Isla's smile was wrong.
It stretched too wide, teeth too white, her lips quivering as if a puppeteer was pulling invisible strings. The static crawling across her skin flickered in rhythm with her words.
"Hello, Layla."
Her voice was both Isla's and not. It carried the warmth of the girl they knew, wrapped in the metallic distortion of something monstrous.
Layla froze. Her chest squeezed so tight she could barely breathe.
Cole stepped in front of her, fists clenched, body coiled like a spring ready to strike. "What the hell did they do to you?"
Isla tilted her head. The static deepened, crawling up her neck and sinking into her eyes until they glowed like broken screens.
"They didn't do anything." Her tone shifted, warped and hollow. "They just showed me the truth."
"Don't listen to her," Rhea said sharply, stepping forward. For once, there was no smirk, no detached amusement. Her face was hard, calculating. "That's not Isla. That's them using her as a mouthpiece."
But Layla couldn't look away.
Because beneath the static, Isla's eyes flickered with something real. Fear. Pain. A silent plea.
She's still in there.
Layla clenched her fists. "Isla, fight it. I know you can hear me."
The smile faltered. For a fraction of a second, Isla's lips trembled. Then static surged across her face again, locking her features back into that grotesque grin.
Cole's growl filled the corridor. "Enough of this." He launched forward, fist swinging.
"Cole, don't!" Layla's shout came too late.
Isla's arm shot up with inhuman speed, catching his punch mid-air. Sparks burst where their skin met, the static feeding off the impact.
Cole's eyes widened. "What the—"
Isla twisted, hurling him across the hallway like a ragdoll. He slammed into the wall with a sickening crack, the metal denting under his weight.
Layla's stomach lurched. Cole groaned but pushed himself up, fury blazing hotter than the pain.
"They've turned her into a weapon," Rhea said quietly. "How… poetic."
The corridor lights flickered, then dimmed. The air vibrated, filled with static whispers.
A voice oozed from Isla's lips, layered with dozens of tones, male and female, young and old.
"She was always yours to lose, Layla. Your shadow. Your weakness. And now she is ours."
Layla's heart thudded painfully.
The voice continued, taunting. "Do you know what her last thought was before she broke? 'Will Layla come for me?'"
Isla's body twitched violently, like a puppet resisting its master. Her eyes flickered human for a second, tears welling before static swallowed them again.
Cole spat blood and staggered back into position beside Layla. "I swear, I'll tear that thing out of her if I have to rip this place apart brick by brick."
"No." Layla's voice cut through the tension like a blade. She stepped forward, eyes locked on Isla. "We're not losing her."
Isla lunged.
Static crackled off her body, scorching the walls as she moved with impossible speed. Layla ducked just in time, the blast tearing through the console behind her. Sparks rained like fireworks.
Cole charged, grabbing Isla's arm and twisting it behind her back. "Snap out of it!" he roared.
But Isla bent unnaturally, slipping out of his hold. She slammed her elbow into his chest, knocking the air from his lungs.
Rhea didn't move to help. She leaned casually against the wall, her eyes sharp, calculating every twitch of Isla's body. "Fascinating," she murmured. "They've fused her nervous system with their network. She's not just a puppet. She's an antenna."
"Then cut the damn strings!" Cole barked.
"Easier said than done," Rhea replied coolly.
Layla lunged forward, catching Isla's wrists in both hands. Sparks erupted at the contact, searing her skin. The pain was blinding, but she didn't let go.
"Isla! Look at me!" Layla's voice cracked with raw desperation. "It's me! It's Layla! Don't let them win!"
For a heartbeat, Isla froze. Her glowing eyes flickered.
Her lips trembled. "L…Layla?"
Then the static surged violently, hurling Layla backward into Cole's arms.
The voice returned, dripping venom. "You can't save her. You never could."
Layla pushed to her feet, blood dripping from her palms. "There has to be a way."
"There is," Rhea said, finally stepping forward. She reached into her coat, pulling out a sleek device humming with faint light. "A neural disruptor. Short-circuits the signal controlling her."
Layla's eyes lit with hope. "Then use it!"
Rhea's smirk returned—sharp, cruel. "Oh, I will. But there's a catch."
She held the device up, letting the glow illuminate her face. "It won't just sever the signal. It'll fry her connection entirely. Best case? She collapses unconscious. Worst case?" She paused, letting the weight of her words sink in. "She never wakes up."
Cole's face darkened. "You even try it, and I'll—"
"Do what?" Rhea's smirk widened. "Hit me? You already tried that once, remember?"
Layla's heart raced. The choice was suffocating. Save Isla by risking her life… or hold back and let the enemy keep her as their puppet.
Isla screamed suddenly, clutching her head. Her voice shifted between her own and the enemy's distortion. "P-please… help me…!"
Layla's chest ached.
There was no time.
"Do it."
Cole snapped his head toward her. "Layla, what the hell—"
"Do it!" Layla shouted, voice breaking. Her eyes locked on Isla's trembling form. "She'd rather die herself than let them use her to kill us."
For once, even Cole was speechless.
Rhea didn't hesitate. She lifted the disruptor, the glow intensifying until it hummed with lethal energy.
Isla's glowing eyes locked on Layla one last time. Tears slipped down her cheeks, cutting through the static.
"Thank… you…" she whispered.
Rhea pressed the trigger.
The disruptor screamed, releasing a wave of blinding light. Static crackled violently across Isla's body, ripping through her veins like lightning. She convulsed, screaming in a chorus of voices—hers, the enemy's, and something inhuman.
Layla's hands shook, every instinct screaming to stop it, to pull Isla away. But she held herself still.
Finally, with a piercing shriek, the static shattered.
Isla collapsed to the floor, her body limp.
The corridor went silent.
For a long moment, none of them moved.
Then Cole fell to his knees beside her, pressing two fingers to her throat. His jaw clenched.
"She's alive," he whispered. Relief crashed through his voice, raw and broken. "Her pulse is weak, but it's there."
Layla dropped to the ground beside him, cradling Isla's face. Her skin was pale, lips trembling with shallow breaths.
"She fought," Layla whispered, tears blurring her vision. "She fought all the way."
Rhea powered down the disruptor, tucking it away with a small shrug. "You're welcome."
Layla shot her a look sharp enough to cut. "If she doesn't wake up—"
Rhea raised a brow. "Don't threaten me for saving her. I warned you of the risk."
Cole's fist slammed into the floor, denting the metal. "This isn't over. Not by a long shot."
As if answering him, the lights overhead flared blood-red. The walls vibrated with a low hum, deeper than before.
The enemy's voice echoed, filling every corner of the facility.
"You think you won? You freed a body. But her mind is still ours."
Layla's stomach dropped.
Because when she looked down at Isla, she saw it—her eyelids fluttering, her lips twitching in a silent whisper.
The words formed without sound.
Help me.