The drainage tunnel carried them deep into the island's bowels. The air inside was hot, humid, and thick with the stench of rust and pungent industrial chemicals. The hum of massive machinery vibrated through the thick concrete walls, creating a low frequency that made their chests feel tight.
Indah led the way, moving silently through ankle-deep puddles. Every few meters, she stopped and closed her eyes for a moment.
“What is it?” Joko whispered from behind her, hugging his laptop like a shield.
“My head...” Indah pressed her fingers to her temple. The pain was growing sharper. It wasn't ordinary physical pain. It felt like a hot needle stabbing straight into the center of her brain. Along with the pain, flashes of images began appearing in her mind.
A spotlessly clean white corridor. The rhythmic sound of boots crossing a marble floor. A man in a white lab coat smiling gently at her.
“Hendra...” Indah breathed.
“Indah, the chip in your head is reacting to this facility's internal transmitter,” Joko explained anxiously as he checked the screen of the small tablet in his hand. “The wireless signal here uses the same frequency as your chip's key code. Your memories are trying to break out, but the encryption is still holding them back. We need to reach the main control room immediately.”
They reached the end of the tunnel. A vertical iron ladder led upward, ending at a circular hatch.
Indah climbed first. She opened the hatch slowly, lifting it only a few millimeters to peek at the situation above.
They were in a long industrial corridor. Its walls were made of gray steel plates, illuminated by cold, flickering white fluorescent lights. There were no guards in the corridor, but surveillance cameras were mounted on the ceiling, rotating constantly.
Indah leaped out of the hatch with the lightness of a cat. She signaled for Joko to stay below while she ran in a zigzag, using the surveillance cameras' blind spots with the precision of a trained agent. With one vertical leap, she grabbed the cable above the first camera, pulled herself up, and severed its power cable in one smooth motion.
The camera went dead.
“Clear. Come up,” Indah called in a low voice.
Joko climbed up, breathing hard. “We're in Sector C. This is the secondary laboratory area. The main control room is in Sector A, three floors below us.”
Suddenly, an emergency alarm echoed throughout the corridor. The white fluorescent lights turned flashing red.
“Warning. Intrusion detected in Sector C. Quarantine protocol activated.” A monotonous female computer voice rang out from the speakers.
The heavy steel doors at the end of the corridor began sliding shut automatically.
“They know we're here!” Joko shouted.
“Run!” Indah seized Joko's arm and pulled him across the corridor.
The steel door ahead of them was closing fast, leaving a gap less than half a meter wide. Indah threw her backpack beneath the door to wedge it open for a moment. Metal screeched as the steel door struck the sturdy military pack, slowing its movement for one crucial second.
Indah shoved Joko forward, sending him sliding under the door first. Joko made it through, skidding across the floor of the adjacent corridor. Indah followed right behind him, sliding on her back across the slick metal floor.
BANG!
The steel door closed completely, crushing Indah's backpack flat. It locked tight. They were trapped in a new dead-end corridor, with one large steel door ahead of them that required biometric authentication.
At the opposite end of the corridor, a section of the wall opened. Three four-legged patrol robots—automated sentry drones equipped with integrated light machine guns—emerged from inside, their servo motors whining ominously.
The robots' red eyes locked onto Indah and Joko.
“Joko, hack the door in front of us now!” Indah ordered, her voice cold and unwavering. She stood in front of Joko, shielding him with her own body as both hands drew her semi-automatic pistols.
“I need two minutes!” Joko shouted, immediately connecting his laptop's data cable to the door's control panel.
“You have one minute,” Indah replied. Her eyes fixed straight on the muzzles of the defense robots' weapons as they began to spin.
Adrenaline surged through her veins, and for a moment, the lullaby sounded clearer in her head, merging with the beat of her heart, fast as the pounding of a war drum.