Chapter 29 · I... I can't

She was shaking, her forehead bleeding from a shallow cut. She tried to stand, but her legs gave out. "I... I can't..."

"Yes, you can! Move!"

Another blast rocked the building. The ceiling groaned, dust and concrete raining down on them. Through the smoke, three more soldiers stepped in, their rifles leveled. These weren't grunts. They wore the matte-black plating of the Void-Hunters—the elite.

"Target acquired," one of them droned, the voice filtered through a modulator. "Specimen Zero is intact. Secure the girl and neutralize the asset if he resists."

Kane stepped in front of Lyra, his body a shield. He felt the familiar surge of void-energy itching under his skin, the hunger to tear something apart.

"Neutralize this," Kane spat.

He lunged. The first Hunter fired, a bolt of concentrated plasma searing through Kane's shoulder. He didn't stop. He didn't even flinch. He slammed into the soldier, grabbing the rifle and snapping the barrel like it was a twig. He drove his fist into the Hunter's chest, feeling the armor buckle and the ribs underneath shatter.

But the other two were already flanking.