Chapter 23 · Apex Loop: Glitch Evolution - Chapter 23: Glitch Out

"Open the cages, Kane!" Vivian shouted through the speakers. "Or Grimm dies first."

The shock collar around my throat fired before I could reach the control tower.

Pain punched through my body. My claws scraped across the metal floor, sparks jumping under them. The whole grid had turned red. Every cell door was locked. Every ceiling turret had swung toward me.

And Grimm was trapped behind the nearest glass wall, one hand pressed against the barrier.

"Do not listen to her," he snarled. "She wants us loose."

"You noticed?" I dragged myself onto three limbs. My fourth leg shook hard enough to rattle the floor. "Any better ideas?"

"Kill the speakers."

A turret dropped from the ceiling and opened fire.

I threw myself sideways. White rounds cracked into the floor where my skull had been. The impact kicked up hot metal shards. One sliced across my flank. I hit the ground, rolled, and came up under the turret.

My jaw clamped around its support arm.

The machine screamed in a burst of static. I bit harder. Metal bent between my teeth. The turret spun, trying to bring its barrel down.