Chapter 8 · Share Blood or Die

"Hold still or I'll rip your arm off by accident," I snapped, pressing the makeshift shunt into the vein of her forearm.

Rook didn't flinch. She just glared at me through half-lidded eyes, her breathing shallow and jagged. "Funny. I thought the scrap-rat was supposed to be the one shaking."

"Shut up. You're the one leaking on my floor," I retorted. I jammed the connector home.

There was a wet, metallic click. The Gene-Eater chip in my skull didn't just wake up—it screamed. A surge of white-hot heat slammed into my spine, and for a second, I forgot how to breathe. It wasn't just blood moving through the tube; it was a goddamn data transfer. Her genetic code, clean and corporate-grade, hit my glitched system like a lightning strike to a puddle of oil.

"God..." Rook gasped, her body arching off the table. Her fingers clawed into the rusted metal siding. "What are you... doing to me?"

"I'm saving your life, you idiot!" I yelled, though I was fighting to stay upright. My vision flickered. Red warnings scrolled across my retinas: [STABILIZATION IN PROGRESS] [COMPATIBILITY: 64%] [WARNING: BIOMETRIC OVERLOAD].

I could feel her.