“Don’t touch that wire unless you want to see God early.”
Zee froze with his fingers an inch from a sparking coil, then slowly looked at me. “Wow. So this is what love does to you? You used to say please before threatening my life.”
I crouched back under the half-rebuilt console, tightening a bolt with numb fingers. “Please don’t die in my base,” I muttered. “It’s bad feng shui.”
Luna’s laugh drifted in from the open garage bay...soft, surprised, like she hadn’t meant to make the sound. That laugh hit harder than the cold. Every time she laughed lately, it felt earned. Stolen. Fragile.
Static hummed through the walls as the generator coughed to life again. Lights flickered...
then stayed on.
For the first time in years, the Dead Zone glowed.
Not bright. Not safe. But alive.
I leane
