Maya's POV:
The Blackwater Mining Complex sat hunched in the valley like an old wound that never closed—metal rusting, windows punched out, weeds choking through the cracks. From the ridge, I understood why Elena had chosen it. One road in, cliffs on three sides. A place built to keep people in, not out.
Twelve hours. That’s all we had until the eclipse. Twelve hours before Elena tried to tear reality open.
“Radio check,” Marcus’s voice crackled through static. “Maya, do you copy?”
I thumbed the button. “Copy.”
“The extraction team’s in position. We’ve counted seventeen heat signatures in the holding area. All kids. Still alive. We move on your word.”
Seventeen children. My stomach lurched. I didn’t want to imagine them huddled in the dark, waiting for parents who weren’t coming. Too
