He didn’t shake it. He checked the display. Something flashed on the screen.
ANOMALY
His eyes lifted to mine.
Something in them hardened.
I didn’t wait for the second attempt.
I shoved him hard and ran.
“Hey!”
I pushed through the crowds, ducking into gaps. People stumbled to the side as I shoved past.
Behind me, footsteps pounded the pavement.
Fuck.
I spotted an alley and darted into it, skidding to a stop behind a rusted dumpster. My breath came fast and shallow as boots thundered past the entrance — more of them now.
Commands snapped through the air.
“Find her!”
I looked around wildly. No exit. Just brick and shadow and the stink of rot.
At the far end, a chain-link fence sagged between two walls. A hole gaped near the bottom — torn, half-forgotten.
I didn’t hesitate.
I shoved through, metal biting into my skin, wire snagging my hair as I forced myself out the other side. I hissed — pain sharp and hot — but I was through.
“There!” someone shouted.
I ran.
The city thinned abruptly, buildings giving way to concrete lots and dead factories. The air changed — oil and rust instead of food and smoke. A railway line cut across the gravel ahead, shipping containers scattered like forgotten bones.
I ducked behind one and pressed my back to the cold metal, chest heaving, ears ringing.
Footsteps echoed nearby.
Voices. Searching.
There had to be a way out.
Somewhere to disappear.
I saw it then — an old train car, parked crookedly off the rails. Once grand, with velvet seats and ornate metalwork. Now abandoned, gutted by time.
I sprinted for it and threw myself through the open door, dropping hard behind a chair. Dust puffed into the air. I curled in as small as I could make myself.
Footsteps pounded past. Around. Too close.
Don’t let them catch me.
A loud sound cracked somewhere in the distance.
