Chapter 33 · Apex Loop: Glitch Evolution - Chapter 33: The Lie Beyond the Red Door

"Do not open that door." Vivian's voice cracked through the speakers as my claws hit the red handle.

I pulled anyway.

The metal burned my palm. Not hot. Not cold. Wrong. The pain ran up my arm in bright white lines, and the black plates under my skin tightened like they wanted to crawl away from it.

Behind me, the dome shook.

A section of the ceiling dropped with a hard metallic scream. I jumped aside as cables and glass crashed onto the floor. Green fluid spread around my feet. Something small twitched inside it, then stopped.

"Kane!" Grimm shouted. "Step away!"

"You first," I snapped.

Grimm stood ten feet away, half-hidden behind a broken containment frame. His shoulders were hunched, one arm hanging uselessly. Blood ran from a cut above his eye, dark against the gray armor grown over his body.

He looked at the door. Then at me.

"She said not to open it."

"And you still listen?"

"She owns the locks."

"She owned mine too. I broke them."

A low warning tone rolled through the chamber. Red lights flashed above the dome, painting Grimm's face in sharp pieces.

Vivian spoke again. Her voice was calm now.