Chapter 13: Chapter 13: Infiltrated?

Zane and Layla woke up in the safety of an underground bunker underneath the military base. The entire perimeter of the base was surrounded by thousands of guards and high-tech weaponry. They were forbidden from even going near the exit of the underground bunker.

Inside the bunker were a total of eight high-ranking military personnel. The bunker was made of strong titanium and other sturdy materials to prevent easy underground infiltration. There were even powerful motion sensors around the bunker to detect even the slightest movement. The bunker was guarded both above and underground.

Layla and Zane also had their own rooms which were even more secure than the rest of the bunker. The rooms were only slightly spacious and there wasn't much for either of them to do. It felt more like a mental asylum than anything else due to the strict rules they had to follow.

However, they knew better than to complain. Apollo's game was about to begin. The military seemed ready for anything that the Apocrypha would throw at them but they could never be too cautious. Little did they know that the Apocrypha had already made their move, only waiting for the timer to completely run out.

A few minutes before the game began, Zane and Layla were called up by Commander Frost in a small meeting room inside the bunker. They gathered around a decent-sized table with the other military personnel.

"The only ones that should be here are as follows," began Commander Frost.

"1. Zane Civil

2. Layla Mills

3. Carmen Campbell

4. Lewis Davis

5. Durant Johnson

6. Phoebe Smith

7. Sasha Williams

8. Joseph Cohen

9. Rohan Crossford

And lastly, myself, Xavier Frost. No one else should enter or leave this room unless advised by me. Zane and Layla, you two are our top priority and we promise to keep you safe. You have our word. As for the rest of us, we are specially trained soldiers that you can rely on. Your safety is guaranteed!"

Zane and Layla gave dim smiles of approval. They wanted to act as if they felt safe but that was far from the case. After witnessing what the Apocrypha were capable of, it was hard for them to think that everything would go smoothly. There were too many unknown factors for them to be assured.

To make things worse, Zane felt bothered by something. It was as if his intuition was trying to warn him that something was wrong. It was like a sickening feeling in his gut that refused to go away.

Commander Frost then placed a small stopwatch on the table before them. They were approaching the final seconds before chaos unfolded. Slowly, the stopwatch began to tick. Only 10 seconds were left. It slightly reminded Zane of the New Years' countdown with his parents before the Apocrypha attacked.

The atmosphere was filled with tension and a cold chill ran through the air. Despite the air conditioning, sweat ran down the sides of their faces as if they were standing in a hot desert. Five seconds were now left on the clock.

5... 4... Zane tightened his fists in fear. 3... 2... He could feel death's stare. 1... 0...

Zane closed his eyes tightly. He had expected some sort of massive explosion but nothing had happened. Seeing this, he took a huge breath of relief.

"The game has now begun! Zane and Layla, I'm trusting both of you with these firearms for emergencies. Let's hope you won't need them," said Commander Frost as he handed them each a gun.

They took the weapons from the commander which were accompanied by two packs of extra ammunition. They quickly placed the ammo in their pockets and tucked the guns neatly in their waists.

Layla gave Zane a reassuring nod to stay by her side. She wasn't as intuitive as he was but she had a killer instinct to determine when something was wrong. Because of this, she refused to let down her guard.

"Alright, everyone is dismissed! Just follow the rules we've made and everything should go as planned!"

"Sir!" Replied the others in sync.

Everyone then quickly left the meeting room as they proceeded back toward their individual areas. Layla and Zane walked side by side as they headed back toward their rooms. However, Layla realized that something seemed to be bothering Zane.

"Zane, is something bothering you?" She asked.

Zane took a shaky breath before he answered, "Yeah... I don't know, but I just have this bad feeling that something's about to happen. Usually, whenever I get this feeling, something bad always happens... I don't know... Maybe I'm just being paranoid this time..."

Layla grabbed onto his arm and turned him to face her. Her smoky-gray eyes burned with intensity as she looked him in the eyes. This slightly caught him by surprise.

"Zane, listen to me..! If your gut tells you something is wrong then never ignore it. Especially if it's always been on point! Whenever you get that gut feeling, keep looking for the cause until you're satisfied! Ignoring it could mean the difference between life and death!"

"R-Right..." Answered Zane, just a little flustered.

"I know what you mean though. The tension in that room was sharper than a knife. Something was wrong and I could feel it in my skin..."

"Yeah..."

"Hmm? What is it? You've been acting a little strange..."

Zane scratched his head and averted his eyes.

"Sorry, I don't think I should say... It's nothing..."

"Huh? Zane, now you're making me curious! What is it?"

"It's nothing... It's not the time for me to say it..."

"Ugh... I hate when people do that! I'm not letting you go until you tell me!"

"Sigh... Fine... It's just that when you grabbed me just now, that look in your eyes was a little... uh... hot..."

Layla's face turned bright red as she released Zane's arm.

"This isn't the time for that! You should be focused on surviving!"

"That's what I said but you're the one who forced me to tell you!"

Layla facepalmed her flustered face, "Sigh... I guess it's true when they say, curiosity killed the cat."

"...Anyway, do you think something is wrong?"

"Well, something is obviously wrong with you if you could be admiring me in a situation like this!"

"I meant with the Apocrypha!"

"Oh... Right... Honestly, it's hard to say. For now, we should just return to our rooms. If anything happens, just let me know."

Zane nodded in acceptance. However, as soon as they were about to enter their rooms, they noticed that someone was standing behind them, listening to their conversation.

"Woah!" Yelled Zane in fright.

Layla quickly stepped back, holding Zane's hand. To their surprise, it was Lewis Davis, one of the soldiers they saw back in the meeting room. He had silver hair and bright blue eyes. He was averagely muscular and wore black military combat clothes like those from a special unit.

"Were you listening in on us?!" Quickly inquired Layla.

"Yes, I'm sorry to pry... But I'm just guarding you two. It's my job, isn't it?" Asked Lewis with a raised eyebrow.

"Okay... I just find it weird how you snuck up behind us without a word..."

"Is it?"

"Yeah... Just forget it. Zane, I'll see you in a bit. I'm gonna lock myself inside my metallic asylum of a room... or prison since this is basically what this place is."

Zane nodded in approval before moving inside his room. As he closed the door, he looked back at Lewis who had now turned around with his hands placed at ease behind his back. Zane didn't know what to think of him since he did approach them a little strangely.

After closing the door, Zane immediately began looking around to make sure it was completely safe. Almost everything around him was metallic. The only thing that made it look like a normal room was the plush bed at the opposite end. As Zane moved toward the bed, he saw a small hole in the wall to his left.

"Why is there a hole here..?"

Slowly, he inspected the hole. He then peeped through to the other end to see Layla sitting comfortably on her bed. The rooms were connected.

"Oh wow! Why are our rooms connected?"

Layla jumped in fright, falling from the bed. Zane had scared her.

"What the hell, Zane?! You could have given me a heart attack!! And what do you mean connected?"

"There's a hole in the wall. I guess they must have placed it here so we can talk to one another..."

Layla approached the hole with an unamused look on her face.

"They could have used smaller holes if they simply wanted us to talk. Don't they know that this is a violation of privacy? Ugh... I swear, Zane. If I as much as catch you peeping on me through this thing, I'll stab you in the eye!"

"Hey now, don't you think that's a bit much?! I'm not some pervy dude!"

"All men have tendencies. You can all try your best to act cool but there's always a part of you that wants to "grab that ass", as they'd put it. Just control yourself and we shouldn't have any problems."

"Then why not just plug the hole if you're that bothered by it? It's like you're using reverse psychology to tell me to peek at you..."

Layla slammed her foot onto the hole, causing Zane to fall over on his back in fright. Quickly, he scurried away to his bed.

"The next time you say that I'll come over there and kick your ass!"

Zane didn't dare to utter another word. Instead, he climbed onto his bed and settled himself in silence. After a few more minutes, Zane became drowsy. His eyes fluttered and his breathing became light. Before long, he had fallen asleep.

After another hour had passed, Zane was kidnapped from his sleep by hurried knocking. He grabbed the gun from his waist and leaped from his bed.

"Who is it?" He asked quickly.

"Zane, get out here quick! Something happened down the hallway! Carmen is dead!" Shouted Layla.

Zane then rushed to the door before throwing it open. Layla stood before him with her gun clenched between her fists and her eyes were filled with urgency.

"What do you mean Carmen is dead!?"

Layla tried to calm herself. She was breathing heavily as if she had just run an entire mile at full speed.

"Commander Frost is asking all of us to meet back at the meeting room right now!"

The two then rushed over to the meeting room with their hearts running a drag race. They were confused and quite scared. None of it made sense. The bunker that had been deemed impenetrable now had a dead body inside.

Everyone gathered around the table inside the meeting room with looks of worry etched on their faces.

"As you should all know, Carmen was killed just a few minutes ago. She had a hole in her stomach as if she was impaled by something," grimly stated Commander Frost.

"Damn it! But how?! We're the only ones that should be in here! Who could have killed her?!" Shouted Joseph.

"Calm down, Joseph! If we're going to figure this out, we need to remain calm! Commander, did you check the cameras to see what happened?" Asked Phoebe.

The commander shook his head, "The cameras were sabotaged. The security room is as good as useless."

"Sabotaged? But how? We should inform the soldiers on the outside about this!" Demanded Sasha.

"No. That's a bad idea! That's exactly what the enemy wants us to do! They want us to open those doors to let something inside of this place! Not only will that cause a sense of insecurity among the other soldiers, but it would also make us look incompetent as leaders!" Argued Durant.

"Sergeant Durant is right... We have to figure this out ourselves. Bringing more people into this would only cause more chaos," agreed the Commander.

A moment of uncomfortable silence drifted through the room as emotions began to run high.

"Who found the body?" Asked Joseph.

Layla raised her hand, signaling it was her.

"I wanted to use the bathroom so I left my room to do so. But as soon as I was going to enter the bathroom, I saw Carmen's body sprawled out on the floor in a pool of blood. Someone had killed her before I got there..."

"Did you notice anything out of the ordinary?"

"Unfortunately, no..."

Commander Frost slammed his fist into the table with rage, "F**k!!"

Seeing this made Zane anxious. He had a feeling he knew what had happened. However, if he wasn't careful, he could easily turn everyone against one another. This made him a little nervous.

"I'm not trying to be disrespectful to any of you but I think the culprit is one of us..." He said timidly.

Everyone looked up at Zane in shock.

"What? One of us?" Inquired Phoebe in shock.

"It's just a feeling I get..." Zane paused as he turned his eyes over to Layla. She nodded at him, encouraging him to speak up. Due to this, he raised his voice.

"I know it's someone here! I'm certain of it... The bunker was thoroughly inspected to make sure that only the ten of us were here, right? I don't want to displace the trust we have for one another but it's the only theory that makes sense! If it's not one of us then who could have gotten inside this place undetected and killed Carmen? I already know that Layla and I aren't the ones who did it. So that narrows it down to the seven high-ranking officials before us!"

Silence erupted in the room. It was a very plausible theory. As far as their knowledge extended, they doubted the Apocrypha could have done something like this.

"Kid, the seven of us have known each other for the longest time! There's no way we'd turn against one another and kill Carmen!" Argued Durant.

"Sergeant Durant, Zane's right. Don't lose your temper at him for coming up with a plausible theory," defended Commander Frost.

"Commander, you can't be serious!"

"Then who else would it be?! The real question is, why would one of you kill a comrade? I hand-picked all of you to remain in this bunker with me because we're all good friends outside of our duties. Did any of you have a dispute with Carmen?"

No one answered.

"I did find it a little weird that Lewis wasn't guarding the door when I left to go to the bathroom. At first, he said he was going to stand guard but he wasn't there when I came out. Where did you go, Lewis?" Interrogated Layla.

Zane also found it a little suspicious due to how quiet Lewis had been the entire meeting.

"I went to the bathroom but I swear it wasn't me! I needed to relieve myself so I left my post really quick to do so! I thought it would be okay since their room doors had powerful locks on them!"

Durant slammed his hands down on the table in rage, "The bathroom?! You're telling me you didn't see the body when you entered the bathroom?!"

"It wasn't there when I first entered! I swear on my life!"

Joseph draped Lewis' collar and slammed him against the wall in anger.

"Carmen was a good friend of mine, you son of a bitch!! I should kill you for this!!"

"Wait!" Boomed Commander Frost. "Calm down and take it easy! We can't turn against ourselves or we'll lose to the Apocrypha! We have no evidence to point fingers at anyone as yet. Besides, we can't be 100% sure that it was one of us. As plausible as Zane's theory is, there could be something else that we're not seeing."

Everyone did their best to calm down. Joseph released Lewis' shirt and pushed him aside. They knew better than to argue with the commander. They couldn't allow this to destroy their trust so easily.

"Then how do we proceed from here?" Asked Sasha.

"We will travel in teams of two to be safe. Lewis will stay with me for obvious reasons. Durant, you stay with Joseph. Phoebe, you stay with Rohan. And Sasha, I'm counting on you to guard both Layla and Zane. Both of them should remain in their rooms and should not leave unless I give the order.

No one argued. Staying in teams of two made plenty of sense. Not only was it safer but if someone else died, it would make it easier to identify the culprit.

"Commander, I have a request," demanded Layla. "Allow me and Zane to stay together in the same room. It would be easier for us to have each other's backs if something were to happen. I'd feel a lot safer having someone who I'm certain I can trust with me."

"Granted. If there's nothing else then you're all dismissed. Be careful and don't hesitate to contact me if you see something strange."

Everyone accepted before splitting up into their assigned groups.

Sasha followed Layla and Zane, keeping a close eye on them. She had gorgeous dark skin and short curly black hair. Her eyes were like melted chocolate and she wore the female version of Lewis' military combat suit. She was quite beautiful.

On the other hand, Layla glanced back at Rohan who was walking away in the opposite direction. She found it strange how quiet he had been during the entire meeting.

"You two have nothing to worry about," began Sasha from behind in a sweet voice. "You two are humanity's last hope of survival. I will put my life on the line to protect you."

"Thanks, we appreciate that," answered Zane as he prepared to enter Layla's room.

"You should try to take it easy. In times like this, stress and worry are your #1 emotions. It's best to do something that puts your mind at ease. And since you two will be alone in a room together, it's the perfect time to unwind, if you know what I mean. Hehe! The walls aren't soundproof though, so do try to keep it down."

Zane froze as his ears became red hot. Layla, on the other hand, did not let Sasha's joke bother her.

"He'd be lucky if he even gets to lay a finger on the bed with me. After what he said earlier, he's sleeping on the floor."

"Sigh... You sure know how to hold a grudge..."

Before Sasha knew it, the two locked the door behind them.