로그인The military transmission repeated twice before Kael shut it off.Nobody spoke for several seconds.The warrant remained on Voss's communicator, Zane's photograph displayed beneath the words WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION.Lucien leaned over the table. “They've gone from wanting him detained to permitting lethal force. That's quite a promotion.”“Can you trace the transmission?” Kael asked.“Already tried. It came through a military relay, not a local command station. Whoever issued this warrant doesn't want us finding the source.”Darius folded his arms. “How long before they reach the depot?”“Less than an hour,” Voss answered.Kael looked at me. “We move before they arrive.”I studied Zane's photograph. His expression was neutral, almost distant. It was difficult to reconcile that image with the man who had used everything he possessed to shield me from falling debris.“Where would he go?” I asked.No one answered immediately.I closed my eyes, searching my memories of the manuscript.
“Run.”Zane's warning hung between us.The red light around him pulsed, sending another tremor through the broken pavement. Kael stepped in front of me, but I moved around his shoulder.“No.”Zane stared at me. “Odette, you don't understand.”“Then explain it.”“I can't control what it's telling me.”The system's command still hovered at the edge of my vision.[EXECUTION DIRECTIVE ACTIVE.][TARGET: ZANE MERCER.]I dismissed the display.“I won't kill you.”His expression tightened. “You might not have a choice.”“I do. I just made it.”The air distorted around him. A nearby section of wall crumbled, scattering concrete across the road. Kael caught my arm and pulled me back before the debris reached us.“Odette, we need to move,” he said. “The area isn't stable.”“I know.”Zane lowered his hands. The red light dimmed, but it didn't disappear.“I'll leave,” he said.“Where?”“Anywhere you aren't.”“That's not a plan.”“It's the safest option.”His voice was quiet. That made it worse. He
The light swallowed Haven Nine.I couldn't see the buildings, the soldiers or even my own hands. There was only the red sky and the violent pressure gathering around Zane.Then the bond snapped tight.I dropped to one knee.A wave of terror crashed through me, followed by an unfamiliar sensation that felt like standing at the edge of something impossibly deep.“Zane!”His silhouette flickered in the light.The creatures surrounding him had stopped advancing. Their distorted bodies trembled, pinned beneath an invisible force. Cracks spread through the road, branching toward the evacuation entrance.“Everyone back!” Kael shouted.The soldiers retreated behind the remaining barriers. Voss pulled two injured men out of the exposed street while Darius ushered civilians farther into the drainage passage.I tried to stand.The pressure in the air pushed me down again.Zane's hands were raised. Red light crawled over his arms, gathering around his fingers. The creatures began lifting from the
The first scream came from the eastern perimeter.The second came from the watchtower.Then the alarm began.Its shrill pulse filled the maintenance station. Voss snatched his communicator from his belt, and a red warning flashed across its screen.“Breach at the eastern wall. Multiple contacts.”“How many?” Kael demanded.Voss stared at the display. “The sensors can't count them.”A distant impact shook dust from the ceiling.“Mutated creatures,” I said.“Confirmed,” Voss replied. “They're moving through the residential blocks.”Kael was already issuing orders. “We evacuate through the drainage route. Voss, divide your people and secure the western passage. Nobody uses it without confirmation. The northern tunnel stays sealed.”A burst of static interrupted him.“Main gate authorization denied! The council is refusing civilian passage!”Kael's expression hardened.“Of course they are.”He turned to me. “Odette, organize the evacuation. Darius will establish a treatment point near the
The first thing I learned after being declared a traitor's accomplice was that Haven Nine had an impressive number of doors that no longer opened for us.The second was that Kael's soldiers were beginning to regret their choice.Not all of them. Voss remained steady, and the others who had followed Kael understood what refusing the execution order meant. But they had families, assigned quarters, and people still inside the sanctuary. The council's announcement had turned every familiar corridor into a potential checkpoint.We were sheltering in an abandoned maintenance station beneath the eastern residential block. It had once housed equipment for the sanctuary's water system. Now it contained a dead control panel, several storage cabinets, and enough dust to suggest nobody had used it in months.Kael stood over a map Voss had recovered from a local terminal.“We have three possible exits,” Voss said. “The northern service tunnel is sealed. The western freight passage is monitored. Th
Kael received the execution order while standing in the command room.He read it once. Then again, slower, as if the words might rearrange themselves into something less monstrous.SUBJECT: ODETTE TURNER.TRANSFER STATUS: AUTHORIZED.ESCORT COMMANDER: KAEL DRAVEN.LETHAL FORCE AUTHORIZED IF SUBJECT RESISTS TRANSFER.Below it, a final instruction left no room for interpretation.EXECUTE SUBJECT IF RESISTANCE PREVENTS SECURE TRANSFER.For several seconds, nobody in the room spoke.Kael lowered the display.“Commander?” Lieutenant Voss asked.“Verify the order's authorization.”“Council seal is valid. It came through the central command channel.”“I didn't ask whether the seal was valid. Verify who issued it.”Voss hesitated. “The senior councilor's office.”Kael looked toward the operations table. A map of Haven Nine hovered above it, showing the administrative wing, infirmary, residential blocks, and transfer route. A red marker identified Odette's current location.He had been given r







