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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.