The ocean howled above them. Steel groaned, and fractured beams screamed as pressure crushed the facility’s upper decks. Ethan sprinted down the flooded corridor, water lapping at his knees, Maya clutched tightly in his arms. Her breathing was shallow but steady, her new body still fragile, still adjusting to being alive.
Hannah ran ahead, her rifle slung across her back, light cutting through the mist. “Emergency hatch—just fifty meters!” she shouted, her voice echoing off the submerged walls.
Ethan barely heard her. His focus was locked on Maya — her pulse, faint but there, her skin cold but human. He couldn’t let her go. Not again.
Behind them, the entire corridor convulsed. A wave of pressurized water slammed through, sending metal shards spinning. Ethan stumbled, tightening his gri
