All Chapters of Exhale: Chapter 21 - Chapter 23

The address led them into a part of Manhattan that made Naomi question every decision she had made since becoming a doctor.The building itself looked harmless.That was probably the problem.It was a narrow brick structure wedged between an auto-repair shop and a boarded-up storefront with a faded sign hanging above it. Nothing about it suggested illegal chemicals, Cold War weapons, or anything remotely interesting. If anything, it looked like the kind of place where someone would sell used furniture and insist everything was “vintage.”Emma stared at the building through the windshield.“This is it?”Sofia checked the address on her phone.“Same number.”Leonard looked through the window.“Could be worse.”“How?”“It could be a basement.”Emma turned left from the passenger seat.“Don't give the universe ideas.”Naomi checked the message on the burner account again. The seller had given them the address after they asked about buying one tank of Thanox. They had spent the entire driv

The news was still playing when Naomi reached for her phone.She hadn't moved from the couch since the announcement. The television continued showing the same aerial footage of the oxygen dome, switching between the shimmering structure suspended over the city and the people inside it walking around without their Ox-Co units.Every few minutes, the channel replayed the moment the first volunteers removed their equipment. Some were crying. Some were laughing. One elderly man had simply stood there with his eyes closed, breathing deeply as though he couldn't quite believe the air entering his lungs was actually enough.Naomi understood the expression on his face. For weeks, breathing had been something people had to think about. Now, for one hour, they didn't have to.The reporter was speaking again, this time interviewing one of the scientists responsible for the project."Dr. Marcus Montgomery, critics have already raised concerns about the one-hour limitation. What happens when the do