Children of cinder

Nyra POV

High‑pitched ringing was all I could hear at first. One moment I was tightening a bolt on my comm relay under the flickering holo‑lamp at my stall, and the next, everything went black.

"Oi, hell!" I cursed, yanking my headlamp strap into position. The Under Alley bazaar had plunged into darkness. Shouts and curses rose around me as gangers howled at the chaos. A blackout in the undercity was never just a power failure, it was a call to mayhem.

My stomach flipped with worry for Riven. If this blackout spread even half this far, she could be in serious trouble.

I slapped the headlamp onto my forehead, its weak beam slicing through dust motes. The air hummed with static. I tapped my comm unit to check for messages, just a hiss and static. Then, beneath the bazaar's din, I heard something else: a whisper inside my skull.

I yanked at my temple, trying to shake it loose. The voice grew louder, words filtering through like a hypnotic chant: "…awaken… children of cinder… Ironbound…"

I stumbled backward, tools clattering to the floor. This wasn't on any channel I could intercept, my basic neural implant wasn't that advanced. And yet the voice was there, intimate and invasive.

A spike of pain lanced through my head. "Ahh!" I doubled over, hands pressing into my temples. The whisper became a roar, no longer words but raw code flooding my mind in a tone both machine‑cold and enraged.

Through the haze of agony, one word stood out: Hive.

My vision exploded in overlays- reticles, data streams, maps. Sector 11's layout projected itself onto the bazaar walls. A red marker blinked insistently.

"N‑no… stop…" I groaned, staggering away. My limbs felt like someone else's. Every time I tried to step in another direction, a jolt forced me back toward that marker, toward Sector 11.

Around me, people panicked, some flicking on flashlights, others drawing weapons. I tried to shout a warning, but my voice came out strangled.

Inside my head, the Hive's command droned: Acquire targets. Eliminate.

Images from my own memories surged: Riven hunched over a workbench tweaking a mechanical cat; Riven's laugh echoing in the Rusty Gear tavern. 

I bit down on my tongue, tasting copper. The pain cleared some of the fog. I backed into a stall wall, shoulder slamming against metal.

"R‑run…" I rasped to myself. "Riven… they're… coming…"

Then... everything went black.

I don't know how much time has passed, but I wake up in different place...

When I tried to stand up I felt my left arm shifting on its own. Panels slid aside, revealing chrome sinew; hidden blades clicked into place. I felt nothing, my nervous system had been hijacked.

Horror surged through me. I'd never given my augments combat upgrades. Someone had built this hidden capability in from the start.

The Hive's voice yanked at me again: Target close. Rooftop vantage.

I broke into a run, feet pounding the pavement. The world narrowed to that relentless red dot. I fought to side‑step, to warn bystanders, but my body ignored me. Tears blurred my vision.

Up ahead, a ladder climbed to a rooftop dimly lit by distant fires. The red marker pulsed above it. Riven had to be there.

I leapt for the ladder. My chrome arm gripped the rungs automatically, hauling me skyward like a machine. The climb was a blur.

Bursting onto the roof, I saw Riven's silhouette against the flames. Relief and terror collided inside me. I tried to call her name, "Riven!" but no sound emerged. My legs carried me forward regardless.

She noticed me and whispered my name. That familiar voice cut through the static for a heartbeat, and I clung to it: Riv… get away… I'm not myself…

My muscles strained, fighting the Hive's pull. A strangled sound escaped my throat.

Then a flash of white pain, Riven's stun rounds hitting me in the chest. My body convulsed, joints locking as the charge fired through me.

I collapsed to one knee. The red overlays fluttered and then vanished. For the first time since the broadcast began, I felt control slip back.

"Nyra!" Riven knelt beside me. Her voice sounded distant. I forced my eyes open.

"R‑Riven… HIVE... they… they're inside my... head..." I rasped.

Her eyes widened in shock. "Nyra, let me..."

But the Hive's command returned, cold and furious: Mission failure. Asset override: eliminate self.

My body jerked upright as if on wires. My vision tinted red again, and hidden panels slid open along my arm. But I had one final instruction: no loose ends.

"No… no!" I tried to scream as my legs propelled me toward the roof's edge, my last desperate act of defiance.

Weightless for an instant, the city lights swirling beneath the smog and stars, I felt oddly free. At least Riven's safe, I thought.

Then I hit the ground. Agony exploded through me. Everything went black.

Moments or lifetimeslater, my consciousness flickered. Pain throbbed in my skull. I tasted blood. Shouts and flashing lights surrounded me as someone grabbed my ankle and began dragging me across cold concrete.

My vision dimmed again, but one thought burned bright in the dark: Riven… run.