Chapter 16 · Neon Deadline: Glitch Hunt - Chapter 16: Art of Betrayal

"Get your head down if you want to keep it!" Seth’s voice cracked like a whip over the sound of the door exploding into a thousand jagged splinters.

He didn't just grab me; he tackled me. We hit the floor hard, the grit of the safehouse carpet scraping against my cheek. His chest was a wall of muscle pressing me flat, his scent—something like ozone and expensive gun oil—filling my lungs as he shielded me with his own body.

Bzzzt.

My vision flickered. The God-tier plug-in kicked in, the world slowing to a crawl. In the ghostly overlay of the next three seconds, I saw a flash of chrome. A mono-filament blade, slicing through the air exactly where my throat had been a heartbeat ago.

"Left!" I screamed, twisting in his grip. "Move left!"

Seth didn't question it. He rolled, pulling me with him. The blade whistled through the space we’d just occupied, cutting a clean line into the floorboards.

"Who the hell are these guys?" Seth snarled, kicking a heavy oak table over to create a makeshift barricade.