Chapter 10 · Error Code: Trust

"Stop walking, or I'll fry your optic nerve right now," Echo's voice hissed inside my skull.

I didn't stop. I slammed my shoulder into a rusted corrugated door, sliding into the shadows of a narrow alley just as a drone's red searchlight swept over the spot I'd been standing. I pressed my back against the cold, wet metal, breathing hard. My lungs felt like they were full of glass shards.

"You're a real pain in the ass, you know that?" I spat, my voice a low rasp.

"I'm the only reason you aren't a smear of organic paste on the pavement, Vera. Now, give me control of the visual feed. You're blind in the rain."

"Get out of my head, Echo."

"Too bad. I'm already there."

Suddenly, my vision flickered. The grey, rainy blur of the alley snapped into a high-contrast neon grid. I could see the heat signatures of three guards at the end of the block—bright orange blobs pulsing against the deep blue of the city. But it wasn't just a feed. I felt his presence sliding into my consciousness, a cold, electric current that made the small hairs on my arms stand up.