Even in her pocking days, Zaharah couldn't function in chaos, and as she stumbled down the corridor in her sister's wake, it felt as though the lane of concrete and metal closed in tighter with every step. The hall seemed to twist and turn, glitchy and pixilated like a corrupted file. Her head filled with static, a constant buzz that smothered any coherent thought before it could form.

Her hands had gone numb, and when she stuck it in her pocket, her skin barely registered Skorpi climbing over it. Get it together, she told herself over and over. But repeating her mantra did nothing to bring the world back into focus.

"We need to stop." Pharah's voice cut through the static.

Roddi shook his head. "We need to keep moving."

"We need to stop. He's bleeding everywhere."

He groaned. "Fine, but we need to make this quick. Zaharah, Jade, do you two have anything we can use to stop the bleeding?"

"I don't know." Zaharah shook her head, the gravity of everything that just happened slamming into her like a speeding train. Her body grew weak and shaky, as though she'd been running on coffee the whole day instead of proper food. "God, this is so fucked."

"Shit," Devin hissed as Pharah and Roddi leaned him against the wall. "That bitch shot me." His shirt was already soaked through with blood.

Zaharah looked away and dropped her backpack to dig through it. There had to be something. She shoved her drawing tablet aside, tossed out a bag of plantain chips. At the bottom sat the carrying case that held her watercolour pencils and markers. Its strap was long, broad and adjustable. They just needed something to stop the bleeding.

Jade tapped her shoulder and presented a thick wad of cotton, a string and their source—a box of tampons. Zaharah took a handful and unwrapped them before butterflying the layers of cotton. They passed their makeshift medical supplies over to Roddi and left him to do dirty work.

The bullet wound was deep purple against Devin's brown skin, and the metallic scent of blood clung to him like cheap perfume. Roddi secured the cotton to the wound and pulled the strap tight. "That's the best we've got for now. Let's go."

They packed up and continued towards the vents. The musty stench was stronger through here. It clung to Zaharah's throat and sucked away the moisture. She stayed to the rear of the group, flanked by their luggage, kicking cigarette butts and discarded syringes out of their way. Demarkus had told her the older kids around here got up to some shady shit, but seeing the needles sparkling under the bright lights like glitter made her shiver.

Zaharah tucked her hands into the pocket of her hoodie and squeezed the boomerang he'd given her. Bile filled her mouth as she remembered the creeper slamming him into the wall, his arms going limp, gun falling to the floor, blue fluid leaking from his head. They had to make it out of here. For him.

Up ahead, the hall opened up into a circular room with a ladder leading up to a vent big enough for a large dog to walk through. And standing next to said ladder was Elliot. He leaned against the wall, eyes downcast, but instead of the delicate stem of a hibiscus flower, he held a pistol between his hands.

"Goddammit." Roddi said.

Zaharah skidded to a stop, and the suitcases bumped against her hip. "Shit." Trapped again. She put herself in front of Jade, same as Markus had done for them. If anyone else was going to die, it would be her. She deserved it more than anyone else for starting this mess.

"Zaharah," Elliot said without looking up from his gun. "With me."

She put her hands up, but before she could move, Jade grabbed the back of her shirt. "Jade stop." Her sister tugged her backwards. "Jade." She fisted her hands. It was hard enough giving up, but leaving Jade behind was like watching the Hurakan blow up a million times over.

Zaharah reached back and dislodged her sister's fingers. If she was compliant, Elliot might be merciful. She walked to his side, hands still in the air. He still hadn't looked up from his gun. His hair fell into his face, exposing the still dark roots.

To think two weeks ago he'd been asking her about basket weaving and sea glass. He'd seemed so sweet and innocent and... foreign at the time. Zaharah had found him amusing, like a puppy seeing snow for the first time. The gun cast a black shadow over all of that.

"Can you let them go?" Zaharah asked, her voice quivering. "Please?"

Devin spat at Elliot's feet, effectively undoing whatever diplomacy Zaharah had tried to establish. "If you're gonna fucking kill us, just do it." His sister looked at him as though she was itching to do it herself.

Elliot looked up, not at them but at some point over the door. "You've made this quite the messy situation. Your long rant in the labs this morning has already caused a stir. I'm sorry, but I have to protect the Director. And the integrity of Denden." He raised his gun and levelled it with Jade's head.

Her breath stopped in her throat and she had to hold her body rigid to stop herself from lunging at Elliot. She kept her gaze on her sister, who stood defiantly, with hands at her side, chin sticking in the air. Under any other circumstances, Zaharah would've found her sister's bravado admirable, but in the face of death it was stupid.

"No, no, Elliot, please," Zaharah begged, her voice sounding more like wheeze. "You don't have to follow orders. You can choose." Her eyes moved back and forth between Jade and the gun.

"You're absolutely right, Zaharah. I can choose." And he squeezed the trigger.

Zaharah looked away, and clamped her hands over her ears, but instead of the muted pop of a gunshot, a steady beep went off in the room, akin to a heart monitor. A ripple cascaded over her skin, a sensation like ants crawling over her. She opened one eye and found Jade still standing, unharmed.

Elliot exhaled a breath and tossed his gun to the far corner of the room. "We have three minutes. Zaharah." He reached into his coat pocket and produce a small cube and a card. "These are for you."

"What's happening right now?" she asked.

"Sorry I had to scare you all like that. We were being watched." He nodded to Roddi and Pharah. "Let me check your brother."

"What the hell is happening?" Zaharah asked. In her mind, Elliot was still pointing the gun at Jade, but in front of her eyes, he was checking Devin's wound. She looked down at the cube and card he'd given her. The former had a button on the bottom, and the latter was gold with a red wing emblazoned on one side.

Jade nudged her shoulder. You can stop looking so terrified now.

Zaharah breathed a shaky laugh, the aftereffects of shock and fear still lingering on her chest. She wouldn't be surprised if she looked in a mirror and found a few strands of white in her hair.

"Can you help him?" Pharah asked.

Elliot shook his head, his lips flattening into a slit. "I'm not a medical android, but if I can be blunt." He exhaled a heavy breath through his nose. "You're better off leaving him here. I could probably get someone to help him."

"No," Devin said. "I'm not staying here."

Pharah fisted her blood-stained hands, her eyes growing glassy as a flat sea. "Are you crazy? You'll die if you leave!"

"And what makes you think the Director will let me live if I stay?" Devin said. He knocked Elliot's hand out of the way and struggled to his feet, groaning and hissing the whole way there. "If I die, it's not gonna be in this fucking place."

Elliot nodded. "Then you all best hurry out of here." He checked his watch. "We have two minutes. You three." He pointed to Pharah, Roddi and Devin. "Start up the ladder now."

"Thank you, Elliot." Pharah said, putting an arm around her brother's shoulder.

I'll take care of our bags. Jade plucked the luggage key from Zaharah's back pocket and herded their luggage towards the ladder.

"Why are you helping us?" Zaharah asked. Of all the allies that presented themselves, Elliot was the last person she would've guessed. To her, asking him for help would've been no better than asking the Director herself.

He raised his brows. "It'll make sense soon enough. Once you get to the mainland, you need to find Cammi. That card is your golden ticket to see him."

"Okay. But what about this?" She held up the little, white cube.

"It's a jammer. Like an EMP, but for androids. Once you're in the vent, push the button and drop it down. It will incapacitate me for ten minutes."

Zaharah frown down at the cube. "I—"

"We're out of time here. Go." Elliot nodded at the ladder.

"Thank you." Zaharah tucked the card in her bag and climbed the ladder in Jade's wake. Pharah, Roddi and Devin were already nearing the ventilation shaft. She took the rungs two at a time, her eyes focused on the way ahead. This time she didn't chance a look back. Seeing one android getting destroyed was already more than she could stomach.

When she hit the last wrung on the ladder, Jade offered her a hand up and an image of them in the shipyard flash through her mind. Jade reaching down to help her over the guardrail. Shipping containers stacked up before her, the black Atlantic below, the Hurakan burning in the distance and a creeper stalking them. This was no different. Running for their lives.

For the last time, Zaharah decided. This was the last time.