COLD STEEL, BLEEDING HEARTS
“Julian, if I leave, they’ll find me. I’m the only signal left. I’m like a lighthouse in a black ocean.”
“Then we’ll hide together,” Julian said, firm. “I’m not leaving you. Not again.”
They bolted for the back exit, boots splashing through blue puddles. Behind them, Maya’s old glass tube shattered, sending shards flying—glittering like broken stars in the dark.
Outside, the world had gone sideways.
The sky wasn’t blue anymore. It was an oily purple, swirling with clouds that looked bruised and sick. Far above, the black needle kept coming—slow, but heavy, and terrifying.