Five days later, the signal was deafening. Mira’s comms unit buzzed constantly, guiding them to a canyon where the earth split like a wound. The rover’s batteries were nearly dead, and the group was fraying—Kael’s patience with Torm’s grumbling, Mira’s stubborn hope, and Lira’s cryptic warnings wore thin. The canyon’s walls loomed, carved with pre-Crash symbols none of them could read.

“We’re here,” Mira said, checking her map. The signal’s source was a mile ahead, deep in the canyon’s heart.

Torm scanned the cliffs, his rifle ready. “Too quiet. Feels like an ambush.”

Lira, her hands now unbound but watched closely, tapped her data-pad. “The signal’s clean, but there’s a second layer—encrypted. I can’t crack it without better gear.”

“Then we move,” Kael said, starting the rover. “No point guessing.”

The canyon narrowed, forcing them to abandon the rover and continue on foot. Kael carried a toolkit, Mira her maps, Torm his arsenal, and Lira her pads. Ash crunched under their boots, and the air grew heavy, like a storm was brewing. At the canyon’s end, they found it—a massive gate, half-buried in rubble, its surface etched with the word HORIZON.

Mira touched the gate, her fingers trembling. “It’s real.”

Kael wasn’t so sure. The gate hummed, powered by something deep within, but its edges were scorched, as if blasted open long ago. “Looks like someone got here first.”

Lira’s data-pad beeped. “The signal’s coming from inside. But there’s interference—something’s jamming my scans.”

Torm kicked a rock, his cybernetic arm flexing. “Only one way to find out.”

They pried the gate open, revealing a tunnel lined with flickering lights. The air inside was cold, sterile, unlike the wasteland’s grit. As they descended, the signal grew erratic, cutting in and out. Kael’s headlamp caught glimpses of abandoned tech—consoles, cables, things he could’ve spent years salvaging. But the silence was wrong. No guards, no traps. Just echoes.

The tunnel opened into a chamber vast enough to hold Dome-7 twice over. At its center stood a reactor, its core pulsing blue, surrounded by screens displaying the same waveform Mira had found. Above it, a glass dome revealed a sky not gray but streaked with faint gold—a sunrise, or something like it.

“Horizon,” Mira whispered, stepping forward.

Before Kael could stop her, the screens flared, and a voice boomed—mechanical, ancient. “Welcome, seekers. You have reached the Horizon Initiative. Power awaits those who prove worthy.”

Torm raised his rifle. “What the hell’s that?”

Lira’s fingers flew across her pad. “It’s automated—an AI. The signal was a test, drawing people here.”

“For what?” Kael demanded.

The voice answered. “To rebuild. To survive. One of you must interface with the core. Choose wisely, or perish.”

Mira turned to the group, her eyes blazing. “This is it—the power to save the domes. I’ll do it.”

“No,” Lira snapped. “The encryption—I cracked part of it. The core’s unstable. It’s been draining others who tried. That’s why no one returns.”

Kael grabbed Mira’s arm. “She’s right. This feels like a trap.”

Mira shook him off. “We didn’t come this far to walk away. If there’s a chance to fix things, I’m taking it.”

Torm lowered his rifle, his voice soft for once. “Kid, courage ain’t enough. Look around—no bodies, no bones. Whatever took the others, it’s still here.”

The screens flickered, and the voice spoke again. “Choose, or the chamber seals in sixty seconds.”

Panic surged. Kael scanned the room, his mind racing. The reactor’s hum was unsteady, like Dome-7’s before he’d fixed it. He darted to a console, ripping off its panel. Wires, circuits—familiar ground. “Lira, help me. If we can bypass the AI, we might shut this down.”

Lira joined him, her pads syncing with the console. “It’s fighting back—old security protocols.”

Mira hesitated, torn between the core and Kael. Torm stood guard, his eyes on the tunnel. Seconds ticked by. Kael’s fingers moved faster, splicing wires, rerouting power. Sparks flew, and Lira cursed as her pad overheated. “Ten seconds!” she shouted.

With a final twist, Kael bridged the circuit. The screens went dark, the voice cut off, and the reactor’s hum steadied. The chamber didn’t seal. They’d won—for now.

Mira sank to her knees, her map crumpled in her hands. “Was it all a lie?”

Kael shook his head, pointing to the reactor. “That’s real. Enough power to run a dozen domes. But it’s not safe yet.”

Lira pocketed her pad, her face grim. “The AI’s offline, but it logged our entry. Someone built this, and they’ll know we’re here.”

Torm slung his rifle over his shoulder. “Then we take what we can and move. Fixer, can you rig this thing to transport?”

Kael nodded. “It’ll take time, but yeah. We’ll need to come back with a bigger crew.”

Mira stood, folding her map. “Then we’ve got a new mission. Bring Horizon’s power home.”

As they climbed back to the surface, the golden sky faded, but Kael felt something shift. Not hope—still too risky for that—but purpose. The wasteland hadn’t broken them yet, and maybe, just maybe, they’d carve out a future worth fighting for.

Chapter 3: The Edge of Dawn

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