Chapter 20 · The Sky is Watching

"Get your head out of the clouds, Kaelen! They're not just coming—they're already here!"

Roxie’s voice slashed through the noise of the undercity, her boots skidding on the rusted grating of the catwalk. She grabbed the collar of his coat, yanking him backward just as a plasma bolt scorched the air where his chest had been a second ago.

Kaelen didn't flinch. He didn't even look at the smoking hole in the metal. He just stared up at the towering screens of Ironport, where the Vanguard's corporate logo was being replaced by a scrolling list of names.

"The sacrifice list," Kaelen muttered, his voice like grinding stone. "They’re not even hiding it anymore. They're calling it 'necessary attrition.'"

"Who gives a damn what they call it?" Roxie snapped, shoving him toward the cover of a collapsed ventilation shaft. "Look at the street! The whole damn city is waking up, and they're all pissed off!"

Below them, the undercity was a sea of rage. Thousands of laborers, slum-dwellers, and broken veterans were surging forward, carrying improvised torches and scrap-metal spears. They weren't just running; they were hunting.