Alice guided me through the dark hallways, her voice calm against the chaos. I sprinted blindly, turning left or right as she commanded, with only the intermittent flash of blue light from the cameras to orient me. The heavy steps of the Colossi echoed all around me, punctuated by the soft whir of their sensors—then bursts of gunfire.

  My heart pounded so hard that I noticed a dull ache in my chest, but I couldn’t dwell on it. I had to keep moving.

  Alice led me into the lobby where two Colossi guarded the exit. My boots screeched as I pivoted, ducking behind the empty nurses’ station. The biometric scan swept past, mercifully short of my hiding place, or it would have undoubtedly detected my racing heartbeat. I crouched low, chest heaving, desperately trying to think of a way out.

  “Alice, they’re guarding the door. Is there another way out?”

  “No. This is the only mapped exit.”

  “How do I get through?”

  “Would you like to learn more about the Colossi?”

  “If it will help!”

  “The Colossi can detect motion up to twelve meters away. They use their biometric scan to confirm their target, but sustained motion will trigger fire. They will use lethal force to eliminate targeted threats. In this case, you are the threat. Hope this helps.”

  I flipped off her nearest camera, then pulled my knees to my chest, wrapping my arms tightly around them, gently rocking, taking up the smallest footprint possible. “Alice, what’s in the rooms nearby?”

  “The hall you came from contains exam rooms. The left hall has a storage closet and a disused X-ray suite.”

  The lab walls are lead-lined. ‘Their scans won’t work here…’

  Inspired, I waited for the next Colossi scan to finish and bolted down the hall to the X-ray room. A hulking old machine hung from the ceiling, and as I hoped, inside the imaging booth hung lead aprons. I stripped off my winter coat and overnight bag, wrestling one of the aprons over my head. It added twenty pounds and dragged past my knees. Alice signaled all clear, and I crept back to the lobby.

  The Colossi rotated in opposite directions with a five-foot gap between them, scanning about every ten seconds. Even if I made it past them, I wasn’t sure where to run once I was outside. Then I remembered we were going to meet at the storage building for the delivery truck. Maybe it was still on its way. That was probably my best chance.

  I waited for the rotation, then sprinted toward the doors as the Colossi had their backs to each other, scanning opposite sides of the room. But the automatic doors didn’t open. I slammed into them full force, glass reverberating, but they didn’t budge. I said all doors, Alice!

  I doubled back.

  “Motion detected!”

  The whir of the scan froze me in place. A green lattice of light swept over me.

  “Lifeform undetected.”

  I heard their guns stand down as they shifted behind me. I stood as still as I could manage, waiting for them to rotate again.

  Then I ran back down the dark hallway—

  “Motion detected!”

  A squadron was marching toward me from the end of the right corridor. This time I didn’t stop. I sprinted forward as fast as my legs would carry me. Bullets chased me down the hall with bursts of light and fire. A haze of smoke rose above me. The sound of the gunshots bounced off the walls, encasing me in a deafening echo chamber. My ears rang, dulling all other noise, but their quickening pace of metallic march cut through. My only hope was to reach the end of the hall, but—

  Which way do I turn!?

  Suddenly, I remembered the back entrance.

  “Alice, get me to the back door!”

  “I do not have a record of a rear exit. But if one exists, the most likely location is near the far stairwell. Turn left now.”

  I obeyed. The cumbersome apron made it hard to move, and sweat collected in uncomfortable places. I fumbled down the slick hallway as fast as I could. I slipped, slamming my knees to the floor and bracing on all fours in a puddle of dark liquid. Pain stung my legs, forcing me to pause. My breath came uneven as I traced the puddle to its source. The pulsing blue light illuminated still white coats outlining both sides of the corridor. An employee badge silently floated toward my hand.

  Dayna.

  I averted my eyes and emptied my mind to focus on my singular goal.

  The ringing in my ears morphed into Lina’s voice. Mia, finish the sentence: I want to…

  “FIGHT,” I growled, scrambling to my feet. I winced with every step, wiping my hands on my hoodie and track pants, while dark droplets sent ripples into the puddles beneath my feet. I pushed the pain away and buried the fear. I kept my eyes forward and picked up my pace. I had to find the damn door.

  I made it to the end of the hall, and after two more turns, I finally reached the far stairwell. The manual back door was adjacent to it and was already unlocked. The piercing cold was welcomed against my hot skin. I would have been relieved if the sounds of gunfire weren’t still ringing into the night. I couldn’t slow down. I ran toward the path that led to A Building.

  I reluctantly shed the apron. It was too heavy. I’d never make it through the village with all the extra weight. I was now fully aware of how cold I was in just my hoodie. My soaked pants were freezing to my shins. I could see my breath, heavy in the air, as I struggled to breathe while I kept running. A sharp pain under the right side of my ribs threatened to stall me along the tree-lined path as I passed A Building. I was running out of breath—and time.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  I made it to the storage building on the outskirts of the village as another unit of Colossi descended the path into the center. I hid behind the building, unable to reach the door without getting caught. The supply truck was nowhere in sight. I needed a new plan.

  “Alice, how do I steal a vehicle?” I panted.

  “I cannot give unlawful instructions.”

  “Yes, you can. You’re a deviant. Override safety guards.”

  “Yes, you are correct. Override executed. Which vehicle would you like to steal?”

  “The fastest one in the facility.”

  “The fastest vehicle in the facility travels at fifteen miles per hour.”

  “You’ve got to be joking. How can that be true?”

  “Road vehicles are prohibited on the property as they are a safety and security risk.”

  Of course.

  A loud roar from several men drew my attention to a crowd of scientists, staff, and patients in gowns gathering to meet the Colossi. I spotted Abe and Elijah among them.

  Holy shit—they’re alive!

  The crowd was armed with volt sticks, and a few scientists in lab coats held canisters and beakers. Homemade explosives? They must have fought their way through some of the Colossi to escape E Building.

  Oh my God, they’re going to fight.

  “Alice, what is the probability that a group of twenty people with volt sticks and homemade explosives can survive a group of ten Colossi head-on?”

  “I predict each group member has less than a one percent chance of survival. Each Colossus can escalate their attack to a thousand rounds per minute. Additionally, in close combat, if a certain threshold is met, a Colossus may self-destruct. The blast radius will eliminate all life within one hundred meters.”

  I gulped. “Alice, what chance do I have of reaching them before it’s too late?”

  “You have a fifteen percent chance of reaching the group before the Colossi fire. You have a less than one percent chance of survival if you start running in that direction.”

  The reality set in fast. I looked in front of me toward the path leading up the hill and out of the village center; beyond it lay the wooded border.

  “What are my odds of survival in the opposite direction? In the woods?”

  “You have a twenty percent chance of survival by cutting through the woods and reaching the old highway. The Colossi are only mapped to the property and cannot leave or attack beyond its borders. Similarly, the Hounds are contained within the property lines.”

  I looked at my friends, ready to fight, with a near zero chance of survival, probably bolstered by their earlier win. I was shaking. Lightheadedness took hold as my heart raced faster. I sank to the ground, trying to steady my breath. I activated noise-cancelling on my hearables and closed my eyes, surrendering to the dark.

  “Mia,” said Alice gently, overriding the silence, almost human. “If you run adjacent to the group, you could divert some of the Colossi, increasing your friends’ odds of survival to one percent. Conversely, if you run to the woods after the group engages with the Colossi, your own survival increases to sixty-five percent.”

  I never told you they were my friends. But she wasn’t wrong.

  I took another deep breath and let the warm air out, trying to thaw the fear that froze me. I got to my feet, but I hesitated, and when I turned off noise-cancelling, I was greeted with the sounds of gunfire and blood-curdling screams. I had waited too long. I couldn’t bear to look back. I sprinted toward the woods.

  I concentrated on the sound of my breath to block out the sounds of the fight below. The ground shook beneath my feet from the explosions. The forest was dark and there was no discernable path. Fallen branches snapped beneath my boots. I dodged low branches and stumbled over roots, collecting scrapes and bruises across my body. The screaming behind me grew faint, and soon I was out of range—or it had stopped. Occasional gunfire still rang out, but my own breath was the loudest sound nearby. Sharp pain surged underneath both sides of my rib cage now. I slowed just enough to catch a few full breaths, but that’s when I heard the low growls.

  Hounds.

  “Alice—” I huffed, resuming my jog. “The. Hounds.”

  “Yes, Mia. The Hounds are closing in on your location. At your current pace, they will reach you in less than five minutes.”

  My legs pumped harder in response. The thud of my heartbeat became palpable in my ears.

  “How—much—farther?”

  “At this pace, you are approximately thirty-two minutes from the border.”

  I literally dodged a bullet to be eaten?

  I would have laughed if I’d had the energy, but I hadn’t given up yet. I was still moving.

  “Alice—tell… me… everything… about… the… Hounds.”

  “The Hounds are genetically modified canines derived from the formerly extinct dire wolf. Originally designed to track and detain potential extraterrestrial visitors, these Hounds have been specifically trained to track, detain, and eliminate Everly Protocol subjects.”

  “Weaknesses?”

  “Their hide is nearly bulletproof. Small-caliber rounds may slow them, but they won’t stop them from a distance. However, they are vulnerable to electricity. That is how they are contained to the property.”

  An electric fence?

  The howls sounded closer. I couldn’t outrun them.

  Can I out-climb them? Then what? Wait for the Colossi to find me? Do I even have the strength—

  Too late.

  A pack of eyes and teeth reflected the moonlight at my periphery. Their massive, agile bodies weaved through the trees with terrifying speed. I chanced a look back just as the leader leapt for me. I stumbled, tripping on a root, face pressed into the ground, as the heavy body slammed on top of me, and both of us rolled with the momentum. I used the moment of confusion to mount its back, tackling it like an alligator wrestler. Desperation summoned the memory of Elijah’s dream and the silent whistle.

  “Alice, play an ultrasonic frequency only they can hear!” I shouted.

  Without waiting for a response, I shoved the hearables into the Hound’s deep ear canals. I don’t know if one or both made it in, but the Hound shrieked, knocking me off its back. Thrashing wildly, sharp claws tore deep into my calf. I screamed with the last air in my lungs and rolled several feet from the Hound as I felt the fresh, warm liquid running fast down my leg.

  The Hound clawed desperately at its head, slamming its body against trees to dislodge the hearables. The rest of the pack kept its distance, whimpering with ears pinned back. The alpha retreated into the trees, and his pack followed.

  I ripped off my hoodie, binding my leg in a makeshift tourniquet, but I knew it was futile. My vision was already blurring. I lay down on my back on the cold ground, letting the freshly fallen snow cool my sweat-soaked body.

  At least I’ll be dead before they eat me.

  I laughed bitterly, releasing tears held back. I let them flow freely now. The fight in me was gone. I could feel my pulse slowing. I blocked the sensations of pain coming from all over. If my body were a switchboard for pain calls, I could have lit up the whole damn forest. Instead, I focused on the moon, full and bright, unobscured by clouds or pollution.

  La bella luna. I suddenly remembered how my dad would say that to me on nights he woke me as a small child to look at the sky through his telescope. Just to marvel at the moon. Back then, the world felt full of possibilities.

  But now there was only me and the quiet. No animal or insect noises. No owls or crickets. Just silence.

  And what was it all for?

  The tears dried on my temples, mixing with sweat. All I could taste was salt now.

  I heard a rustling behind me.

  Crap. They’re already back.

  I closed my eyes, tugged at my hoodie sleeve to release the tourniquet in the hopes I’d bleed out, or at least lose consciousness before they attacked.

  I held my breath, bracing for impact.

  “Hello, Miss.” The deep voice was tender and familiar.

  I opened my eyes.

  Harry.