Chapter 15 · Neon Zero - Chapter 15: Knox's Failure Code

"Don't touch the node." Knox caught my wrist before my fingers reached the black metal housing.

His grip locked around me. Not hard enough to bruise. Hard enough to remind me he could break the connection with one command—and take my life bar with it.

"Then stop standing between me and the only door out," I snapped.

"That isn't a door. It's a live execution node."

"Great. You found another thing in this district that wants us dead. Add it to the list."

The sealed transit chamber shook. Dust dropped from the ceiling in thin gray lines. Somewhere beyond the steel walls, the purge drones screamed across the district, their warning sirens cutting in and out like the city couldn't decide which section to erase first.

Knox pulled me back against his chest as a blue targeting beam slid over the door.

"Down."

"You don't get to—"

"Mara. Down."

The beam stopped where my head had been.

Knox moved first. He shoved me behind the node and turned his body toward the door. His coat brushed my cheek.