Chapter 13 · Rift Protocol - Chapter 13: Welcome Home

"You shot me."

Dalen's on the floor. Blood spreads dark across his left shoulder, soaking through the tactical jacket. His breathing's shallow, fast. The gun's still in my hand, hot barrel pointing at the concrete between us.

"I saved you," I say. My voice doesn't shake. That surprises me.

He tries to sit up. Falls back. "Saved me. Right. By putting a round in my chest."

"Shoulder. And you were about to walk into the core room. You think Echidna's just gonna let you stroll in and shut her down?"

"Her."

"It. Whatever." I kneel beside him, not too close. The gun stays in my hand. "The blast door's rigged. Pressure plate under the threshold. I saw the wire."

He stares at me. Then at the door twenty feet behind us, still sealed, still humming with that low electric charge that makes my teeth ache.

"How'd you know."

"I didn't. I guessed."

"You shot me on a guess."

"You were gonna die. Now you're just bleeding." I reach for his jacket. He catches my wrist. His grip's weak but his eyes aren't.

"Don't touch me."

"Then bleed out. I don't care." I yank my hand back. Stand up.