Zaharah stifled a hiss as she laid a hand on the cold metal wall of the vent. The shaft was big enough for them to move at a crouch and wide enough for two to creep side by side. But their progress was made slow by Devin, who dragged himself like a wounded animal. Pharah kept stopping to check on him, which in turn forced Roddi to stop to urge her on.

Up here the whir of the system was deafening enough to drown out conversation. And in some areas it made the shaft vibrate so much, Zaharah feared it would collapse. By now the Director was probably hot on their heels. There could be an army of creepers waiting for them in the pod bay. They had no weapons with which to defend themselves, and her knife didn't count.

How did the saying go? Don't bring a knife to an advanced military weaponry fight. Did Markus predict this when he'd yelled at her that morning about not being ready to take on responsibility?

They weren't out of Denden yet and she was already so far out of her depth, drowning with no one to rescue her or throw her a lifeline. She could chant her mantra until she grew hoarse; it wouldn't get her and Jade safely to the mainland.

"There's a junction up here!" Roddy yelled over the noise.

Zaharah snapped out of her self-deprecating trance and plucked Skorpi out her pocket. "Give us the map Skorpi."

The mechpet saluted and turned to the wall. His left eye remained green while the other became a glaring white and projected the image of the map on the opposite wall. Zaharah followed the markings Dwight had made. They were in duct E, and they needed to go through the main duct, A, to duct G. That would get them to the pod bays.

"We're going left Roddi!" Zaharah yelled. He waved his understanding, and they continued on their way.

Zaharah took a moment to tuck Skorpi in her pocket, and when she set her hand down, it slipped on something wet and sticky.

And red.

She angled her body to look ahead at Devin. He crawled, with one hand holding his wounded side a grunt escaping him every other moment. It would be better if you left him here, Elliot had said. She swore under her breath and followed the group, being more diligent about where she placed her hands.

After a few more minutes of crawling, they came to another junction, where the roar of the system made her bones rattle. A breeze whipped up her braids and ruffled her clothes. A fan sat on the opposite end of duct A, blowing a chilling gale through the shaft.

Zaharah pulled her hood up over her head and yanked her sleeves over her good hand. "Go fast!" The wind pushed them along, lashing at their clothes, forcing the luggage to put on brakes to not run into the walls or Zaharah. She shivered, gooseflesh raising her skin. Roddi and Pharah all but dragged Devin through the shaft. Up ahead the entrance to duct G beckoned them onward, like a lighthouse guiding them to safe harbour.

They scrambled the last few metres, and all but dived into the vent. While it was still cold, the wind wasn't as harsh, and lightened considerably once they moved further.

"That's it!" Roddi called from the front of the group. He pointed ahead to a vent sitting on the wall, its slats shut tight. "If I can work the pins loose, I can get it open." He pressed his hands against the vent, felt around the edges. "Anyone got a knife? Or something long and flat?"

"I do." Zaharah pushed the button on her arm, and the knife popped from her palm. When she slid it towards him, he stared at it for half a second before picking it up with a nod. While he worked the vent off, she tightened the strap on her bags and dialled up the power on their suitcases in case they needed to run.

Jade nudge her arm. I'm worried about Devin. She looked towards where Pharah had him braced against the side of the vent. His eyes were closed and lips fixed in a grimace, and his chest rose and fell in sporadic bursts.

He's a bad shape, Zaharah signed back. Maybe Elliot was right about us leaving him behind. Any kind of first aid we give him may not help.

"The way looks clear, but it's a steep drop to the bottom," Roddi announced. "Who wants to go first?"

Jade rapped on the wall to get their attention and signed.

"She wants to go down first with Pharah. Then you and I can lower Devin to them," Zaharah translated. "Sounds like a solid—"

Her phone rang, and when she fished it from her bag, Dwight's number flashed across the dash.

"Zaharah, are you there?" His voice echoed, mixed with banging in the background that sounded like someone was trying to bust down a door.

"Yes, I'm here."

"Good. Did you get to the evac platform?"

"Yeah. We're there now."

"All right. I've cut off power to the hatches in that area and delayed the auxiliary system. You have half an hour. That should be more than enough time to run the programme. Go now."

"Okay. Ah... Thanks. I owe you one."

"Get out of here, kid." And he hung up.

Zaharah tucked her phone away and looked up in time to see Jade's head disappear over the edge. Pharah followed, her feet thumping down on the platform a moment later. Zaharah moved closer to the edge and caught whiffs of pine cleaner seeping through the open vent. She tucked her knife away and peered over the edge at the top of Jade and Pharah's heads.

"Ready, Dev?" Roddi asked.

Devin kissed his teeth. "Just fucking drop me. I'm already half dead."

Zaharah took his arm, and she and Roddi helped him to the edge, wincing every time he groaned, or swore softly. Hopefully, there'd be something down there to ease his pain. "Easy. Jade, Pharah, you guys ready?"

"Be gentle please," Pharah said.

Inch by inch, they eased him down to the arms of Pharah and Jade. When they grabbed his legs, Zaharah and Roddi let him go, and he fell back into their arms. Not the most graceful landing, but better than him jumping down himself. Sweat beaded his forehead, and he could barely lift his feet as Pharah helped him to the far corner of the room, but still he rolled his eyes at Pharah when she doted over him. The man was made of tough stuff.

Zaharah dropped the bags down next, and they took the landing much better. The micro metal, she held as far over the edge as her arms could dangle before dropping it into Jade's waiting arms. The rattling glass made her wince, and she prayed none of the vials broke.

"Hang on tight Skorpi." The steep drop sent a shocked through her ankles and up to her knees. She inched away to give Roddi room to land, but waited until her legs felt solid again before standing.

Behind her were a few closets filled with supplies. Jade was already rummaging through one. Across the room on the left wall was the access panel Dwight told her about, and beyond it, the pods, sitting in their docking bays. They were bigger than the ones from the Hurakan—the size of sedans.

Zaharah crossed to the panel and plucked Skorpi from her pocket. At first glance the thing looked dead with its dusty buttons, but when she hit the power the screen popped up. "It's all you Skorpi." He saluted her and climbed on before plugging his tail into the universal port. "All right, run the programme."

Skorpi's eyes blinked green and blue, and several windows popped up on the panel's screen. Installing remote access software 0% complete. Fifteen minutes remaining.

"We have fifteen minutes to burn," Zaharah said, over her shoulder. "What's in the closets?"

"Clothes, food, flotation devices, torches, water purifiers." Roddi pulled down a red box with a white cross on it. "Bingo." He took the med kit over to Devin and Pharah.

Meanwhile Jade was checking out the clothes, bland grey and black T-shirts and sweats. She held them at arm's length, and Zaharah could see the cogs turning in her sister's head. Their mother had rubbed much of her innovative fashion sense off on them, showed them how to upscale bland and shapeless excuses for clothes into something wearable.

"Take them," Zaharah said.

But that would be stealing. Jade lowered the shirt.

"As far as I'm concerned, Denden owes us. Take whatever you want. Raid the place for all I care." Zaharah lowered herself to the ground next to the panel and watched Roddi clean up Devin's wounds. A small hill of blood-soaked bandages and wipes lay at his feet along with the wads of cotton and strap they used as a makeshift bandage.

Zaharah looked away, down at her own hands. The good one had traces of Devin's blood on it, while the metal one remained pristine. For a few minutes, silence reigned, and a heaviness settled in the room, undercut by Devin's groans and hisses. Now that they had time to think, now that the adrenaline had bled away and the immediate danger was curbed for a moment, the gravity of the situation was catching up with them.

Zaharah brought her knees to her chest and laid her chin on them. Her mind conjured up images from throughout the day. The revelations from Dr Will, yelling at Dwight, yelling at Markus, yelling at Devin. Markus being slammed into the wall by that creeper, the Director scowling up at her. This was her fault, she'd gotten all these people involved and now their lives were in danger too.

Jade tapped her on the head, then dropped a duffel bag of closet loot at her feet and sat next to Zaharah. What was that Markus gave you?

She pulled the boomerang out of her pocket, turned it over in her hands. It was wrapped up in black material like bandages and had some weight to it. She unravelled it and found not a boomerang, but a sheathed knife. Etched on its metal handle was a symbol, one Zaharah had seen almost every day before the accident. On her sisters' uniforms, on their badges.

"Jade..." Her voice was hoarse, and low. "This is a Makana issued knife."

He said he couldn't tell us who sent him here. Do you think...?

"I don't know. I'm not sure if there even away for us to find out." Zaharah plucked the bandages from the ground and wrapped the knife back up. Makana... no wonder he'd been so secretive. She couldn't remember a time when her older sisters were forthcoming about their work. No one knew exactly what they did beyond being attack dogs for Parliament.

"Hey Pharah," a robotic voice called out, cutting into her stream of thought.

All heads turned towards Jade. She held her phone with a shaking hand, and her eyes were on the floor. "I'm sorry," the text to speech continued. "I should've told your brother no. Now you're all mixed up in this mess."

"Don't apologise, kid," Devin said between wheezing breaths. His eyes were squeezed shut and his brow furrowed. "It was my choice to come here. And the only person to blame for this is that bitch of a Director."

Pharah smiled at her brother. "It's alright, Jade. Just promise me you two will get Devin to a hospital as soon as you reach the mainland."

Devin cracked one eye. "Pharah, you and Roddi need to come with us too. You can't stay here with the Director."

"But... my music. The Director has been my manager for years now. She wouldn't—"

"Pharah!" Devin hissed in a breath, then clutched his stomach. "I never thought Director Sanders would be this cruel. Look what she did to me, to Zaharah and Jade. What makes you think she'll treat you any different? Because she makes a little of money off of you? I'm sure that metal shit Zaharah is carrying around is more valuable to her than any of us."

Pharah turned away from him and brought her knees to her chest. "Devin all of my stuff is here. How am I going to make music?"

"You can figure out another way once you're on the mainland. But you definitely won't be making any music if you die here."

Roddi heaved a sigh, and placed a hand on Shala's head. "I don't want to leave either. But... Devin has a point. Even if the Director doesn't kill us, I doubt we'll be going back to business as usual if we stay."

Pharah's eyes welled with tears, and her lips trembled. "But..."

"I'm not gonna force you to go," Devin said. "But you need to be smart about this. All those fancy gigs and opportunities you got? Director Sanders arranged them for you. She could hold that over your head. This is your chance to take control of your career."

"With what, Devin?!" she screeched, slamming her fists down. "I don't have anything."

Her brother shook his head. "You have talent. You just need to show it to the right person. Whatever you decide to do, I'll be rooting for ya." He closed his eyes again, and his breathing became slower, his body sagging against the wall.

"Hey Devin," Zaharah said. "I was wrong about you. You're alright."

He breathed a laugh. "Thanks."

They lapsed into silence again and Zaharah rapped her fingers against the ground, shook her leg. Her gaze moved from the doors to the panel and back, paranoia sending her heart aflutter. If she didn't distract herself, she'd go mad. She took off her bag and pulled the case of markers and pencils out. Only one thing would make her feel marginally better in this shitty situation.

"What are you doing?" Roddi asked.

"Giving this place one last middle finger." She stood and uncapped a black marker, taking its scent deep into her lungs.

"Fuck yeah," Devin said. "Give me one of those."

Zaharah chucked a green one his way. "Anyone else?"

Roddi and Jade each grabbed a marker, but Pharah hung back against the wall. Tears clung to her lashes and her breath coming in soft hitches.

She sidled up to her and crouched down. "Come draw with me." She held out the marker and Pharah stared at it for a long time before accepting it. They turned to the smooth grey wall and Zaharah took a step back to assess the canvas. She'd done murals before, with permission, but the carefree style of graffiti had always intrigued her.

"Give me your hand," When Pharah obliged, Zaharah put her metal fingers over her fleshy ones and hoped they weren't too cold. "And now we dance."

Zaharah pressed the tip of the marker to the wall, moved it up, down, around, the black streaks in its wake seeming to have no coherent pattern. She felt Pharah's eyes on her and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on edge, but she kept her eyes on the drawing. Pharah gave her full control, allowing her to twist the marker this way and that to control the line density. And she let her mind take the drawing where it needed to go.

When it was all done, she pulled the marker away from the wall, but didn't let go of Pharah's hand. "Congratulations, you're a vandal now."

Pharah snorted. "With everything that's happened today, getting arrested for vandalism is the least of my worries." They lapsed into silence and held gazes for a little longer than was appropriate for casual acquaintances.

"Just kiss you stupid humans!" Shala yelled.

A flash of heat crept up Zaharah's neck, made worse when Pharah giggled. She wheeled, ready to wring the little cat's neck, but Skorpi beeped and waved his claws, signalling the end of their respite.

The pod doors opened with a hiss and the familiar hum of the electric engine filled the room, along with the cold reality that her time in Denden was up.