The darkness of Sub-level 9 was not empty. It was heavy, textured, like breathing in wet velvet.Jack Sterling lay on a mattress of scavenged subway seats, the foam brittle and smelling of decades-old dust. The pain in his hip was a dull, throbbing bass note to the symphony of his recovery, but the fever had broken. The Tinker's green sludge—some kind of military-grade nanite cocktail—was working.He could feel the metal pin in his pelvis. It felt cold, alien, a permanent reminder that Jack Sterling, the man of flesh and blood, was being replaced piece by piece."Water," he rasped.Olivia was there instantly. She looked exhausted, her face smudged with grease, her eyes hollowed by lack of sleep. But her hands were steady as she held a dented tin cup to his lips."Slowly," she whispered. "It's filtered, but it still tastes like iron."Jack drank. The water was metallic, sharp. It tasted like the underground."Where are we?" Jack asked, p
Last Updated : 2026-01-09 Read more