THE STUDENTS WHO STARTED A GALACTIC WAR

Hostile Takeover

ZALI’S POV

The vent was a coffin. Metal pressed against my shoulders on both sides. I crawled forward on my elbows, dragging myself with my good arm. My dislocated shoulder screamed with every movement. Blood from Elian's nose dripped onto the metal ahead of me, leaving a trail of dark spots.

Behind me, Rio wheezed. "Can't...can't breathe..."

"Keep moving," Tavian said.

"There's no air..."

"There's air. Move."

The vent sloped downward. I slid, caught myself with my knees, and kept crawling. My hand slipped in Elian's blood. I wiped it on my pants and kept going.

Ahead, Tavian stopped. Light filtered through a grate below him. He braced his hands on either side of the vent and kicked. The grate flew off with a metallic clang. He dropped through.

I followed. The fall was ten feet. I landed hard, rolled onto my good shoulder, came up in a crouch.

A hallway. White tile. Fluorescent lights. Double doors at one end marked **AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.** At the other end, stairs leading up.

Lumi dropped through next, landing with a gasp. Rio came after, stumbling as he hit the ground. Elian was last. He lowered himself through the opening, legs shaking, and collapsed the moment his feet touched the floor.

Boots echoed from the stairwell.

Asher Cole appeared at the top of the stairs. No armor. Just fatigues and a sidearm. He stopped when he saw us. His hand moved to his holster but didn't draw.

"You're making a mistake," he said.

Tavian stepped forward. "Get out of the way."

"Sterling is behind you. Atlas is above you. You have nowhere to go."

"We'll take our chances."

Asher's jaw tightened. "You think you'll survive out there? The invasion started an hour ago. Half the city is on fire. You're kids with powers you can't control."

"Better than rats in a cage."

"You'll die."

"Then we die free."

The ceiling exploded.

Concrete rained down. I threw myself against the wall, covering my head. A chunk the size of a fist hit the floor where I'd been standing. Dust filled the air, thick and choking.

A shape dropped through the hole. Metal. Segmented. A drone—Atlas scout model. Four legs, each ending in clawed points. A single red sensor eye in the center of its body. It hit the ground and swiveled toward us.

The sensor locked on Tavian. The drone lunged.

I ran. My legs blurred. The world snapped into fast-forward. I crossed the hallway in a second, angling to intercept. The drone's leg lashed out. I tried to stop. My feet skidded on the polished tile. I slammed into the wall, shoulder-first.

The impact sent white fire through my arm. I bounced off, spun, hit the floor.

The drone turned toward me. The sensor glowed brighter.

A fire extinguisher hung on the wall ten feet away. I pushed off the floor and ran. Grabbed it. My momentum carried me forward. I swung the extinguisher in a wide arc, letting my speed do the work.

The metal canister hit the drone's sensor. Glass shattered. Sparks flew. The drone stumbled, legs jerking. I kept running, hit the far wall, bounced off, came back around.

Gunfire erupted from the stairwell. Soldiers poured down—three, four, rifles raised.

"Rio!" Elian's voice was raw. "Make a wall! A thick one!"

Rio stood in the center of the hallway, hands raised, eyes squeezed shut. Gray light pooled in front of him. It solidified—bricks, red clay, stacked in a rough rectangle.

Bullets struck. The wall appeared instantly. Bricks absorbed the first rounds, then tumbled. The wall collapsed forward, bricks scattering across the floor, rolling into the soldiers.

One soldier tripped. Another stumbled back. A third fired into the ceiling as a brick hit his knee.

Asher dove behind an overturned desk. Shrapnel from the ceiling tore through the air. A jagged piece of rebar caught him in the side, ripping through his shirt. Blood spread across the fabric.

Lumi scrambled toward him. She grabbed his arm. Light flickered around her hands.

The wound on Asher's side closed. Skin knit together, smooth and clean.

Lumi gasped. She staggered back, clutching her stomach. A massive bruise bloomed across her abdomen—purple, spreading like spilled ink. She doubled over, retching.

Elian pulled himself to his feet. Blood covered the left side of his face. He looked at the stairs. More boots. More soldiers.

"Exit," he said. He pointed to the double doors.

Lumi was on her knees, arms wrapped around her stomach. She tried to stand. Her legs gave out.

Elian raised his hand. Lumi jerked backward, sliding across the tile. Her vest pulled tight against her chest. Elian dragged her toward the doors, arm outstretched, jaw clenched.

Tavian kicked the doors open. Alarms blared. Red lights flashed. I ran through, boots slipping on the tile. Rio stumbled after me. Elian dragged Lumi through last, her body scraping across the threshold.

We burst into the night.

The air was thick with smoke. The sky glowed orange. Fires raged across the city—buildings collapsed, cars overturned, streets cracked and buckled.

Above us, a Atlas warship hung in the air. Massive. Black metal plating. Energy weapons charged along its flanks, glowing blue.

It was directly over the diner.

The diner where this started. Where I'd been washing dishes six days ago. Where Tavian had walked through the door in his uniform. Where the Artifact had been waiting in the storage room, pulsing with light.

The warship's cannons fired. Blue light streaked downward. The diner exploded. The shockwave hit us—hot, violent. I staggered, caught myself, kept moving.

Behind us, soldiers poured through the doors.

Ahead, the city burned.