Blood and Betrayal
The blue light vanished, and the machine plummeted into the dark waves of the Pacific.
Silence returned to the North Coast—a silence so profound it felt like the world had gone deaf.
Toby was slumped against the railing, his breath coming in ragged gasps. I knelt beside him, my hands shaking as I checked his wounds.
“You did it,” he whispered, a weak smile touching his lips. “You used the ‘rot’ to save us.”
“I didn’t use the rot, Toby,” I said, my voice trembling. “I used the light.”