Chapter 14 · Protocol Overload

"Stop fighting it, Kael. If you fight the sync, you'll fry your own cortex."

Jaxon’s voice was a low vibration in my ear, barely audible over the screaming static in my head. He had me pinned against the cold metal of the console, his chest pressing into my back, one hand locked around my wrist and the other jammed into the interface port at the base of my neck.

I couldn't breathe. Not because of him, but because the Glitch was rewriting my nervous system in real-time. Red code flooded my vision, overlapping with the blurred image of Jaxon’s face as he leaned over my shoulder. His breath was hot against my skin, a sharp contrast to the freezing chill of the server room.

"I don't... trust... you," I gasped, my voice sounding like it was coming from the bottom of a well.

"You don't have to trust me to let me save your life," he snapped. "Just let the protocol bridge. Now."

I tried to jerk away, but the Glitch surged. It wasn't just a power-up anymore. It was a leash. My muscles locked, forcing me to arch my back against him.