Chapter 2

My chest heaves as I stare at the holographic keyboard. I take a sharp breath, the cold air stinging my lungs. I slam my fingers onto the keys, typing frantically to overwrite the marriage command.

A massive red box violently flashes on the screen.

"Access Denied. Insufficient Privileges."

My stomach drops. The cold knot of panic twists tighter.

On the floor, Malachi groans. His fingers twitch. He is waking up.

The Warden's voice cuts through the ringing in my ears.

"Administrator biometric override required."

I swallow the bile rising in my throat. I drop to my knees beside Malachi. His blood is pooling on the pristine floor. I grab his limp, heavy hand and drag it upward, slamming his palm onto the glowing scanner pad.

A green light sweeps over his skin.

The console chimes. Unlocked.

I don't know any code to stop it, so I do the next best thing. I grab the heavy metal sculpture again and smash it directly into the console's power conduit. The screen glitches, freezing entirely. His interface is locked out.

Heavy, mechanical footsteps echo from the hallway. Brenda is coming back.

I slam my fist onto the emergency lockdown button on the edge of the desk.

The thick alloy doors slam shut just as Brenda reaches the threshold. The locking mechanism engages with a heavy thud.

I spin around. The private helipad exit is on the far right wall. I sprint toward it, but the main door is sealed. My eyes dart around the room, desperate. The Warden's interface flashes, highlighting a ventilation grate near the floor. Text appears: "Emergency Release Latch. Kick firmly." I drop to the floor and kick the highlighted latch.

The metal grate clatters to the floor.

A deafening, high-pitched alarm rips through the apartment. Blinding red strobe lights pulse from the ceiling, stabbing at my eyes.

I dive into the narrow air duct. The metal is freezing. I crawl forward on my hands and knees, my breath echoing loudly in the tight space. A sharp screw tears through the fabric of my shirt, slicing a deep gash into my elbow.

Behind me, the sound of a plasma torch hisses. Sparks fly against the alloy door. Malachi's security forces are cutting their way in.

I scramble faster, ignoring the blood dripping down my arm. I reach the end of the duct and push the outer grate open.

I tumble out, falling three feet and slamming hard onto the freezing concrete of the private helipad. I bite my lip to keep from crying out.

A massive public transport hover-train is docked at the edge of the platform, its doors hissing as they prepare to close.

I scramble to my feet. I sprint toward the train, my lungs burning, my legs heavy with exhaustion. The metal doors start to slide shut.

I throw myself sideways, slipping through the narrowing gap just as the doors slam together, clipping my shoulder.

The hover-train's engines roar. The floor vibrates violently beneath me as the vehicle shoots upward into the smog-filled sky, leaving the security droids shrinking into dots on the platform below.

The inside of the train car is dim. The air smells like ozone and stale sweat.

I lean against the cold metal wall, sliding down until I hit the floor. I gasp for air. My heart beats so fast it hurts my chest.

I survived.

The Warden's interface expands across my vision.

"Phase One Complete."

Then, three large holographic portraits materialize in the air in front of me.

The first is a man with sharp jawlines and cold, piercing eyes. Jayson.

"Objective: Assist in anomaly clearance and survive."

The second is a woman with a hard, practical face. Ellen.

"Objective: Facilitate pre-programmed romantic sequence with Jayson."

The third portrait glitches. It flashes blood red. A man with dark, messy hair and eyes that look like they want to burn the world down. Dameon.

"Objective: Repair damaged core."

I stare at Dameon's face. A visceral chill crawls up my spine, settling at the base of my neck. Just looking at his digital image makes my stomach turn.

The train suddenly jerks violently. The metal groans.

A mechanical voice crackles over the intercom. "Route anomaly detected. Recalculating."

I push myself up and look out the scratched window. The neon lights of the upper city are gone. We are descending rapidly into a dark, decaying sector. This isn't the marriage node.

If I stay on this train, I will never find the targets. I will fail the quest. I will be erased.

I push off the wall and stumble toward the emergency exit door at the back of the car. I reach for the heavy red lever.

A passenger sitting in the nearest row suddenly stands up. His face is completely blank.

"Rule violation detected," he says. His voice is a flat, synthesized drone.

His eyes flash a brilliant, terrifying red. His skin begins to pixelate, tearing apart to reveal jagged, corrupted code underneath. He lunges at me, blocking the door.