Chapter 16

I come into a dark room, the air thick and stale. Someone’s shoved a metal bookshelf against the door like we’re expecting the apocalypse. I’m propped up against the wall, brain still buffering. Across from me, Vesper sits casually in a chair, playing some kind of slap–clap–fist-bump game with a kid like this is recess instead of… whatever the hell this is. I try sitting up and instantly realize I’ve been bandaged. No pain. Huh. That’s suspiciously competent of someone. When I stand, my legs give out and I hit the floor like a dropped sack of bricks. Vesper immediately stands and offers a hand, pulling me up so I don’t faceplant again.
“I think I found the control room, Liora,” he says, like we’re talking over morning coffee instead of imminent doom.

I nod and make my way toward the desk, clinging to the chair for balance. Vesper drops into the seat—then pats his lap like that’s an option. I try shoving him away. He doesn’t budge an inch. My legs buckle again, traitors that they are, and he just scoops me down into the chair between his legs anyway like I weigh nothing. Whatever. I need the console. I press my hand to the table. The holograph flickers to life, a paused recording waiting for me. I go to hit play—and an alarm detonates in my ears. Red lights strobe. The kid screams. Someone starts pounding on the barricaded door.
“We need to go, Liora!” Vesper calls.
“I just found something!” I snap back.
I shove my gauntlet into the port. My visor flicks on, numbers streaming across my display. Downloading. Hurry.

Meanwhile Vesper is trying to kick out the window, and failing in increasingly embarrassing ways. I haul myself onto the counter and kick the glass myself. It shatters. The kid watches the entire exchange like she’s front-row at a comedy show. Vesper scoops her up and climbs out. The door is splintering. My skull is ringing from the alarm. I follow him onto the ledge. My gauntlet extends a blade—then transforms into a hook. I jam it into the building’s exterior and anchor myself. A NeuroSick bursts into the room behind us, gurgling and screaming. One stumbles right out the broken window and disappears through the canopy leaves. Vesper hands me the kid. I helped her climb. “How screwed do you think we are when we get down there, Liora?”
I shoot him a look. “There is a child present.”
He clears his throat. “Right. My bad.”

We inch along the ledge. Vesper slips—of course he does—and I catch his hand while balancing the kid with my foot. Absolutely not ideal.
“Get it together,” I hissed.
The kid gawks. “Are you two fighting?”
“No,” I say. “I’m telling Mr. I-Can’t-Keep-Myself-Alive that he’s an idiot.”
She looks baffled, probably because she’s only known us for five minutes and has already witnessed enough chaos for a lifetime. Vesper reaches a balcony and pulls himself up—right after knocking over a plant pot. It smashes below. The gurgling stops. Vesper double–thumbs-ups like that helps anything. I climb across with the girl, listening—yep. Footsteps. Too close.

Then I see it. Too late.

A NeuroSick lunges out from the balcony shadows. I throw a knife midair and hit it, but momentum’s a bitch; it barrels into Vesper anyway. They crash over the railing. “Shit—”
I get the kid onto the balcony first. Priority one. I shove her into a supply closet. She looks scared, but listening.
“Hey. Look at me.”
She does. 

“I have to go save your idiot friend, okay? You hide in here and stay quiet. When I get back, we can tell him exactly how stupid he is. Sound good?”

She smiles. “Oki!”
“For real though—quiet. Try… taking a nap or something.”
She nods. I ruffle her hair and shut the door. Back at the railing, I lean over—but the canopy is so dense I can’t see a damn thing. Just leaves and shadows. Of course. Why does this keep happening to me? Then Vesper’s voice echoes up from below—my name, strained, pained.
I groan, “Oh, for fuck’s sake—”  I hate my life.