, leading a sea of rebels toward the heart of the O.R.D.E.R.'s strongholds. Their numbers had swelled, but Alice had peeled away from the crowd, her goal pulling her into the darkness. The stolen intel had pointed to a place buried deep beneath the city—an underground compound where Kain, her missing mentor, was supposedly being held.

Her heart raced at the thought of seeing him again, but something gnawed at her. This was too simple, too direct. The O.R.D.E.R. didn't make mistakes like this.

Her steps were swift and silent as she wove through narrow streets, her senses heightened. The storm in the sky mirrored the one in her soul. She couldn't shake the feeling that everything was about to unravel, but there was no turning back. Kain was waiting.

Across the city, Damian's voice boomed through the crowd. The glow of streetlights flickered, casting him in a golden hue as he stood at the head of the throng, his smile wolfish as ever. "They have no idea what's coming, do they?" he quipped, his eyes glinting with mischief.

Emilia, always the more pragmatic, gave him a sharp look. "This isn't a joke, Damian. We hit them hard, we hit them fast, and we don't stop until they fall. Stay focused." Her voice was ice, but her eyes burned with the fire of someone who had fought too long to fail now.

Damian chuckled. "Oh, I'm focused. Let's give 'em hell."

As the crowd surged forward, their cries filled the night air, shaking the walls of the O.R.D.E.R.'s outpost. The storm of rebellion had officially begun.

But while the revolution stormed ahead, Alice found herself at the mouth of an unmarked entrance on the city's outskirts. The facility was concealed beneath layers of earth, its walls cold and unfeeling, the kind of place designed to break spirits and bury secrets.

The door slid open with a hiss, and Alice stepped inside, the weight of the silence nearly unbearable. Every muscle in her body tensed, her senses tuned to the slightest sound, but there was nothing. No guards. No alarms. Nothing.

Her heart pounded as she navigated the sterile corridors. The farther she ventured, the deeper the chill settled into her bones. She reached the door—the one that had haunted her thoughts since the moment she saw the plans. With a trembling breath, she placed her hand on the cold metal handle.

Click.

The door slid open. But the sight that greeted her wasn't the one she had been dreaming of.

Michael Spade stood in the center of the room, his predatory smile widening as he saw her.

His blonde hair, sleek and polished, glistened under the dim lights. "Ah, Alice," he purred, his voice thick with mockery. "I knew you'd come."

Alice's eyes flashed with fury. "Where's Kain?"

Michael's laugh echoed off the walls, cold and unfeeling. "Always straight to the point, aren't you? Well, don't worry. Your precious mentor is here." He stepped aside with a flourish, revealing a pod-like structure at the back of the room.

Inside, suspended in a viscous liquid, was Kain. Tubes snaked across his body, his chest barely rising and falling. Unconscious. Trapped.

Rage ignited in Alice's chest. She surged forward, but Michael's hand shot up, stopping her in her tracks. "Ah-ah," he warned, his orange eyes gleaming with sick delight. "One more step, and I'll make sure he never breathes again."

Alice froze, her entire body vibrating with tension. Her mind raced, calculating a dozen ways to strike—but none of them felt fast enough, none guaranteed Kain's safety. She was trapped.

"You really thought you could come here and just waltz out with him?" Michael taunted, circling her like a predator. "You're so predictable, Alice. So desperate for the past that you didn't even see the trap closing around you."

Her fists clenched so tightly her knuckles turned white. "I'm not here for games, Spade."

"Oh, but I am," Michael said with a sinister smile. "You've been so preoccupied with your little rebellion that you never even realized it was doomed from the start."

Alice's heart sank. This was more than a trap for her. It was a trap for the revolution itself. Michael had orchestrated everything, and she had led her people straight into the jaws of the beast.

"I told you," Michael continued, his voice dark and dripping with satisfaction. "You're the key to their downfall. The moment you decided to chase after Kain, you left them vulnerable. And now, your little revolution will burn."

The weight of his words crashed down on her, but Alice didn't flinch. Her mind churned, looking for a way out, a way to turn the tables. "You're wrong," she said, her voice low, but steady. "This isn't over."

Michael chuckled, shaking his head as though she were a naive child. "It was over the moment you walked in here. But don't worry, I'll make sure you get a front-row seat to watch your failure."

Alice's breath came faster, her muscles coiled like a spring. She was surrounded by darkness, her mentor imprisoned, and her people unknowingly walking into a massacre. The storm had truly begun—and she was caught in its very eye.

But even in the deepest pit of despair, a spark of defiance flared in her chest.

She wasn't done fighting. Not yet. The storm might have started, but Alice White wasn't about to be swept away without a fight.