Chapter Ten

The aftermath was quieter than it should've been. No sirens. No more footsteps. Just the distant hum of dying machinery and the metallic tang of blood thick in the air.

Ember stood in the center of it all, pulse pistol hanging loosely from her fingers. Her hands trembled—not from fear, but from something worse.

Emptiness.

She'd just ended someone's life. Again.

And it had felt… easy.

Kai collapsed against the wall, clutching his side where the blood wouldn't stop. Rhea was already at his side, tearing fabric from her sleeve to press against the wound.

Ember watched them like she wasn't really there, like her mind was floating just a few feet above her body. Detached. Weightless.

Not human.

"Ember," Kai rasped, snapping her back into reality. His face was pale, sheen of sweat coating his forehead, but his eyes—damn those eyes—were sharp, pulling her out of the darkness. "Don't just stand there. We need to move."

She blinked, her legs sluggish as she forced herself forward. Dropping to her knees beside him, she pressed her hands over Rhea's makeshift bandage, trying to apply pressure.

The warmth of his blood seeped through her fingers.

Too real.

"Stay with me," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the pounding in her head.

Kai managed a weak smirk. "Not planning to check out just yet."

But the bleeding was bad. Too bad.

Rhea's jaw clenched. "We're not going to make it out on foot. He won't survive."

Ember's mind raced, scanning the room, desperate for something—anything—that could help. Then her eyes landed on the chip still embedded in the stolen data console.

Information is power.

She rose quickly, pulling the chip free. The screen flashed briefly before going dark, but the damage was done—the data was already inside her jacket, pressed against her chest like a second heartbeat.

"We need transport," she said, forcing her voice to stay steady. "Now."

Rhea didn't argue. She just nodded toward a hidden exit Ember hadn't noticed before.

They dragged Kai between them, his weight heavier than Ember expected. His breathing grew ragged with every step, each exhale a struggle.

Outside, the city was waking up—or what passed for waking in a place like this. Gray skies loomed overhead, casting long shadows over crumbling buildings and flickering neon signs.

They found an abandoned transport vehicle—small, beaten-up, but functional. Ember hotwired it with trembling fingers, her heart racing faster than the engine when it roared to life.

Rhea climbed into the back with Kai, trying to stabilize him while Ember drove.

The city blurred past, but all Ember could see was the blood on her hands.

She didn't know how long she drove before Rhea's voice cut through the haze.

"He's not going to make it if we don't stop the bleeding."

Ember's chest tightened.

No. Not Kai. Not now.

She swerved into an alley, slamming the brakes.

"What are you doing?" Rhea snapped.

But Ember was already moving. She grabbed the chip from her jacket, her mind racing. The data inside wasn't just information—it was technology. Secrets the Regime never wanted anyone to see.

Including experimental medical codes.

She didn't fully understand what she was doing as she connected the chip to the vehicle's rudimentary interface. Data flooded the cracked screen—schematics, encrypted files, unauthorized programs.

One of them blinked: GENESIS PROTOCOL – MEDICAL REGENERATION SEQUENCE INITIATED

Regeneration?

Ember didn't think. She activated it.

A surge of light shot through the vehicle, and Kai's body arched violently. His scream filled the small space, raw and guttural.

Rhea tried to pull Ember back, but she refused to let go. She watched as Kai's wound began to close—not naturally, but like the skin itself was rewriting its code.

Then it was over.

Kai collapsed, gasping for air, his face drenched in sweat but—alive.

Ember fell back, her own chest heaving.

"What the hell was that?" Rhea whispered, staring at Ember like she wasn't sure what—or who—she was looking at.

Ember didn't have an answer.

All she knew was that the chip had saved Kai.

And it had felt like… it recognized her.

Not just as its user.

But as its creation.