"Stefano, wake up! Please, open your eyes!"
Stefano felt a sharp sting on his cheek. His eyes snapped open. He was staring into Anya's face. She was covered in soot and blood, but she was alive.
"Anya? How are you here?" Stefano asked. His voice was a dry rasp.
"Dominic's men. They pulled me out through the ventilation shaft seconds before the lab ignited," Anya said. She wiped a tear from her cheek, leaving a smear of black ash. "I thought you were gone. The pulse... it almost fried everyone."
Stefano sat up, his head spinning. They were inside a moving van. He could hear the heavy thrum of the engine. Dominic was in the front seat, focused on the road.
"The people at the windows," Stefano muttered. "Thorne is using them. Thousands of them."
"He is using them as a neural battery," A
