"How much would you price my life at, Arlo?"Axel stared at his reflection on the dull metal table. The scratched silver surface reflected the image of an old man with hollow eyes and sagging, exhausted skin. His voice was hoarse, like sandpaper scraping against rotting wood. Arlo did not answer immediately. He busied himself packing tools into a black nylon bag. The clinking of wrenches and screwdrivers created a rhythm of anxiety inside the suffocating bunker."Stop talking nonsense. We’ll get the money. You just need to last five more hours."Arlo yanked the zipper shut with a sharp sound. He glanced at Axel, studying the fine lines now etched across the forehead of a man who should have been in the prime of his youth. In the corner, Vayu stood upright, her fingers moving with mechanical speed across a holographic keyboard. Blue light from the monitor reflected in her eyes, giving her a cold, untouchable presence."Sector Four patrol routes are clear. Dock supervisors are still foc

The atmosphere inside the animal clinic, now repurposed as a black-market operating room, felt suffocating. The air was thick, carrying a sharp mixture of cheap antiseptic, blood, and rust, as if refusing to let anyone breathe freely. On the cold metal operating table, Axel’s body lay helpless. The youthful color of his skin had faded, leaving a horrifying bluish tint around his lips and fingernails. His breaths came one at a time, shallow and wheezing, racing against the clock that continued to tick down. Arlo stood in the corner of the room, his face pale, his hands clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white, staring at his friend with restrained desperation.Dex, the unlicensed surgeon, stood beside the table. His sharp eyes swept over Axel from head to toe. A flicker of greed flashed unmistakably in his corneas as he took in the smoothness of Axel’s skin and the perfection of his features, a stark contrast to the aged appearance Axel had shown only hours earlier in the bunker.

"Get out of the car now or I will blow your head off right here!"The voice was rough, hoarse, and left no room for negotiation. Elara froze behind the wheel. Her fingers tightened around the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white, her breath caught in her throat. Her car suddenly died completely, as if an invisible hand had ripped the life out of the engine. The instrument panel that had been glowing brightly went pitch black, leaving a suffocating silence inside the cabin. Outside the windshield, three massive black SUVs had surrounded her in a lethal formation. Their floodlights blinded her, reducing everything to looming black silhouettes moving closer with heavy, deliberate steps.The car door was yanked open from the outside. The screech of forced metal echoed painfully in Elara’s ears. A broad-shouldered man in a tactical jacket and black mask lunged in, his rough hand grabbing her arm."Let me go! Who are you? Axel! Axel, help!" Elara screamed, her voice breaking apart

“Are you recording his heart data or writing his death novel, Dex?”Vayu growled, his voice low and dangerous. He slammed an imaginary steering wheel, as if still trapped in the earlier mad escape, his fists trembling violently. Even though they were now inside a sealed, soundproof underground laboratory, the remnants of adrenaline from the deadly chase in Sector Nine still surged through his bloodstream, making every nerve feel stretched tight like a violin string on the verge of snapping. He stood rigid beside the operating table, his fingers never leaving the grip of the weapon tucked at his waist, watching Dex’s every movement with a sharp gaze that left no room for error.The old mechanic, Dex, seemed far too calm for a life and death situation. His fingers danced across the keyboard in a steady, mechanical rhythm, while his eyes, hidden behind thick lenses, remained fixed on streams of green code cascading down the screen. He appeared to ignore

"Say it again, which way did they take her, Arlo, or I will make sure all of Sector Nine hears you scream!"Vayu barked into the phone lying lit on the operating table, his hand never once loosening its grip on Dex’s collar. On the other end, Arlo’s voice came through hoarse, swallowed between the roar of a motorcycle engine pushed to its limit through narrow alleys. His breathing was ragged, the lingering effects of anesthesia still clashing violently with the adrenaline forcing his heart to keep him conscious. Arlo had not waited for further instructions after regaining awareness in that cold corridor. He had stolen a small underbone motorcycle from a hospital pantry worker, its key still carelessly hanging in the underground parking area."I’m tracking the ammonia and sulfur scent, Vayu! Their medical fluid is leaking onto the asphalt along the exit route from St. Jude heading north. They entered a radar blind zone in the old industrial district! I