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Some of the ceiling lights went out, saving energy. That was fine. There was nothing back there in the dark anyway, or the lights would come back on.

I could wait.

Waiting was easy.

I tapped my fingers against my thigh.

Just had to sit tight. Right here. In the quiet, creepy corridor. Alone.

“Victor?” I whispered. He had great hearing, so he’d probably hear a whisper.

How long had it been?

Minutes?

Hours?

“Victor?!”

A rhythmic huffing noise shuffled from the way we’d come. I turned and squinted into the gloom. The lights were out. Vampiric night vision would have been useful right about now, but I was stuck with regular eyesight.

“Zee?”

The huffing beat came closer, but the lights still hadn’t turned on. Closer. I backed up a step, triggering the lights behind me to blink on, but not in front.

The huffing stopped.

Whatever it was, it was just a few steps away, shrouded in darkness.

Something was there. I could just make out a shape in the gloom.

The lights blazed on.

A yellow robotic dog stood in the middle of the corridor.

“Oh.” I chuckled. “It’s just you.” Kinda weird, but okay. “You had me worried there⁠—”

A whirring sounded, and a small black cylinder emerged from the robot dog’s back. A cylinder that looked a lot like . . .

The robot dog cocked its head, and its gun barked.

CHAPTER 12

I flung myself around a corner and tumbled to the floor, but with all the glass walls I had nowhere to hide. Rounds punched the glass, splattering weblike cracks. The dog plodded forward, unperturbed by my attempt to escape.

Being shot at by a robotic dog was new.

“Wait!”

It fired another blast of rounds. I scrabbled to my feet and ran. Heat clipped my side, almost tugging me from my stride. If I could get behind the dog it would be easy to snap in half, but I’d need to avoid its guns.

A door up ahead opened, and Zee stepped out. Surprise made his eyes big as he saw me running at him.

“Get back!” I plowed into him, shoving him back inside the room he’d just left. Victor—still inside—slammed the door.

“Murder dog!” I panted, clutching at Zee’s top.

Zee’s arm came around. “The fuck?”