DENIAL

  Will sat frozen, dead silent, staring at the screen. The image of his sister burned itself into his mind. The world around him faded into muffled echoes, distant and unreal. His breath hitched, and his vision blurred as memories of ughter and childhood games collided with the sight of Annie emerging from the mech.

  Remy stood abruptly, his chair cttering to the floor. "This is not possible," he muttered, his voice trembling. His eyes darted between the screen and Will, searching for an expnation.

  Becca’s voice rose, sharp and frantic. "What is this? Will, what does this mean? Say something!"

  But Will couldn’t. His thoughts spiraled. His sister was the Bishop? His Annie?

  Becca stormed toward him, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him hard. "Will!"

  Will blinked, the world snapping back into focus. His chest heaved as he breathed out a single word, "No."

  "Will, you—"

  "No! This can't be! There has to be a mistake." He turned sharply, striding to Crowley, who sat slumped in the chair. Grabbing him roughly, Will demanded, "What is the meaning of this, Crowley? What the hell is this?"

  Crowley’s breath hitched. His lips trembled as if struggling to form words, but only a hoarse rasp escaped. His eyes rolled back, and his body jerked violently, convulsions overtaking him.

  Will’s eyes widened as he recognized the symptoms and moved in to stabilize Crowley. His psion field fred to life and charged into the mad bomber, finding the yellow signature within his system raging. Despite being held prisoner by the broken channels, they all acted in unison, stretching out and reaching toward something in the distance.

  Almost as if they were homing in on something.

  "They are coming," Crowley rasped, his voice barely a whisper. "I feel the call."

  Will’s blood ran cold as he staggered to his feet.

  "What happened?" Becca asked, noticing his panic.

  Will didn’t answer. He rushed to the window, brushing away soot and ice. Pressing against the wall, he peered outside.

  His breath caught. Hooded figures, cloaked in shadow, moved in eerie unison through the snow-covered streets. Their steps were deliberate, purposeful. The sight sent a shiver down his spine.

  "They’re here for him." Will spun around. "We need to move. Now."

  "Revenant?" asked Becca.

  “The Revenant? The Hive? I don’t know at this point,” said Will. “But we need to leave before they get here.”

  Becca nodded and moved toward Crowley, but he was limp, slumped in the chair. Will’s stomach dropped as he remembered—they had disabled all his prosthetics. He wasn’t able to move.

  Will gritted his teeth. "I’ll carry him." He moved to grab Crowley.

  “Whoa, whoa, hold on!” Remy interrupted. “We can’t take him with us.”

  “I’m not leaving him here,” said Will angrily.

  “Think, Will,” Remy hissed. “What’s it going to look like if we drag half a dead man through the streets? We can’t carry him and run at the same time.”

  Will clenched his fists, every instinct screaming to resist, but the cold logic in Remy’s words hit hard. He froze, torn by indecision—until he felt a hand on his chest.

  It was Crowley.

  His breathing was ragged, but his eyes were clear, burning with sudden lucidity. The servos in his arm whined, pulling the st dregs of power from the reserves. A single finger weakly gestured toward the workstation.

  Will followed the gesture and saw a briefcase sitting at its foot.

  "Remy?"

  "On it." Remy moved quickly, dragging the case out and flipping it open. Inside, neatly arranged, were hundreds of packets of Infils. Resting on top were about a dozen drives.

  “It’s all the money and data I have,” Crowley choked out. “Take it.”

  Will gnced back at the broken man, unable to speak.

  “In the end, I wasn’t able to get out,” Crowley said weakly. “But you still can. Take the data and go.”

  “But—” Will began.

  “Go.”

  There was a snap as Remy closed the briefcase. Will stood, his eyes still locked on Crowley as the man’s crity began to slip. The light in his eyes dimmed, repced by the familiar gze of delirium.

  Remy grabbed Will by the arm, pulling him toward the door. Becca hesitated for a brief moment, then followed.

  Will gave Crowley one st look as the door swung shut behind him. The heavy thud echoed in his chest like a final farewell.

  "Come on." Remy pulled him forward, down the stairs. As they thudded downward, they came across the tripwires again. Cursing, they skidded to a halt halfway down the steps.

  The same thought went through all their heads—there was no way to carefully navigate through the maze of tripwires before they were found.

  "What now?" asked Remy, his voice tight.

  "The roof?" Becca suggested, looking at the two.

  Will looked up past the ceiling. It was the only choice. "Let’s go."

  They rushed back upstairs, urgency driving every step. As they climbed, Will gnced out a shattered window as they passed by. Hooded figures with fshes of chrome underneath their cloaks were climbing a mound next to the depot. They had the same idea: bypass Crowley’s bombs and head straight to the second floor.

  "Dammit!" Remy groaned. "They'll be on us in no time."

  "Move faster then," Will urged, pushing forward. The group surged up the steps, the sound of their breaths and boots reverberating off the cracked walls.

  Stomping up to the top floor, they found the roof access locked. Gritting their teeth, Remy and Will kicked the door open. The rusted door flew off its hinges, and they stumbled onto the roof, gasping. Ice and snow whipped around them, stinging their faces, and Will paused for half a second, bewildered.

  "That way," he gasped, leading Remy and Becca to the side of the building where they had made their entrance. The mound leading to the first floor was still there, and without hesitation, they jumped.

  The nding came hard, smming their knees despite the snow cover. They stumbled, tucked, and rolled, struggling to regain their footing.

  "Shit!" Remy cursed, limping a little. Waving off looks of concern, he followed.

  Staying low to the ground, they rushed through mounds of rubble and made it past the outer wall. Will’s heart pounded in his chest as he straightened up, walking briskly.

  "Look normal," he muttered, and Remy and Becca fell in pce beside him.

  They quietly made their way down the street with the intent of disappearing down a side alley, but as they approached, a harsh voice stopped them.

  "Not so fast." A scarred man stepped forward, his dark eyes locked onto Will. The dim light caught the ridges of the radiation burns twisting up his neck, raw and mottled like melted wax.

  "What did I tell you, Ckeeze? There was someone sneaking about," he chortled.

  Will’s stomach tightened. It was the same gang they had spotted earlier, loitering around the depot. Five of them—ragged, lean, and armed. They smelled of stale smoke and sweat. Will’s eyes flicked between their stained hands and the glint of steel peeking from under their coats.

  "What are you looking at, kuza?" the gang leader sneered, stepping closer. "This is Barta-Salva territory. You think you can just walk up here without paying tribute?"

  A gang member chuckled. "Shake 'em down, Jura. Pretty boy’s bound to have some Infils."

  "What you got in that case, boy? Let's see 'em," another said, gncing greedily at the briefcase held by Remy.

  A sharp rasp split the air as one of the gangsters unsheathed a bde.

  Will cursed internally. He could see it in their eyes—the hunger for a fight. Even if they paid, these men weren’t going to let them leave unscathed.

  Sweat trickled down his brow. They were still in view of the depot. If a fight broke out here, it would draw attention. They had to get out of this fast.

  Remy stepped up beside him, his hand resting on his belt where his gun was holstered. "You Barta fuckers looking to die?"

  Will caught the drift immediately. The only way to make them back down was to convince them they were attacking a rival gang. Only a show of strength could get these grunts to reconsider.

  "Step aside, and we can forget this happened," said Will.

  Uncertainty fshed in the burned man’s eyes, but he remained obstinate. "Pay the toll," he spat.

  "Or what?" Remy sneered. "You lot won’t get a single credit out of us."

  "Credit?" The leader’s face contorted in confusion before shifting to fury. "Towerite!" he snarled, the word dripping with venom.

  Before anyone could react further, the world exploded.

  A deafening roar split the air, and the shockwave hit them like a hammer, throwing them to the ground like ragdolls. Smoke and fire poured into the sky, turning the snow an eerie shade of gray.

  Will groaned, coughing soot and ash. Struggling to his feet, he gnced back and saw a wall of fire.

  Rubble rained down as bckened shards of metal cttered across the street.

  The depot was no more.

  JasonCliff