The sun didn't rise; it bruised the sky. A sickly, yellowish purple leaked over the horizon, illuminating the ruins of the city we had just fled. As I emerged from the generator room, the smell of ozone still clinging to my skin, I found the mall atrium transformed.
The "Uploads" were no longer huddled in terror. The harsh, yellow floodlights I had jump-started had acted like a physical shock to their systems. They were standing now, blinking at their own hands, touching the dust on the floor as if it were precious jewels.
"Leo!" Nix ran toward me, her face smeared with soot but her eyes brighter than I’d ever seen them. "The lights... you did it. The Keepers scrambled back into the sewers like rats."
"We can't stay here," I said, my voice cracking. I showed her the iron key, still warm
