Chapter 10 · Follow the Heartbeat

"Noah's alive." I'm still staring at the dog tag in my palm. The pulse inside it ticks steady, warm against my skin.

Iris grabs my wrist. "Put it down."

"It's his heartbeat."

"It's bait." Her nails dig in. "He wants you chasing ghosts while the bots lock onto us."

I look up. The double's gone. Stairwell door still swinging. The tag keeps ticking in my hand like a second heart.

"Cade." She yanks my arm. "We move now or we're dead in forty seconds."

I close my fist around the tag. "Then we follow it."

"What?"

"Noah built this. He's the architect. If his heartbeat's in this thing, it's not random. It's a beacon."

She lets go. Steps back. "You're choosing him."

"I'm choosing answers."

"He left you for dead."

"Maybe." I shove the tag in my pocket. "Or maybe I left him first and this whole loop's him making me remember."

Her jaw tightens. She doesn't argue. Just turns and starts walking toward the stairwell.

I follow.

She stops at the door, hand on the bar. "If the bots are waiting on the other side, I'm putting you between me and them."

"Fair."

She shoves it open.

Nothing.