Chapter 15 · Activation Key

"On your feet! NOW!"

Kade’s hand locks around my wrist, yanking me off the console before the upload bar even hits a hundred percent.

"Let go!" I snap, stumbling into him.

His chest is a wall. Solid. He doesn't budge, his arm already hooking around my back, pinning me tight against his side.

"I just sent it!" I yell. "It's done!"

"I know it's done," he growls. "That's why we move."

The room is screaming. Not just the alarms—the main screen is pulsing blood-red.

UPLOAD COMPLETE. COORDINATE BROADCAST ACTIVE.

And under it, a countdown I didn't ask for.

03:47. 03:46.

"Maya! Maya, do you copy?!"

Iris’s voice tears through the radio on Kade’s belt, distorted and frantic. "Do not stay in that room! Do you hear me? That's not a recovery team!"

Nox is at the door, shoulder pressed against the metal like his weight alone can stop the world. His face is ghost-white. "We gotta go. Right now. That clock is not our friend!"

"Iris, talk to me!" I shout, reaching for the radio.

Kade doesn't let me. His grip shifts, hand sliding up to my shoulder, fingers digging into the skin.

"It's a kill squad!" Iris screams.