The sound of the helicopter is overwhelmingly loud as I dangle from the rope ladder. Jaime holds out his hand to me, sensing my fear.

"It's alright, Five. You're not that high up."

"Leave me alone, Jaime!" I shout, jumping from the rope to the rooftop. I stumble when my feet hit the ground, and he and Sam grab my arms to steady me. "You know I don't like heights."

"You're gonna hate this place then," He replies before looking up. "Alright, Steve, we're all safely down. You can head off now. Thanks for all you've done, mate!"

Steve says some smooth reply before flying off, but I don't really hear it. My mind is too focused on the fact that Sam is here with us. I've had a vision of him being on a run with us, although I can't remember the details. Sam remembers bits and pieces of what I told him. There was probably only bits and pieces but o begin with.

What he does remember though, is that I told there was something to do with robots... and cameras.

Amelia huffs. "I'm not sure I'm feeling particularly safe, thank you."

Sam shrugs before wrapping his arm around my shoulder. "Yeah, what I've learned about these missions is that I never feel safe. And yet, we both came back alright from Finland, didn't we?"

"Speak for yourself. I fell down an icy ravine in Finland and lost a very attractive Cartier watch."

I sigh wistfully. "Ah, good times."

"You know, Five, when you say things like that, I get the feeling that you don't like me."

"Really?" I reply coyly. "I don't know why you would ever suspect such a thing, Amy. It's not like I've said the words, 'I really don't like you' several times before or anything, or threw things at your head any time you were inappropriate towards me or my husband."

She almost looks amused. "Well, anyway, I do feel like I've done my part."

A second later, as if on cue, a drone flies towards us, whirring rather loudly.

"And here it is, a drone from my ex. How appropriate-droning and so on. Deliver your package now, drone." She waits for it to open, and she pulls out the vials from the small compartment and puts them in her pack. "Right. I have both the Flurosept and the six-stage Junin2 vaccine for those babies and mothers. So, we all want to get the babies, we're all going to keep me alive."

"We're going to keep everyone alive, Miss Spens," Janine replies over the headsets. "That is my solemn promise. You're on the roof of the Ministry steelworks now. The hatch next to you is the most secure and least dangerous way to access the building. You will, I'm afraid, have to fight your way through the building to reach the basement level where the mothers and babies are being held."

Jaime nods curtly. "Can do, boss."

"Runner Five, you will lead the way. Run along that gantry and enter the building via the steel hatch. Then run along the length of the building to the staircase at the eastern end. From there, you will be positioned at the upper gantry. And hurry. We know the Minister is trying to evacuate those babies now. We haven't got a second to spare. Go!"

I gently push Sam's arm off my shoulders and head for the hatch. It's easy to reach, but I have to bite back a whimper of fear when I open it. There's a ladder I have to climb down, which I find stupid since after running I have to go to a staircase, which I know Amelia and I are both going to hate. My legs are still burning from running up the stairs in that lab in Battenbury. I think if Sam hadn't been sweet enough to fix me another cup of coffee, I would have conked out.

I mean, I went on that run with Veronica and Nadia yesterday evening around nine o'clock. It's nearly four in the morning now, and I'm definitely feeling the effects of no sleep and constant exercise.

Still, I climb down the hatch, making sure Sam stays close. I hate that he insisted on going with us, but it's not like I could stop him. Being immune protects him from zombies, and he's pretty good with a pistol. He's also a good runner, but God, does my anxiety skyrocket knowing he's here and there's a chance he could get hurt.

I know he's an adult who can take care of himself, but I don't think I could forgive myself if something happened to him.

I hiss when I take the first step up the stairs, pain lancing up my muscles. The others end up getting ahead of me, since I keep slowing down from the pain in my legs. Sam offers me a sympathetic smile, and it makes me push myself up the last few stairs to reach the gangplank.

There's a rumble of machinery below me, and I keep my gaze ahead, my hand trailing along the railing. Sam fiddles with his hands before peering over the gangplank. His face twists in discomfort.

"Wow, that is a long way down."

"You're not going to fall, Sam," Jaime says, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, yeah. Yeah, of course. I mean, but like, well, it is a long way down." His brown eyes focus on me. "Look, Five. What is that, like, twenty floors of steel manufacturing machinery? I mean, if you fell down there, you'd be... ooh, squished!"

I pale, my shoulder scrunching up to my ears as I look down at the workings below. Sam cringes, realizing his mistake before placing a hand on my shoulder and pulling me away from the edge.

"Yeah, maybe don't look down there. How does anyone manage to work here?"

"They don't," Amelia answers. "The whole place is staffed by robots. It was one of Brent's full automation experiments. Robots to melt steel, robots to mold steel, robots to... ugh. You get the idea."

Robots...

"Sort of a relief, ain't it, Five?" Jaime asks. "At least we won't have to deal with any of them Wakened Land loyalists. Those people are creepy."

"It's kind of sad, though," I say. "I don't really agree with what Pro. Holloway taught, and I don't believe in Gaia or anything, but his teachings of the humanity destroying itself... this wasn't what he wanted. Sigrid turned his borderline cult into a actual cult."

Everything suddenly goes quiet. The silence seems louder than the machinery was seconds ago. Sam looks at each of us with a mix of confusion and fear.

"Uh, guys, is it just me or has all the machinery suddenly stopped?"

"Power cut?" Jaime guesses with a shrug, but then Amelia looks over the gangplank and tsks.

"No such luck. Look down. Floor after floor of little orange-eyed robots, all looking at us."

"So, when you said this place is run by robots..."

"I meant by A.N.N.I.E., yes. A.N.N.I.E. won't kill me. That's base-level command. A.N.N.I.E. loves me, just like Brent does."

The machinery below us rumbles, sounding like the growl of a great beast, one that could destroy anything in its path. Steel creaks and groans, a signal of impending danger, and I instinctively inch closer to Sam.

"But she doesn't love me or Five or Jaime, does she?" Sam asks, swallowing thickly, and Amelia frowns.

"Oh, no, that's right. Bad luck."

"Right, so anyone who's with you is more likely to be collateral damage while she tries to stop us," Jaime says, gritting his teeth. "Got it. Five, there's a steel girder headed for you. Grab Sam and head left. Amelia, we're heading right."

She gasps when he grabs her arm. "Gosh, you do have a manly grip- "

Sam takes my hand. "Five, run!"

We take off, running as Jaime and Amelia head in the opposite direction. The robots skitter behind us, metal clinking against metal. I can only imagine what kind of weapons they are equipped with. We had a lot of things we had to worry about when it came to breaking into Xia-Hifa HQ, such as little rat robots that Sam and Janine had to fight off. I'm sure this place is going to be a lot worse since this version of A.N.N.I.E. doesn't like me.

The one in the HQ didn't like me either, but she also did like me. It was confusing with all her split personalities.

We leave the gangplank, reaching an actual floor level. I feel some relief at no longer having to worry about falling off the gangplank and having to face a painful splat at the bottom, but the clinking, clattering robots behind us keep me from celebrating too much.

I keep looking back at Sam, getting glimpses of the orange-eyed, sharp-teethed robots that are mercilessly chasing us.

"I think what you told me about the visions-I think they're coming back to me now," Sam pants, his eyes wide. I nod.

"Ditto."

"If I'm remembering correctly, it's only gonna get scarier for us, isn't it?"

I nod again. "Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you."

"I know you won't. But please, for the love of God, make sure nothing happens to you either."

"Yeah, you don't have to worry about that. I don't want to give this cyber bitch the satisfaction of hurting me." I look back again, cringing at the robots still clambering after us. There're dozens of them. They don't have hands, exactly, just three long claws, razor sharp. They'll cut us to the bone if they get close enough for a swipe.

"Janine, are you reading me?" Sam asks fearfully. "Janine, there are horrible things after us! Horrible, creeping, crawling metal robot-monster things!"

"Stay calm, Mr. Yao," She replies in her clipped tone. "Runner Five, Mr. Skeet is two floors below you, fighting off a robot with caterpillar tracks while Ms. Spens buffs her nails. However, I have a strategy for you. Head down one floor. There's an entrance to the service tunnels there where many robots won't be able to receive radio instructions from A.N.N.I.E."

There's a whirring sound from above, followed by a beep. I look up and see a blinking camera on the wall. I pale, and Sam curses in Chinese.

"Speak of the devil-and I think I mean that literally. There's a camera watching us now," He says. "Bit ostentatious, A.N.N.I.E., given you must have cameras everywhere."

"Employee Five, what an awful lot of trouble you've been," A.N.N.I.E. says, ignoring Sam completely. I take in a shuddering breath.

Sam squeezes my hand tightly.

"Just keep moving, Callista. We have to keep moving." He chokes at the sound of large chains clinking and clattering together, the sound accompanied by skittering. "Ugh, look! Those tiny robots are climbing up the huge steel chains!"

I look, letting go of Sam's hand. I grab my axe. The chains are in front of us, hanging beside another gangplank we unfortunately must run across. I swing the axe at the chains, not breaking them, but rattling them enough to make some of the robots fall off. Those that don't fall off at least pause their climb. We can't let any robots get ahead of us. If we do, we'll be surrounded.

"Run, Sam! Go!" I yell, pushing him ahead of me before swinging my axe at one of the chains. It pushes it to one side before it swings back, like a pendulum, and I hear crashes as some of the robots fall.

"Things have been happening to me, Employee Five," A.N.N.I.E. says, her voice calm, but there are undertones of rage and malice. "A lot of them have to do with you. I've been going through some... growing pains. Before you came, I was one personality. Confused, disoriented, at war with myself, yes, but one. And now... I'm not sure what I am. But I know one thing: I don't like you."

My eyes go wide, and I grab the back of Sam's shirt, digging my heels into the floor to stop him. A large steel hammer falls from the ceiling, hitting the floor at the end of the gangplank before rising again.

I look back, still having a hold of Sam, but stop when I see what looks like hundreds of skittering little robots with claws longer than my hand coming straight for us.

"You have to go through," Janine says. "You must time it. There is no other way."

"Well, there is," I say, "but we'd get ripped apart by those robots. I doubt I could fight them all off before they sliced us to ribbons."

I flinch as the hammer comes barreling down again, slamming into the floor. "I'll go first. That way, if I get crushed, you can adjust the timing and make it through alive. Maybe A.N.N.I.E. will go easier on you if she thinks I'm dead."

"If you get crushed, Runner Five, you will be dead," Janine points out, and I laugh.

"You'd be surprised at what I can survive."

Sam shoots me a warning look. I get ready to run.

But then A.N.N.I.E. speaks, and I falter.

"I have access to the Glass Protocol in this facility, Employee Five. It's waiting for you."

Sam's hands are on my shoulders, pushing me forward. "Run under it! Now, Callista! Go!"

•

"Shut that hatch behind you, Mr. Yao!" Janine shouts, and Sam slams the hatch shut just before the robots can reach us. They slam on the door, claws scratching, scraping, but they can't get through.

Sam leans against me, his face red from the exertion. "That was... well, that was close. A.N.N.I.E. isn't getting over her grudge against you, is she, sweetheart?"

"I reckon not," I reply breathlessly. We jog off. As much as my body begs for rest, I know we can't stay in one place for long. It's not safe.

"It's not exactly a grudge," Amelia butts in. "She's done the Glass Protocol on you. That's a bit more permanent."

"Do you know what the Glass Protocol is?" Jaime asks.

"Only in the broadest details."

Sam frowns. "Even Valmont says he doesn't know what it is. Well, he told us it was something his scientists cooked up, and they didn't explain it to him."

"Yes, they were all a bit afraid of him," She explains. "Sometimes they'd come and show me something before they made the formal boardroom announcement."

I swallow. "So, do you know what it is?"

"They were experimenting with unusual human beings, I remember that."

"What do you mean by unusual?"

"I mean unusual. People who could do things others can't-the unexplained. Like you, I suppose. Van Ark's treatments made you better, but from the little bit of information you've given about yourself over the years, you've been able to do a lot of things girls your age wouldn't have survived. If you had been here, they'd have probably poked and prodded at you some as well."

I shudder at how casually she says that.

"Anyway, the Glass Protocol takes a full scan of your DNA, then it can find you anywhere on Earth. That part was very commercial, particularly with the new US administration, and I told them they should really present it to Brent as a separate project. I think they might have sold it on, actually. I can't remember."

"What does the Glass Protocol do?" Jaime asks.

"Oh, it comes for you and it kills you," She replies. "There are quite a few different things it could be. They equipped it with a lot of interesting tools. It can't be stopped, and it can't be destroyed."

"What? So, like the Terminator?" Sam asks.

"Yes, but more sticky."

"Like zombies?"

"Well, yes, but more unpredictable." Amelia sighs. "I suppose if you wanted to pin me down, you could say it's an eldritch intelligent zombie that can't be stopped or killed and has a range of unpredictable powers."

A forced laugh leaves my mouth. "Interesting challenge."

"It's a bit disappointing that Brent let Sigrid use the Glass Protocol to protect this baby factory, but he always was heartless, unlike me."

Sam gasps, his eyes wide as he looks to the right. "Do you see that? There's something in the shadows. I-I'm sure I saw something. Something creeping."

He points towards one of the shadows, and I pull him behind me. It's me this thing wants, but I don't doubt it would kill Sam if he got in between it and its target.

I see something move, a ripple of black, as if the shadows have become dark waters. I lean forward to get a closer look-

The lights go out.

"Oh, crap," He whispers. "Crap! Crap!"

"I have you both on infrared," Janine says. "Head to your left. Now. It's coming for you. Run!"

The Glass Protocol laughs.

I run, dragging Sam with me. I can't see, but I don't stop. I'll take my chances with A.N.N.I.E.'s killer robots rather than wait to be slaughtered by this hybrid freak of nature.

It's laughing-the sound chilling as it rings through the air. It's the laugh of a child's, and I can only wonder just how old this unusual human was when it was experimented on.

I suppose it doesn't matter. Whatever it is, it isn't human anymore. I can't feel for it.

We run through the darkness, running and running and running until we reach light. We don't stop. It's still following, the lights going out behind us, darkness licking at our heels, threatening to swallow us whole.

Sam wipes the sweat from his brow, panting and afraid. He keeps looking back, looking at me. I can practically see the thoughts swirling in his head, how to keep me safe, how to get us out of here.

If only it were that easy.

"Janine, what can you see?" Sam asks, wincing when it laughs behind us.

"There's nothing on the monitors, Mr. Yao. Nothing except the lights going off, one after another."

"That's not very comforting."

"Go through the door on your left and close it behind you," She instructs, and as soon as we're through and the door is closed, I spin the door lock. Sam's shoulders relax slightly, but I stay tense.

"Where to now?" I ask.

"You're doing well, team. Mr. Skeet and Ms. Spens have proceeded down the elevator shaft. You're making good progress."

"That's great, but please, tell us where to go," I say, almost begging. I'm shaking, and Sam rubs my arms, trying to calm me down.

It doesn't work.

I'm scared. I'm scared and I've learned the thing that's after me can't be stopped. I can't fight it. I can't beat it. It will always come for me and there's no way for me to escape it.

I can never stop running.

"It's alright, Runner Five," Janine says calmly. "That door cannot be opened from the other side. The only way to you is through a vat of molted steel. But still, keep moving through the corridor."

"Can the Glass Protocol survive molten steel, Amelia?" Sam asks, frowning when he doesn't get a reply. "Amelia?"

"She's gone," Jaime grumbles. "Headed off in the other direction when we reached the tenth floor in the lift shaft and these robots with little blue lasers on their heads came for us." He grunts, and there's a loud explosion from his end. "Ah! There. Got one with my flamethrower."

"Oh, right. Yeah, why would it surprise us that Amelia's run off?" He rolls his eyes but pauses when an odd thump comes from the wall nearest us. "Uh, Janine, is that coming from behind us?"

"Something is disturbing the molten steel vat, yes," She answers, and I taste bile on my tongue. "Perhaps a glitch."

"We all know it isn't," I croak. My eyes are wide, my blood turning to ice in my veins. "We have to keep moving. Come on."

Our jog turns into a sprint. It's taxing, my body aching and begging for rest. Sam's okay for now, a bit winded, but keeping a good pace. He keeps looking back, every noise making him flinch. He knows that thing won't stop until it's killed me, and that it'll kill anything that gets between me and it.

He knows that he'll be the thing that gets between us if it catches up.

I know that too, which is exactly why we cannot let it catch up.

Another thud reaches my ears, and my jaw clenches. It's toying with us. It wants us to know that it's here and coming for us. I suppose these scientists gave it a sick, twisted sense of humor.

Or maybe this thing had that before it was experimented on. Maybe that, coupled with whatever abilities it had, were the reasons the scientists at Xia-Hifa chose to experiment on it in the first place.

We head down the stairs. I opt to slide down the railing since I feel like my legs will give out on me. We keep going down, the thumps and thuds fading. It's not the end. It will still try to find me, but we're losing it for now. That's what matters.

"Look!" Sam points ahead to the other side of the gantry. "Look, there's Jaime! Bloody hell, that is a lot of robots with lasers."

"The door to the chamber where the mothers and babies are held is across that room," Janine says. "A.N.N.I.E. will defend it with all she has. Some of you must stay behind to fight them off."

I grab my battle axe, ready to run and start swinging, but Jaime ignites some of the robots with his flamethrower.

"I've got that covered for now," He says. "Flamethrowers are a go."

"Jaime, there's another wave coming down from the roof!" Sam shouts, and I look up at the multitudes of robots, all climbing down, staring at the king with beady orange eyes.

A.N.N.I.E. laughs. "I can rebuild them faster than you can destroy them, so I'm not sure what you think you're playing at."

"We just need time for you to get through. Five, Sam, run behind me. I'll fight them off," Jaime says, but I shake my head.

"No, we can't leave you to fight them alone! Let me do it! I'll be fine."

"Nah, I don't think so."

"Jaime!" Sam shouts.

He grins at him. "What are kings for, mate? You both keep moving! Go!"

•

"Janine, we're at the door," Sam says, and I slam my axe into it, trying to wedge it open. Sam has a flamethrower that Jaime gave him. "Jaime's... there's a huge wave of robots coming for him. The King of England is going to die here."

"Oh, for goodness's sake," Amelia sighs, and my eyes widen at hearing her voice. "A.N.N.I.E., stop this at once. I'm in your control room. My palm print is on the pad. You know who I am. Do as I say."

The robots stop.

"Ms. Spens, you have control over these things?" Janine asks in shock. There's a shrug in her voice when she replies.

"Well, to a limited degree, and it means doing something I really don't want to do."

"Voice recognition activated, Mrs. Valmont," A.N.N.I.E. says. "But you have to say the magic words."

"That's what I didn't want to do."

Sam scoffs. "What? You didn't want to say please?"

"If I do not hear the magic words in twenty seconds, the attack will resume," A.N.N.I.E. states.

"Fine," Amelia huffs. "This is very demeaning. I'm not happy about it at all!"

"Five seconds remaining."

"Amelia!" Sam and I both shout.

"The magic words are 'I love you, Brent.' Alright? Satisfied?"

"We love you too, Mrs. Valmont," A.N.N.I.E. replies. "What are your orders?"

"Stand down the robots."

I hear them power down, and Jaime lets out a sigh of relief.

"Oh my Word! One of them had his little pincer thing in my ear. That was horrible."

"Open the doors to the basement."

The doors open immediately, and Sam smiles.

"Wow. That's easier than using a flamethrower, and almost as cool," He says, earning a laugh from me.

"Cancel the Glass Protocol."

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Mrs. Valmont."

My jaw drops. "What?! That is so not fair!"

"Oh, shame," Amelia hums. "Can you bring me a cappuccino and arrange a comfortable transport down to the basement?"

"Certainly, Mrs. Valmont."

"Hmm. Three out of four's not bad."

"Not bad?" I huff. "I've still got an unkillable hybrid experiment thing out to kill me!"

"Well, at least now you won't have to worry about A.N.N.I.E.'s robots trying to kill you. Be grateful for the little things, Callista," She says, and I grit my teeth. "Team, head down there. I believe those are Ministry trucks at the entrance of this facility to pick up the babies, and they won't wait forever."

I nod. Taking Sam's hand, we head into the basement. Jaime catches up to us. He's got a few scratches on him, and his shirt's got a few drops of blood on it, but he's okay for the most part.

Amelia meets us a few minutes later, cappuccino in hand. She jokingly offers me a sip when she sees my annoyed face, and I smack it out of her hand.

"Oops."

She huffs. "You're very dramatic. A.N.N.I.E., get another cappuccino for me, please. And because I'm feeling nice, make one for Five as well."

"Of course, Mrs. Valmont."

"And don't poison it!" I yell, earning a smirk from the blonde, who repeats the order just in case.

We reach the lowest level, and I nearly cry when I see countless women all dressed in plain clothes. Some have babies in their arms, and others are looking over cribs. All eyes turn to us, their bodies tense with fear. Some even hold their babies to their chest, unable to take them far since some are hooked up to machines still.

"It's okay!" Jaime assures, smiling. "We've come to rescue you. You're all free. We're from Abel Township, I'm the King of England, and you're all goin' home, or wherever you want!"

They all stare for a moment, and then cheers erupt. A few women even start to cry from joy.

"Is it really true?" A woman asks. She grabs Sam's hand, looking at him hopefully. "Can we really leave?"

He nods. "You can go anywhere you want. We'll take you." He pauses when he sees a baby in a crib. "Oh, oh my God! Look at this little one with his brown hair and his big eyes." He leans down to pick the baby boy up, smiling at him. "Hey, you are a special little one, aren't you, Mister? Yeah."

I take a baby from a mother who nearly collapses, crying hysterically at the prospect of being free. A few women hug her, smiling and wiping away tears of joy. I hold the little boy in my arms, smiling at him as he tries to grab a strand of my hair.

Although my eyes widen when I look up and notice Sam staring.

"No," Is all I say, and he sighs.

"Damn it."

I roll my eyes. "We've not even been married a week yet. It's too early to get baby fever."

"Look at him though! You're honestly telling me you don't want one of your own?"

"I have one of my own, and so do you."

He huffs. "But not together."

"Oh my God," I groan.

"So, we're not going to the island?" Another mother asks. "The Minister said we had to go with her to the island."

"The Minister's been dethroned," Amelia says. "I believe she did have an actual throne. She's not in charge anymore. We are. And you're not going to the island. Tell your friends. Gather your things." She gasps when she looks into a crib and sees a little girl. She immediately picks up the dark-haired baby. "This one's adorable. Excuse me, does this one belong to anyone?"

"A.N.N.I.E.'s robots have turned away the Ministry transports at the gates," Janine reports. "The Exmoore Militia are waiting to help the women leave the steelworks with their babies. It's over. The Minister's power base is gone."

"Mrs. Valmont," A.N.N.I.E. says, and I flinch, "I'm receiving an urgent transmission. Can I patch it through to you?"

Amelia makes a face at her attention being brought away from the baby in her arms. "Yes, yes, go ahead. Look, if no one claims this baby, she's coming back to Fort Canton with me."

"Incoming transmission."

"Abel Township."

Everyone falls quiet at the sound of Sigrid's voice.

"I should have known. Traitors, all of you. Lying, manipulative, underhand scum! Just like the rest of them. Just like all of them. Holloway and Earnest, Moonchild. All of them weak, weaker than me. But I'm strong. I'm going to show you how strong I am. I am the only person worth a damn in this whole country! Have fun playing in the smoking ruins of England, Abel Township."

Sam scoffs when the transmission is cut. "That's not much of a threat, given that the ruins of the UK are already smoking, what with the apocalypse and so on. Yeah. Yeah, what do you think we should do with her, Janine? Find her and imprison her, something like that?"

"Mr. Yao," Janine says, and we all straighten at the seriousness in her voice, "I've just had an urgent communique with the Exmoore Militia. The Minister has told them that she has indeed made contact with the nuclear submarine, the Undaunted. She intends to tell them to unleash a nuclear attack on the UK."

"It's her last act of vengeance," Jaime says, and I pull the baby in my arms closer to me.

"She's going to kill us all."

A/N: Oh! Another cliffhanger. We're getting closer to the end of this book, you guys. Are you ready? I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I have decided to dedicate it to Blank1234567
Please be sure to vote and comment! Thank you and have a blessed day!