The desert sun scorched the horizon, a ruthless, unblinking eye glaring down at the small convoy making its way across the barren expanse. Dust devils danced along the cracked earth like restless spirits.

Ava sat stiffly in the back seat of the old SUV, her eyes fixed on the endless wave of red sand. The memory of the black glass dome haunted her thoughts — a prison and a promise both.

Noah drove, jaw clenched, muscles taut as the engine growled beneath them. Luca studied the map projected on his phone, tracing a route to a place that didn't officially exist.

"This place," Ava said quietly, "wasn't just a lab. It was the epicenter. The heart of Winterglass. Whatever they did to me started here."

Luca nodded. "If we're lucky, we'll find records. Maybe answers."

A sudden gust whipped sand across the windshield. Ava blinked against the grit.

"Do you think the others... the ones I woke, will come for us?" she asked, voice low.

Noah's eyes met hers in the rearview mirror. "If they're unstable like Luca warned, it's not just them you should worry about. It's what they're capable of."

The SUV kicked up a cloud of dust as they crested a dune.

There, half-buried in the sand, rose the black glass dome — cracked, scorched, and ominous like a wound on the earth.

Ava's heart pounded. She felt a strange pull, as if the dome was calling her home— or warning her away.

Luca checked his gear. "We don't know what's left inside. Security bots, traps, maybe something worse."

Noah drew his sidearm. "One step at a time. Stay sharp."

The trio approached the dome's jagged entrance. The black glass shimmered, reflecting their anxious faces back at them.

Ava's fingers trembled as she reached out and touched the cold surface.

A sudden jolt surged through her veins — a whisper of forgotten pain and power.

The door slid open with a groan.

Inside, the air was thick with silence and secrets.

Their journey into the heart of Winterglass had begun.

To be continued...