The tunnel shook as Isla sprinted down the corridor... boots striking metal. The explosion behind her rippled through the air like thunder... rattling the Dominion’s underground facility as sparks showered from the ceiling. Smoke bled into the passageways, coating everything in ash and static.
Her breath tore from her lungs. She didn’t stop. Couldn’t.
She had set the charges to destroy the simulation mainframe… but not herself. Yet now, with the collapsing infrastructure… it was hard to tell if there was an exit left.
Only the red glow of emergency lights and the flicker of dying systems lit her path.
Keep moving. No fear.
A voice broke through the chaos. Firm. Commanding. His.
“ISLA!”
She stumbled, heart leaping. Her shoulder slammed into a steel door. She slammed her palm against
