67
Clay
The teenage boy levels the rifle directly at Hannah.
No hesitation.
No fear.
Just obedience.
And somehow that’s worse than hatred.
Russ moves first.
Fast.
His rifle snaps upward—
—but Hannah throws her arm out hard.
“WAIT!”
The word cracks through the corridor.
Everybody freezes.
Even the Ascension kids.
The girl staring at Hannah blinks once slowly.
Like confusion itself is unfamiliar to her.
Hannah steps around me carefully before I can stop her.
Absolutely not.
I catch her wrist immediately.
“Hannah—”
“They’re victims.”
Her voice breaks slightly.
“Just like me.”
The teenage boy doesn’t lower his weapon.
“Director Wu ordered termination.”
Like a machine repeating code.
Jesus Christ.
Hannah takes another slow step forward.
No weapon raised.
