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Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Her jaw was still clenched as she tried to focus on breathing. But any semblance of patience was hanging by the barest thread.

“If I ask nicely, will you get up?” she seethed.

“Perhaps.”

“Pleaseget off me…or I’m shooting you while you sleep,” Khalani added for good measure.

Takeshi’s stare bore into her when she opened her eyes. He tilted his head as if he were searching for something. Ahidden answer in the depths of her resentment. But he’d already decimated any goodwill between them.

She’d treat him the same as a roach crawling along the highway.

With blanket disdain.

Without another word, Takeshi lifted himself off her.

Khalani immediately stood, aggressively wiping the sand off her clothes. Maybe it would erase the vestiges of the weak, naïve girl she used to be.

She looked ahead and noticed the others were still visible on the road, but to catch up, she needed to powerwalk like there was a soft bed waiting for her at the end of the horizon.

Khalani grumbled under her breath and began the long, dreaded march forward. Unfortunately, Takeshi followed, refusing to transform into a rock she could kick along the gravel.

The ensuing silence felt as uncomfortable as nails scraping across concrete.

To distract herself, Khalani focused her mind on another mission. One that Winnie believed was even more important than reaching Hermes.

Project Helix.

She first heard the phrase from Timothy Talbot’s journal, which Winnie, a direct descendant of Timothy, had shown Khalani in secret. Timothy was said to have been a brilliant scientist during the Great Collapse, and his journal spoke of a hidden project—one that might hold the key to saving them all.

Neither Khalani nor Winnie knew what Project Helix meant, but Winnie was convinced that it was the key to safeguarding humanity’s future.

But as Khalani gazed at the heaps of ruin surrounding her, it was clear that Project Helix—whatever it was—never worked.

She crossed her arms, her head aching, as the sun lowered, navigating around the scattered cars and broken metal parts like an obstacle course.

“Is your plan to still shoot me when the sun goes down?” Takeshi’s voice broke through the cold stiffness, surprising her. She hadn’t realized he was keeping pace just a few feet away. His black hair fluttered across his face, thick lashes framing his penetrating eyes.

She glared in his direction. “I’m debating whether letting you rot in anticipation will be worse.”

“Or a part of you knows you wouldn’t be able to pull the trigger.” Takeshi tilted his head, his face stoic.

“You’d be a fool to think that.” She lifted her chin, letting him see the madness in her eyes. “If I were you, I’d sleep very, very lightly.”

“That’s fine.” He shrugged, as if they were discussing the weather and not imminent murder. “I already keep an eye on you while you sleep.”

“Sounds unhealthy,” she deadpanned.

“Probably.”

“And psychotic.”

“Stop with the compliments.”