COLD STEEL, BLEEDING HEARTS
But the story’s almost over.
I’m changing the ending, Dad, Maya said.
She sprinted toward the machine—the Gateway. This was the place where the star-power first poured into the world.
Her father moved fast, blocking her. If you open that, you don’t just send the energy back. You’re inviting the others. The Gardeners. The Judges. They’re not finished with us.
Then we’ll be ready! Maya shouted.
She leapt at him. They crashed into the windows—sixty floors up, hanging above the city. She could see everyone below, tiny as ants. She saw the little forest she made, the black helicopters circling, hungry.