Everything was chaos.
The sirens wailed inside Level S-3, their piercing cry bouncing off the walls like a scream from the past. Red lights flashed overhead, painting the white lab in violent pulses. Smoke coiled from the shattered containment chamber, curling around their feet as if alive.
Zephany pulled herself up, her arms stinging from glass shards, her breath tight in her lungs. Beside her, Kendrick was already on his feet, shielding her with one arm while scanning the room.
The boy was still on the floor, curled in a fetal position, his glowing violet eyes blinking as though seeing light for the first time. Sparks jumped from the shattered panel behind him. Elias remained frozen beside him, his wrist still gripped in the boy's hand. Blood trickled from where the grip dug into his skin.
"Don't move," Elias said, voice quiet, but steady. "He's not stable."
Reynold stepped forward, gun raised. "He doesn't look like he belongs in the world above."
"Put it down," Elias warned.
