The escape from the enclave left them both battered and reeling. Ryker’s left arm was slashed deeply, and Lira had taken a glancing blow to her ribs that made every breath painful. They stumbled through the ruined districts for hours, avoiding hybrid patrols and opportunistic warlord gangs, until they reached an old underground bunker complex that had once served as a Helix emergency shelter. The heavy blast doors still functioned. They sealed themselves inside with the last of their strength.
The moment the locks engaged, Ryker pulled Lira into his arms. Their kiss was desperate, born of survival and the fear that this might be one of their last moments of true freedom. Clothes were shed in a frantic trail across the concrete floor. He lifted her onto a steel table in the central command
