The base woke up to alarms. Not fragment alarms. Fire alarms.
Smoke poured from the motor pool. Three trucks melted into puddles of metal. The fence sagged. The flagpole leaned.
“What happened?” Julian asked.
Maya held up her Seeker. “Fragment. Small but hot. It's in the mess hall.”
They ran to the mess hall. The ovens glowed red. The metal tables dripped. The refrigerator collapsed into a silver puddle.
A man stood in the corner. His skin shimmered like liquid metal. His eyes burned orange.
“Don't come closer,” he said. “I can't control it.”
“Your name?” Julian asked.
“Tom. I was a welder. I found a hot rock near the furnace. I touched it. Now everything metal melts when I'm near.”
“How long?”
“Three days. I've been running. Everything I touch turns to liquid.”
The Containment
