I felt my entire muscles were threatening to rip off my body as the pain was becoming unbearable ever since I gained consciousness again. Before me was Shen whose face was distorted, with her smile still being wide and predatory. "Tell me, Kae," she purred, tapping a long fingernail against the stand that held me hostage. "How did you tame it?" "Tame what?" I asked, pretending to know what she meant. "That mutant that you named....." she paused, before she snorted as though she was trying to hold her laugh. "Echo." The entire lab burst into laugh with Shen stating how weird and funny the name was. "Of all the cool names to give it, it was Echo you thought of." and another burst of laughter sounded. I wonder what was so form with the name Echo but there's a reason behind that name. After she was done laughing, she wiped the tears off her eyes with her coat. "Such kind of mutant wasn't programmed for domesticity, but you did make me curious. How were you able to switch

Chapter 9: The Toxic DeepI thought of Cent and Vivi as we stood on that poisoned beach.My little siblings. Seven and nine years old. Still innocent. Still believing the adults would keep them safe. They'd never seen an ocean. Never felt sand beneath their feet. Never watched waves roll toward shore.They should see this. Not like this—not toxic, not deadly. But an ocean. Real water stretching to the horizon. The way it was supposed to be.The way it used to be, before the Fall."Kae." Casimir's voice pulled me back. "We need to keep moving."I tore my gaze from the ocean. Looked at the hives in the distance. Rocky formations built into cliffs. Ancient-looking. Waiting."How far?" My voice was barely a whisper.He checked his flickering interface. "Ten kilometers. Maybe less."Ten kilometers. Might as well be ten thousand. Every part of me was dissolving. The toxic water had accelerated the poisoning. My skin was covered in chemical burns. My lungs felt like they were filled with aci