THE STUDENTS WHO STARTED A GALACTIC WAR

Collateral Damage

ELIAN’S POV

The blast threw me backward. My spine hit scaffolding. Air punched out of my lungs.

I rolled onto my side and pushed myself up. My ears rang. The stone sat in its crater, unmarked, still vibrating. Sixty-seven dollars for a shift and I'd just touched an asset worth—what? Thousands? Tens of thousands?—and it had exploded in my face.

My fists clenched. All that potential value, and I'd triggered it before I could extract anything.

Rio was laughing. High-pitched, breathless, the sound scraping out of his throat between gasps. He sat against the concrete wall, knees pulled up, laughing until he choked.

"Shut up," I said.

He kept going.

Tavian hauled himself upright, hands already moving in quick, efficient gestures. "Exit route. North alley, twenty meters. We move now."

Lumi knelt on the ground, both hands clamped over her ears. Blood streamed from her nose, dark against her pale skin. Her eyes were squeezed shut. Her mouth moved without sound.

I grabbed her arm. "Get up."

She didn't respond. Her whole body shook.

"Lumi. Move."

Nothing.

Great. Lumi was already broken. She was going to slow us down.

Above us, the air split. The sound was mechanical—metal tearing through metal. The violet seam opened wider and something descended. Not a creature. A machine. Plated, segmented, limbs that ended in blade-edges and crushing implements. Industrial. Built for demolition.

Three of them dropped onto the street. One landed on a parked sedan. The roof crumpled. Glass sprayed across asphalt.

People scattered. A woman tripped over a curb and went down hard. A man dragged two children behind a storefront. Screaming everywhere, layered and directionless.

The machines moved through it all. Methodical. One swung an arm through a streetlamp. The pole bent and toppled. Sparks showered the pavement.

Zari picked up a length of pipe from the rubble. She stepped forward, grip tight, shoulders squared.

"Zari—"

She swung at the nearest machine. The pipe connected with its leg joint. The clang echoed. The machine's head swiveled toward her. Its arm drew back.

I grabbed her jacket and yanked her backward. She stumbled into me, still clutching the pipe.

"Don't fight a tank with a stick, you idiot."

"Let go—"

"No."

The machine advanced. Its blade-arm sliced through the air where Zari had been standing.

Lumi was still on her knees, hands over her ears, blood dripping onto the concrete. A woman lay five feet from her, half-crushed under debris, hand outstretched. Lumi reached toward her.

I shoved Lumi hard. She sprawled forward, caught herself on her palms. "Move. Now."

"She needs—"

"She's dead. Move."

I grabbed Lumi's arm and hauled her upright. She stumbled, her weight sagging against me. I pushed her toward the alley. Tavian was already there, waving us forward. Rio had stopped laughing and was running, his movements jerky and uncoordinated.

The air rippled again. Different. Brighter. Figures materialized between us and the machines—luminous, translucent, their edges bleeding light. Warriors. They moved fast, weapons flashing. One drove a spear into a machine's chest plate. Sparks erupted. The machine staggered.

Then engines. Heavy, rolling thunder. Armored vehicles rounded the corner, soldiers spilling out. Rifles up. Radios crackling. Helicopters overhead, searchlights cutting through smoke.

We were boxed in. Machines ahead. Military behind. The alley to our left, but soldiers were already moving to block it.

Tavian stopped running. His hands went up slowly, deliberately. "Stand down. They have the perimeter."

Zari's grip tightened on the pipe. "I'm not getting in that van."

"You don't have a choice."

"Watch me."

I scanned the soldiers. Body armor. Automatic weapons. Tactical formation. Zero mistakes in their positioning. We had no leverage. No exit. No cards to play.

I raised my hands. "Zari, get in the van."

"Screw you."

"You can't win a fight against a government budget."

Her jaw worked. The pipe trembled in her grip. For three seconds, I thought she'd swing it anyway. Then she dropped it. The metal clanged against asphalt.

A young officer stepped forward—clean uniform, sharp movements, eyes that tracked everything. His name patch read Korren. He gestured to his squad. "Secure them. Non-lethal."

Soldiers moved in. Hands grabbed my shoulders. I didn't resist. Tavian stood perfectly still, hands raised, posture compliant. Rio was muttering something rapid and incoherent, eyes darting between soldiers. Zari's fists stayed clenched even as they zip-tied her wrists.

Lumi stood frozen, hands raised, trembling. Her eyes locked on the rifles. Tears streaked through the blood on her face. She looked at me.

I looked away.

"They're just scared, Elian," she whispered. "The soldiers. They're terrified of us."

I didn't answer. A soldier pushed me toward an armored transport. Doors open. Metal floor. Benches on either side.

"Inside. All of you."

Tavian climbed in first. Rio followed, still muttering. Zari glared at every soldier before stepping up. I shoved Lumi forward when she hesitated.

The doors slammed shut. Darkness. Engine noise. The vehicle lurched into motion.

I sat on the bench, hands still bound. My chest felt tight. My skull buzzed with static that wasn't mine.

Rio's hysteria leaked into my thoughts—sharp, jagged, too bright. Zari's rage pressed against my temples, hot and suffocating. Lumi's fear pooled in my stomach, cold and viscous.

I tried to shut it out. Couldn't.

My hands shook. I stared at them in the dim light filtering through the transport's vents. The static synced with four other pulses. I felt them inside me, unwanted and invasive.

I hated it.

I hated being connected to them.