Chapter 23 · Behind the Wall

"Don't touch it."

Ada's hand stopped an inch from the metal plate embedded in the wall. The thing hummed, low and steady, like something alive.

"Why not?" she said.

"Because I don't know what it does yet," Victor said. He kept his rifle trained on the corridor behind them. "And because every time you've touched something in this place, we've ended up bleeding."

She pulled her hand back, slow. "You touch things all the time."

"I'm expendable."

"Funny. You didn't act expendable when you dragged me out of that room."

Victor didn't answer. The plate pulsed once, twice, and then a seam split down the middle. The wall peeled open like skin.

Ada took a step back. "What the hell is that?"

Inside the wall was a narrow space, barely wide enough for one person. No floor. Just a drop into black, and a single cable running down the center. At the top of the cable, a blinking terminal screen.

"Access point," Victor said. He lowered the rifle. "The Arbiter's been watching from in here."

"Watching what?"

"Us. All of us. Every loop, every kill, every time we reset." He stepped closer to the opening.