White light flashed beneath Kessler’s skin, only for a second, but it was enough.
Enough to freeze the air in my lungs.
Enough to drag every nightmare clawing violently back to the surface.
The corridor fell silent around us. Sirens still screamed through the collapsing facility while smoke rolled heavily across the ceiling. Survivors still shoved past us toward the emergency exits, and somewhere below our feet, another section of the lower levels collapsed with a deafening roar.
But inside me, everything stopped. Kessler stared down at his hands slowly. Like he was afraid of what he might find there. The emergency screens flickered violently again.
PRIMARY NETWORK CORE STABLE.HOST TRANSFER SUCCESSFUL.
“No,” Elias breathed. Kessler’s jaw tightened hard enough to carve sharp lines acr
