Chapter 6 · Untitled Chapter

"Dad!" Mika threw herself at the half-open door, palms flat against the cold steel. She shoved until her shoulders burned, but the door only shrieked and stuttered in its frame.

Inside, a man's eyes opened. White hair clung to his forehead in wet strings. He was strapped to a chair bolted to the floor, tubes running from both wrists as if he were the thing being drained instead of feeding something else.

His cracked mouth moved. "Don't touch her."

Cade went still behind Mika. "What?"

"She's the second Anchor." Her father's eyes locked on Mika's face, and something in them broke wide open. "Mika. Baby, look at me."

The alarms detonated through the corridor. Red light strobed across the walls.

Anna's smooth voice dropped from hidden speakers. "You're not getting out. The door jammed on purpose. Security's coming down to collect you personally."

"Cade." Mika didn't look away from her father. "Get it open."

"I'm working on it—"

"Get it open."

He swore, braced his shoulder against the gap, and shoved. Metal groaned. The door bent another six inches—enough for Mika to force her arm through to the elbow.

Her fingers found her father's wrist. Cold. Papery.