The cradle lies twisted in the road.

  Steam rises off Kam’s hand in slow curls.

  Rain hisses on hot metal.

  For a moment, nobody moves.

  Not because they’re stunned.

  Because they’re listening.

  The Spire above them cuts a black line into the sky.

  Unbothered.

  The system voice is gone.

  No calm announcements.

  Just the city again.

  Cars in the distance. Sirens. Bass from somewhere south.

  Marcus wipes blood from his lip with the back of his hand.

  Smears it.

  Grins.

  “We got dropped off like a parcel,” Marcus said.

  “Same-day delivery,” Taylor said. “Prime.”

  Leo is already crouched by the cradle’s control box, prying it open with a screwdriver.

  “We’ve got maybe sixty seconds before the narrative catches up,” Leo said.

  “The what?” Kam said.

  Maya answers without looking away from the Spire.

  “The story they tell about what just happened.”

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “You mean the terror attack montage?” Taylor said.

  Leo’s tablet pings.

  Then pings again.

  Then doesn’t stop.

  “Yeah,” Leo said. “That.”

  He turns the screen toward them.

  A city alert fills the display.

  Incident in progress. Please remain calm.

  Avoid unverified individuals. Report abnormal heat signatures.

  A second line appears.

  Category: sanitation event.

  “They really called it that,” Marcus said.

  “They’re removing emotion from it,” Maya said.

  She steps closer to Kam.

  “They’ll make you sound like a chemical spill.”

  Kam’s jaw tightens.

  The nearest puddle trembles.

  Leo stands.

  “Options,” he said. “We can’t go north. Too bright. Too many cameras.

  We can’t go south. Too many people.”

  Taylor points at a lamppost.

  A small black lens blinks.

  “And we can’t stand here,” Taylor said.

  A soft whirr passes overhead.

  A street-cleaning drone glides past at the end of the road.

  Not rushing.

  It pauses.

  A light scans the cradle.

  Kam’s warped chest plate.

  Marcus’s cast.

  Then it moves on.

  “They’ve got eyes everywhere,” Leo said.

  Kam looks at the drone, then back to the Spire.

  “So what now.”

  Maya points sideways.

  Down a service lane between two buildings.

  A gap that looks unused.

  “We go where the story doesn’t render.”

  “Back rooms,” Taylor said.

  “Back alleys,” Marcus said.

  Kam takes a breath.

  The steam around him settles.

  “Move.”

  ---

  They slip into the service lane.

  The sound changes.

  Drips. Echo.

  Polished concrete. Glass walls.

  A neon sign reads Wellness.

  Leo taps at his device.

  “Signal’s messy,” he said. “They’re updating in real time.”

  Taylor looks back.

  Two drones hover at the mouth of the lane.

  Not looking at them.

  Looking past.

  “They’re not even looking,” Taylor said.

  “That’s the point,” Maya said. “If you don’t exist, they can’t admit you escaped.”

  “So we’re a glitch,” Kam said.

  “A rounding error,” Leo said.

  “We’re a problem they can’t post,” Marcus said.

  ---

  Maya finds a door with no branding.

  A keypad. A small camera.

  “Give me ten seconds,” Leo said.

  “That’s what you said about GCSE maths,” Taylor said.

  The keypad clicks.

  Green.

  The door unlatches.

  They step inside.

  The air is colder.

  Dust. Metal.

  “This feels real,” Kam said.

  “Because it’s not for people,” Maya said.

  They move down concrete steps.

  Pipes overhead.

  An electrical hum.

  Kam’s shoulders loosen.

  “How bad is it?” Leo said.

  “Heavy,” Kam said. “But I can hold it.”

  Maya studies him.

  “Don’t,” Kam said.

  “Don’t what.”

  “Don’t look at me like I’m a countdown.”

  Maya pauses.

  “I’m looking at you like I want you alive.”

  Kam nods.

  ---

  The tunnel opens wider.

  Service pipes. Cables.

  A vibration underfoot.

  Leo checks the tablet again.

  “They’ve tagged us,” he said.

  A map fills the screen.

  A red bloom near the Spire.

  Dotted lines spreading outward.

  “They’re drawing routes,” Taylor said.

  Marcus points.

  “That one’s right.”

  “How do you know?” Leo said.

  “Because it’s what a scared person would do.”

  He taps another.

  “That one’s a trap.”

  “They’re corralling,” Maya said.

  “They don’t want a fight,” Leo said. “They want footage.”

  “So we don’t give them an ending,” Kam said.

  “Season renewal,” Taylor said.

  Maya stops.

  She points to a branch where the lights are dead.

  “No signal down there,” Leo said.

  “Exactly.”

  Kam looks into the dark.

  He breathes.

  Steps forward.

  “Alright.”

  They move into the unlit tunnel.

  Their footsteps fade.

  Leo’s tablet pings once.

  Then goes silent.