Chapter 13 · Red Sky

"Run, you idiot! Just run!" Pip’s voice wasn't sassy anymore. It was screaming, distorted by a glitch that sounded like grinding metal.

I didn't need the reminder. I was already sprinting, my boots slamming against the rusted grating of the catwalk. Behind me, the Bloom wasn't just a glitch in the system anymore. It was a physical wall of shimmering, iridescent filth, eating the architecture of the Underbelly and spitting out crystalline spikes.

"I can't see the exit!" I yelled, glancing back. The air was thick with a metallic haze that tasted like old pennies and ozone.

"Left! Hard left at the junction!" Pip shouted. He was clutched tight against my chest, his plush fur matted with grime and oil. I could feel his internal processor humming—too hot. He was overclocking himself just to keep the navigation feed alive in my retina.

I lunged left, nearly slipping on a patch of synthetic slime. A roar ripped through the corridor—not a beast, but the sound of the city itself screaming as the Bloom tore through a structural support beam. Steel groaned and snapped. A section of the walkway collapsed ten feet behind me, plummeting into the neon abyss below.

"Too close!