Chapter 6 · The Tracker

"Your hand. It was glowing. Red."

Tessa steps closer. Her flashlight beam cuts across my face. The figure's gone—the one that moved like Maya—and I'm still holding her badge. The metal's cold enough to hurt.

"I don't know." I glance down. My palm's still split open. Blood's drying in crusty lines but the light's gone. Just regular blood now. Looks black under her flashlight.

"You're one of them." That's from the back of the platform. An older guy, beard down to his chest, holding a pipe. "Council's Lightborn freak. They send you in to finish us?"

"I'm not council." I stand up too fast. My vision tilts. I've lost too much blood and I haven't eaten since yesterday. "I'm looking for my sister. She's a scout. She came in here three weeks ago."

"Three weeks?" Tessa's voice drops. "No one lasts three weeks in the zones. Not without resupply."

"She did." I hold up the badge. "This is hers. She was here."

Tessa takes it. Turns it over. Her face goes tight. "Zone Four scout team. Yeah. They came through. Tried to map the metro tunnels. Said they'd be back in six hours."

"They didn't come back."

"No.