INPUT REJECTED

Chapter 15 - The Echo of Rejection

The tunnels stretched on forever. Rust dripped from the pipes, pooling into oily water that mirrored the faint glow of 09’s patch.

404 kept stealing glances at him. The fight still burned in his chest — not the clash of metal, but the words. You’re walking around with something Argo wants more than air.

Something. Him.

“What did he mean?” 404 finally asked, breath sharp. “Why would Argo care about me? I was rejected. I was supposed to be erased.”

09 didn’t answer. His stride never faltered.

“Don’t do that,” 404 snapped. “Don’t shut me out. I’m not just going to follow you blind when I don’t even know why I’m still breathing.”

That stopped him. 09 turned, slow, and in the thin tunnel light his expression was harder than steel.

“Rejection isn’t deletion,” 09 said quietly. “They didn’t erase you. They couldn’t.”

The words hit like a strike.

404 blinked. “What do you mean couldn’t?”

09 hesitated, then leaned in, voice low. “Argo’s system is perfect — every number, every input accounted for. But you… you fell outside the pattern. You weren’t processed. You exist outside the algorithm.”

404’s heart kicked against his ribs. “So I’m a mistake?”

“No,” 09 said, jaw tight. “You’re a threat.”

Before 404 could respond, the tunnel shuddered. A low thrum crawled up the walls, vibrating through their bones. Faint red light pulsed through the grates above like a heartbeat.

09 cursed under his breath. “They’ve recalibrated the scans.”

404 froze. The last time he’d heard those mechanical echoes, drones had swarmed like insects.

Silence swallowed the space between them.

404 felt cold crawl up his spine. He wanted to deny it, to laugh it off — but in the pit of his chest, he already knew. Rejection wasn’t freedom. It was a beacon.

Somewhere in the darkness behind them, the sound of metallic legs skittered closer.

“Run,” 09 said.