Chapter 15 · Backdoor to the Womb

"Get down or get a hole in your chest!" Pip’s voice screamed through the comms, distorted by static and panic.

I didn't think. I lunged, tackling the girl who looked exactly like me into the grime-coated floor. We hit the concrete hard, the sound of a high-velocity round shattering the glass partition exactly where my head had been a second ago. Shards of reinforced acrylic rained down on us like diamonds from hell.

"You're welcome," M-07 whispered. She wasn't shaking. While I was gasping for air, her heart rate—audible through the proximity of our chests—was steady. Too steady.

"Shut up," I hissed, pinning her wrist against the floor. "Who the hell are they?"

"The cleaners," she said, her eyes tracking the red laser dot dancing across the ceiling. "And they don't do interviews. They just delete."

"Pip! Where's the exit?" I yelled, scrambling up and dragging her with me.

"Three meters left, behind the coolant vent! Move your ass, Maya! If you get shot, I'm not carrying your corpse back to the slums!"

We dove behind a massive, rusted ventilation shaft just as another round tore through the wall. The smell of ozone and burnt concrete filled my nose.