Chapter 13 · Glitchy Symbiosis

"Don't you flatline on me, Kane! Don't you fucking dare!"

Lyra's palms slammed down on his chest and the whole cot bucked. Kane was arching off it, teeth locked, veins lit up black-purple under his skin like something was crawling through them.

The med-bay monitor was screaming. One long, flat whine that meant his heart was quitting or his power was eating it. Same difference with him.

"Come on! Breathe!" She hit him again. Her hands were shaking so bad she could barely keep them flat. "You don't get to do this. Not after I dragged your heavy ass through three levels of scrap!"

Kane's eyes snapped open. No white left. Just void. Just that hungry black swirling.

He grabbed her wrist. Hard.

"Ow! Kane! Let go!" She tried to yank back and he didn't budge. His fingers were burning hot, then ice cold. Glitching. "Hey! It's me! It's Lyra!"

"Too much," he choked out. His voice was shredded. "It's too — it's pulling —"

"I know! I know it's pulling!" She dropped to her knees next to the cot, getting right in his face. Forced proximity wasn't a choice anymore, it was survival. Her forehead almost touched his.