Chapter 17 · Tamer of the Ash Wilds - Chapter 17: The Dead Man on the Screen

Lin's name was on every screen.

Not just his name. His face. His ID tag from the lab, the one he'd worn clipped to his coat pocket every morning for three years before the collapse. Date of death: stamped right there under his photo. Location: Sublevel Four, Ember Gate Research Complex.

He'd died inside.

"Turn it off." Vira's voice came low and tight behind him. She had Crunch bundled against her chest, one hand clamped over the beast's snout. Crunch wasn't fighting her. That alone told Lin how bad this was.

He couldn't look away from the nearest screen. The text kept scrolling. Subject LX-29. Clearance revoked posthumously. Cause of death: [REDACTED]. Recovery status: remains unaccounted for.

"Lin." Vira stepped closer. Her breath fogged in the cold air between them. "We need to move. Now."

"I was inside." His voice didn't sound like his. "I worked there. I died there."

"Yeah. I'm getting that." She shifted Crunch's weight, and the beast let out a thin whine. "Which means whoever's pinging your ID right now knows you shouldn't be walking around. So we go."

Lin finally turned.