Episode 49 – Shadows Beneath the Surface

  The hum of the emergency lights barely filled the silence. The air inside the safehouse was thick—stale with something unspoken. Kade Voss sat at the edge of a metal table, rolling a rusted bolt between his fingers. He wasn’t the type to dwell, but something about the last 48 hours felt… off. More than usual.

  Across from him, Naomi adjusted the strap of her vest, her eyes flicking toward him. “You keep staring at that thing like it’s gonna talk back,” she muttered.

  Kade didn’t answer right away. He set the bolt down, tapping it twice against the table. “You ever feel like we’re only seeing half the picture?”

  Naomi exhaled through her nose, leaning back in her chair. “That’s how this entire damn world feels now. Azazel2 rewrote reality, and we’re just playing catch-up.” She rubbed her hands together, as if trying to shake off something unseen. “What’s eating at you?”

  Kade glanced around the room. Owen was across from the monitors, scanning movement reports from the perimeter sensors. Mason had stepped out to check the outer barricades. Just the three of them inside for now.

  Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

  “I keep thinking about the transition,” Kade said finally. “From 2026 to now. How the world didn’t just fall apart overnight—it shifted. Slowly. We only noticed when it was too late.” He tapped the bolt again. “I feel that same shift happening again. Right under our feet.”

  Naomi’s brows tightened, but she didn’t brush it off. That was why Kade trusted her judgment. She listened, even when the answer wasn’t obvious.

  Before she could respond, Owen spoke without looking away from the monitors. “That would mean there’s another phase.” His voice was quiet, controlled. “If Azazel2 isn’t just maintaining the new reality, but actively changing it again… we might be walking into something worse.”

  Silence stretched between them.

  Kade stood, rolling his shoulders. “Then we figure it out before it figures us out.”

  A deep metallic groan echoed through the walls, distant but deliberate. Not the wind. Not settling metal. Something else.

  Naomi was already reaching for her rifle. Owen’s fingers hovered over the keyboard. The tension snapped from creeping unease to sharp awareness.

  Another sound followed—closer this time. A dragging weight.

  Mason’s voice crackled over the radio. “You guys hearing this?” His tone was low, edged with something Kade didn’t like.

  Kade picked up the radio. “We hear it.”

  Mason hesitated. Then, quieter: “I think it’s under us.”

  The room stayed deathly still.

  Naomi’s hand tensed over the trigger. “Since when does Azazel2 move under things?”

  Kade didn’t have an answer. But he knew one thing—whatever was shifting beneath them wasn’t just a threat.

  It was a warning.

  End of Episode 49.