Chapter 17 · The Voice in the Copper

The copper moved inside him before they even made it back to the gym.

Chen sat in the passenger seat of Old Xu's beat-up sedan, hands clenched on his knees, trying not to throw up. Not from the killing. From whatever the copper shards were doing in his stomach. It felt like something was uncoiling. Stretching. Waking up.

"You good?" Old Xu's knuckles were white on the steering wheel.

Chen didn't answer. He pressed his palm against his ribs. The copper was hot. Moving. Spreading through him like roots looking for soil. The iron he'd eaten before just sat there, dormant, until he got hit. This was different. This was alive.

"Chen."

"I'm fine."

"You just killed a man and ate his weapon. You're not fine."

Chen stared out the window. Scrap Alley rolled past, all rust and broken concrete under the yellow streetlights. His neighborhood. He knew every dumpster, every shortcut, every place the cops didn't bother checking. Now it looked different. Flatter. Like he was seeing it from somewhere else.

Old Xu pulled up behind the gym. The back door was still propped open with a cinder block. Inside, someone was hitting the speed bag. Regular life.