"Give me the damn bottle, Julianna! Dammit, do you want us all to die?" Raka screamed, his voice hoarse, swallowed by the howling wind at the cliff's edge. Julianna snorted, casually swinging the silver bottle containing the AI-killing virus. "You think this is just about a virus, Raka? You think I’m cold enough to just let the world end?" "Your actions don't exactly scream 'good guy,' do they, shit!" Raka lunged forward, even though his steps were labored. His ribs, cracked from the fall from the Citadel last night, felt like they were being pierced by hot iron every time he took a breath. "I’m a professional, Raka. I’m paid to save you," Julianna said coldly, her eyes fixed sharply on Elena, who stood trembling behind Raka. "Saving me by killing Elena? What kind of garbage logic is that?" Raka threw a quick punch, but Julianna dodged it with ease. Julianna spun the bottle, then tucked it into her tactical pocket. "I don't have a choice. My client doesn't want 'The Seed' variable

"Get out of my head, damn it! Get out!" Raka groaned, his voice hoarse from the unbearable pain.Thud.His own right hand swung around, slamming into his jaw with enough force to snap his head back. Fresh blood seeped from the corner of his mouth, but Raka didn't seem to care. He used his left hand to grab his right wrist, which kept moving on its own like it had a mind of its own."Raka! What are you doing? Stop!" Elena screamed.Elena’s face was ghost-white, her eyes wide with terror as she watched the man she loved torture himself in the middle of the ruined The Cache pier. The blue light from her stomach was still throbbing, illuminating the dark scene filled with smoke and the sulfurous stench of the explosion."Don't come any closer, Elena! Run!" Raka barked.Thud.Once more, Raka's right hand struck his own cheekbone. He fell onto the muddy ground, rolling around as he wrestled with his own limb. Julianna stood tall a few yards away, her rifle still aimed at Raka's head, but he

"Don’t you dare touch that tank, Leo! You want your hand to liquefy?!" Julianna barked, slapping Leo’s trembling hand away from the glass."I’m just trying to kill the stabilizer, Anna! Look at it, the fluid is boiling! This embryo is sucking every last bit of juice from my backup batteries!" Leo shouted back, his voice just as loud. He was breathing hard, and cold sweat matted his pale face."If you shut it down now, the blast will level this entire forest! Gramps Karsa is dead, so don’t let his sacrifice be for nothing just because you’re losing your mind!" Julianna grabbed Leo’s jacket collar, forcing him to look into her eyes, which were burning with rage and grief."But that’s no ordinary baby, Anna! You see it, don’t you? The cells are dividing at lightning speed! That thing, it’s not from this world!" Leo pointed a shaking finger at the makeshift incubator sitting on the damp earth, sheltered by the shadows of the banyan tree that now felt like a silent witness to a small-scale

"Let go of Elena’s hand, kid, I’m begging you, don't do this!" Raka screamed, his voice hoarse, swallowed by the roar of the Architects' ship engines shaking the forest.Raka’s hands gripped Elena’s ankle tight as she began to lift toward the blue tractor beam coming from the sky. Her body floated, pulled by force toward the mothership’s hatch that hung open like a steel monster’s mouth. Elena was crying, her hands reaching out for Raka, trying to fight the artificial gravity that tortured her joints."Raka, hold on, my hands are slipping!" Elena shrieked, her face pale under the blinding blue light.The little boy stood just six feet in front of them. His face, a perfect mix of Raka and Elena, remained calm, far too calm for a creature that had just triggered a small scale apocalypse. He stared at Raka with glowing red eyes, ignoring the desperate cries of the man he had called "Papa" only minutes ago."The identity of 'Dad' is an irrelevant emotional label for the asset retrieval pr

"Open your eyes, Leo, if you pass out now, we’re seriously dead," Raka shouted, his voice nearly drowned out by the roar of the wind, which was deafening."I don't want to look, I hate heights, Raka, I’d rather die with my eyes shut than die watching the ground," Leo shrieked hysterically. His body spun uncontrollably in the air, looking like a top thrown from the heavens. Leo’s glasses had flown off somewhere, forcing him to squint against the battering of terminal velocity winds."Grab my hand, now," Raka drove his body downward, performing a diving maneuver by pinning his arms tight to his sides. The hole in his right thigh was leaking blood that froze instantly in the extreme cold of thirty thousand feet. The sting was incredible, like a white hot iron being twisted deeper into his flesh. But Raka didn't care. He had to catch Leo before his best friend became a puddle on the metallic roof of the Citadel.With one powerful lunge, Raka managed to snag Leo’s wrist. He drew a sharp b