“These children were designed for Ascension.”
Designed.
I swear Lucas almost throws up.
Wu continues calmly:
“The world creates weak children every day.”
A pause.
“We create useful ones.”
Gabriel’s jaw tightens so hard I hear his teeth grind.
Russ raises his rifle toward the nearest speaker.
“Keep talking.”
And Wu does.
Because monsters always love hearing themselves speak.
“Governments fail. Families fail. Morality fails.”
His voice lowers almost thoughtfully.
“But conditioning? Conditioning creates order.”
The little girl suddenly reaches for Hannah’s sleeve.
Tiny fingers.
Barely touching her.
Hannah looks down instantly.
The child whispers something so softly I almost miss it.
“What happens if we fail?”
Everything inside me stops.
Because Hannah closes her eyes like the words physically hurt.
She knows that question.
Knows exactly why the child asked it.
When Hannah opens her eyes again—
they’re different.
Not broken.
Not afraid.
Furious.
