Chapter 13 · Zero Breath

"Thirteen minutes, Vance. That’s all the air we’ve got left before this whole sector becomes a vacuum," Lyra snapped, her voice tight. She didn't look at him; she was too busy slamming a fresh mag into her pulse-rifle.

Darek didn't answer. He couldn't. His lungs felt like they were being squeezed by a hot vice. He leaned against the rusted bulkhead, the metal vibrating under his shoulder. Every breath was a struggle, thick with the metallic tang of recycled smog and something sharper—ozone.

"Stop whining and move," she commanded, grabbing his collar and hauling him upright. Her palm was hot through his thin shirt, her grip bruising. She shoved him toward the heavy blast door at the end of the corridor. "The core is behind that seal. If we don't hit the override, we're just two more corpses in a tin can."

"I'm not... whining," Darek wheezed, hacking into his sleeve. He looked down at his mechanical arm. The forbidden reactor fused into his marrow was pulsing a violent, angry crimson. It wasn't just humming anymore; it was screaming. "The core... it's reacting to the sector shutdown. It's trying to feed.