Darkness devoured the buzzing stormcloud of flies. I stumbled to a halt, blinking in the direction of the cafeteria door—or at least, where I thought the door was. I couldn't even see my fingers in front of my face.

I hoped to Ether that the lab experts and flies were as blind as I was. But even if they couldn't see, I felt sure they could hear my rasping breaths and smell my fear.

I waved my hand around where I thought the wall should be. My hand swept through empty air. Fuck, was I even facing the right direction?

Footsteps approached, and Rekkan's voice echoed through the dark. "Zaf?"

"Rekkan, watch out! There are flies and Implanted here!"

A lab expert barked a hollow laugh, and the buzz of flies grew louder. But somehow, Rekkan reached me before they did. His hand brushed my shoulder and then tugged me into his side.

Bright light flashed on my right, and someone scurried toward us. I recognized Serigg's pear-shaped figure, a fuzzy outline in the swaying beam of the flashlight in her hand. Behind her, light seeped through the crack in the door—a sight that filled with me both relief and terror. The same beacon that drew me would also draw the flies. And wherever light could seep through a crack, so could flies.

"Serigg, they are coming!" I said. "The Implanted and the flies!"

"I know! Get inside fast!"

Rekkan pushed me toward Serigg, and she snatched my wrist and jerked me toward the door. I stumbled through the entrance, and Rekkan shouldered through behind me. A dozen flashlights lit the dark cafeteria in an eerie, undulating glow. Hands pulled us away from the door and started to close it.

I swiveled back toward the entrance. "Wait! Serigg is still –"

But someone else was already on it. Mekkar shoved aside the hands to grab Serigg's arm. He yanked her inside, and she pitched forward into him. The door slammed shut behind her.

Mekkar's arms wrapped around Serigg, almost accidentally. Then his wide eyes locked on the top of her head, and his chest locked over a frozen breath... waiting for her to push him away.

She melted into him. He hugged her tighter.

My eyes found Rekkan, searching for signs of injury. "Lekk didn't hurt you? Or the hench people?"

Rekkan shook his head even as he examined me. "I killed the hench people before Ivogg shot me, and Lekk and Nezuli are dead now too."

Serigg and Mekkar separated to focus on Rekkan. "Ivogg shot you?" Mekkar squawked.

"With a tranquilizer." Rekkan's eyes didn't leave me. "Turns out he's the Head Chef. So you're ok, Zaf?"

I brushed the pink spot on his neck, scourging Ivogg's touch. "If you're fine, so am –"

"Dragons!" Pakket yelled.

The room took a collective breath as they noticed what Pakket saw first. Serigg and I were not the only ones who made it through the doorway. Flashlights flicked over the sight, illuminating a dozen black spots.

While the rest of the crowd shrank back, an unlikely hero hobbled forward. She clutched a plastic pink flyswatter in one hand and a dead squirrel in the other.

"Now's our moment to shine, ladies and gents," said Figgel. "Let's destroy these fuckers."

Mazamu followed close behind, twirling a yellow flyswatter like a baton. Next came several more of the oldest women and men in the Refuge, armed with flyswatters and grim determination.

What followed was arguably the strangest scene I had ever witnessed. Flies zigzagged, and gray and white hair whipped back and forth with each crackle of stiff joints. Flyswatters slapped walls, tables, and skin, and war cries filled the room. Swinging flashlights framed each heroic leap like a poorly-shot low-fi film.

Moments later, smashed black spots decorated the room like abstract art, and the team of flyswatting warriors hunched over, wheezing and gripping their backs.

A unison sigh of relief passed over the crowd, but I quickly turned my focus to the other impending threats. Flies buzzed ominously on the other side of the door, and the air already tasted stale.

"What now?" I asked Serigg and Mekkar. "How can we get out before the air becomes poisonous?"

Serigg tugged on the scraggled remains of her hair. "I don't know. Even if the hallways weren't filled with flies ready to Implant us, the elevator won't work with the power off."

I appealed to Mekkar. "Mekkar, you've been here since the start. Isn't there any other way to get out?"

He shook his head. "We really thought our back-ups would be enough. Our ventilation systems underwent a series of rigorous tests before we were satisfied."

A thought occurred to me. "Wait, those vents... do they connect to the ground level?"

Mekkar's brow furrowed. "They do, but they are not built to hold humans."

"I could fit in the vent. Not well enough to climb, but..." I glanced at Fennikk, tucked into Nikkla's side. "A child could."

"No." Nikkla wound her hand into the back of Fennikk's shirt. "It's too dangerous."

"It might be our only option," Serigg urged. "If the children can get out, maybe they can find someone to dig us out."

A silence followed as the adults processed Serigg's true message. Serigg wanted to give the children hope, but her plan was really only to save the children.

Razalu piped up. "Don't worry, Miss Fennikk's mom. Fennikk has a super-arm, so she will be fine. She can save us all!"

Fennikk flashed a nervous smile, but her shoulders shrank. "Well, that's..." Her foot scuffed the floor. "That's not exactly..." Her eyes darted to Rekkan.

For once, Rekkan did not appeal to me for help. He strode toward Fennikk and dropped to a crouch in front of her, looking her in the eyes. "Fennikk." He cradled her name carefully, as if afraid of tarnishing it. "Do you think I'm strong?"

Her wide, unblinking eyes fastened on his. "Of course, Mister Rekkan."

He reached up to rap three tentative fingers over her green metal arm. "Because of my bionic leg, or despite it?"

She cocked her head. "I just only think you're strong. That's it."

"Mmhmm." The deep bass rumbled in his chest, slow and calming. "And I think you're strong, too."

Her eyes flitted up to the vents, and her teeth trapped her lower lip. "I can do this."

"Agreed," said Rekkan.

But then a thump drew all attention to the entrance. Someone heavy was throwing their weight against the door. By the sounds of it, someone much heavier than the lab experts.

Thump. Thump. Thunk.

If Rekkan already killed the hench people, then... "Bezan?"

Rekkan nodded grimly. "Sounds like it."

With the next thump, the hinges creaked and rattled.

"Shit, I'm fucked," said a tiny voice behind me.

I whirled around toward the voice. Despite everything, I couldn't help a little smile at the sight of Pakket's innocent wide brown eyes.

I'll protect you, I wanted to tell him. I'll take you home. You'll never be alone again.

But if I couldn't save humanity, I couldn't save Pakket, either.

A still figure peeled off the opposite wall to saunter toward us. "I'll take care of it," said Uzmed.

Serigg raised the scraggly remains of her eyebrows. "Uzmed? Why would you do that? You don't care about humanity."

His eyes flicked to Razalu, shoulders stiff with resolve. "Not most of it."

She plodded toward him and snagged his hand, head tilted up to meet his gaze. "Why do you want to leave me, Daddy?"

His posture melted, and one hand darted up to brush a curl from her eyes. "I don't want to leave you, Razzy. But you know I'm not a good father. Most of the time, I'm... well, I'm not fully here."

Tears welled in her wide green eyes. "But all of the time, you love me. Right, Daddy?"

Uzmed's throat bobbed, and the shifting shadows from the flashlight lit his face more gaunt than ever. Bedraggled. Remembering our last fight, I knew he would rather die than face his guilt. But Razalu wouldn't let him. She demanded more.

Before he could respond, another figure shuffled into the light.

"I'll do it," said Mekkar.

Serigg huffed a breath—half resentful and half fearful. "Don't be ridiculous, Mekkar. If you leave the room, you'll die. Even if Bezan and the lab experts don't kill you, the flies will."

Bodyweight slammed the door even harder than before, and a screw popped loose and hit the floor with an innocuous tink.

His lips trembled, but his eyes remained bright – determined. "I've been afraid of flies since long before I knew they were dangerous. That's why I wanted to leave the Headquarters. Which is why..." He shoved out an exhale and sucked in a vocalized breath halfway to a sob. "This is the chance I always wanted. To do it over. To deserve the people I love."

The judgment drained from Serigg's voice, leaving a helpless crackle. "Mekkar, you don't have to do this. We can find another way."

He thrust an open palm toward me the same way I had demanded his keycard. Hesitantly, I rotated the hilt halfway toward him. He snatched it from my hand and turned toward Rekkan.

"Rekkan, you are an incredible man. I should have visited you earlier – no, I should have never let you go. But I've always been proud to be your uncle."

Mekkar's eyes flitted to Serigg's feet. "Serigg. I'm..." I'm sorry, said his lips, but his voice broke. He swallowed, drew another breath, and looked her right in the eyes. "I still think you're beautiful."

He burst through the door.

The door flung shut behind him, smashing the one fly that managed to sneak halfway through. The fly's buzz cut off as it flopped to the ground.

Through the door, a scuffle... and a scream.

Serigg lurched toward the door, but Rekkan held her back. Both of them fixed distant gazes on the entrance as the brutal symphony raged beyond, a tornado desecrating an orchestra. Cracking, ripping, scratching, tearing, buzzing, screeching.

Then, silence.

Serigg sank against the wall beside the door, supported by Rekkan's hands, face white and eyes glazed. Wordlessly, she processed what all of us already knew.

Bezan was gone.

But so was Mekkar.