Chapter 31 · The Core's Heart

"Let go!" Maya chokes the words out. "Eli, let go—I can feel it. I'm going to hurt you!"

I pin her wrists in the dirt. Her nails are buried in her own arms, and black blood slides between her fingers. My light flares against her skin. She screams, so I pull it back—but I don't release her.

"The bomb's going off!" Rachel shouts from the tracks. Her gun swings toward the empty rail line. "Ninety seconds, maybe less! If we're still here when it blows—"

"I know!" I wrench Maya upright. She fights like something wearing her bones. "Rachel, find cover!"

"You think I need instructions? Move!"

The train has already vanished into the blackout, carrying the bomb deeper into the zone. Maya's boots carve lines through the dirt as I drag her toward the nearest building. Half the roof is gone. Rebar juts from the walls like broken ribs.

Rachel kicks in the side door and sweeps the room with her gun. "Clear. Get her inside."

"Maya, walk."

She bares her teeth. Black veins pulse up her throat. "Don't tell me what to do."

"Then stop trying to tear your own arms open.