July 16, 2026 – Manhattan Underpass Time: 04:16
That metallic "click" in the tunnel sounded like death's heartbeat. The high-pitched frequency emitted by a magnetic bomb before detonation erased all thoughts from my mind.
"Jump!" I yelled.
Ivy turned the wheel sharply to the right one last time. Sparks flew as the minibus scraped against the concrete wall of the tunnel. I kicked open the back door. Grabbing Natalia around the waist, I pulled myself out. Ivy leapt from the driver's seat like a shadow.
Seconds later, as we slid across the asphalt, the world turned orange.
KABOOM!
The minibus turned into a giant fireball. The force of the explosion hurled us deep into the tunnel. A ringing in my ears that wouldn't stop, the smell of burning rubber and gunpowder in my lungs... When I tried to sit up, every part of me ached, but being alive was the only reality I felt right now.
Ivy emerged from the smoke, covered in soot, but still pointing her gun at Natalia. Natalia was writhing in pain on the side of the road, a piece of shrapnel lodged in her leg.
"Stop, Ivy!" I shouted, staggering between them. "We need her."
"She's a traitor, Michael!" Ivy shouted. "That video... Elara like that... Natalia conspired with Thomas to lure you to that house! That USB was just psychological warfare!"
"At that very moment, deep in my chest, right next to my heart, I felt a pulse that was not unfamiliar. It wasn't just a twinge, it was like an invisible string suddenly snapping; that split-second pain in the center of my chest, before I even realized it, seemed to be awakening to an approaching force. This pain, sealed into my body, was actually the only truth reminding me of who I was."
Natalia lifted her head, trying to stop the blood on her leg with her hand. There were no tears in her eyes, only pure hatred. "Michael, didn't you look closely at Elara in that video? Didn't you see the blue marks on your sister's wrist? Thomas didn't convince her... He turned her into a zombie with heavy sedatives! That dinner table wasn't a family dinner, it was an execution ceremony!"