Chapter 17 · Gravity's Breaking Point

"Get your head down! Now!"

Kaelen didn't need to be told twice. He lunged, his arm hooking around Roxie’s waist and slamming her flat against the cracked concrete just as the sky tore open.

There was no sound at first—just a blinding, white-hot streak of tungsten screaming down from the stratosphere. It wasn't a bomb. It was a kinetic orbital rod, a god-damn needle of metal moving at Mach 20.

*Boom.*

The impact didn't just shake the ground; it erased it. The roof of the shelter vanished in a fountain of pulverized stone and fire. A shockwave ripped through the air, shredding the nearby ruins and tossing Kaelen and Roxie like ragdolls across the floor.

Kaelen felt his ribs groan. He coughed, tasting copper and ozone. Above them, the sky was a jagged hole of smoke and swirling debris.

"What the hell was that?" Roxie gasped, her voice strained. She tried to push herself up, but her legs were shaking. Her speedster boots were sparking, one of the ankle stabilizers cracked and hissing red steam. "They actually dropped a rod?