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17

Bad decisions build character.

Makes you feel better, doesn’t it?

Khalani barely slept that night. In her long-standing nightmares, the Governor wrapped his hand around her neck and squeezed with all his might, grinning sadistically.

But then, his face began to morph until it was Takeshi who held her down. Takeshi’s beautiful black eyes flared with delight as the life slowly drained out of her.

“You made the wrong choice,” he whispered.

She jolted awake with a gasp, her entire body trembling. Khalani rubbed her eyes, trying to calm her ragged breathing. She slipped out of the bedroom in the blue sweatshirt and T-shirt she’d found in the dresser, her bare feet softly padding against the black tile.

In the main area, she found Winnie sitting with her legs crossed at a desk, her monocle perched on her nose, wearing a burgundy dress that spilled over the wooden stool. She labored over a journal, writing furiously.

“Hey, Winnie,” she greeted softly, though the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.

Winnie jerked up, her cheeks lifting. “Khalani, dear! What are you doing up so early?”

“It’s early?” Khalani’s brows raised as she glanced around thewindowless room. “Hard to tell.”

“Ah, you need to grab yourself one of these.” Winnie flipped her wrist and showed her a circadian watch.

Khalani had only seen a few in person.

Circadian watches were quite rare and cost what the average citizen would make after working twenty years in Apollo.

Instead of numbers, the watches displayed symbols for the sun, moon, and food, helping keep track of time and the best hours to eat underground.

“Winnie found it in the nightstand. She’ll make sure to find one for you too,” Winnie said proudly, patting the seat next to her. “Come sit, dear. You look too pale.”

Khalani obliged and sat down with a huff, stretching her legs out and rubbing a hand between her tired eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, Winnie. Just bad dreams.”

“What terrifies us in the real world manifests in our sleep, so it might then escape. Don’t let that happen,” Winnie implored with a serious look.

Khalani tilted her head back, her gaze fixed on the grey ceiling. She traded one underground city for another, and her anxiety continued to persist like ghosts that refused to end their torment.

She bit her lip and turned to Winnie. “Do you think there are more like him?”

“Like who, dear?”

Khalani hesitated, not wanting to voice her thoughts, but despite her best efforts, she was unable to let him…it…go. “The Governor. Do you think there are more machines like him?”

“There almost certainly are.”

“But where did they come from?” Khalani pressed.

“Winnie doesn’t know.” She squeezed her pencil harder. “Winnie doesn’t recall any records in the Archives mentioningthe Governor being anything other than human. But someone had to create the machine and place it in a position of power over an entire city. Winnie suspects the maker is still out there.”

“Here?” She tensed. “In Hermes?”

“Possibly. We must keep our wits about us. The key to finding Prometheus and Project Helix may lie in this very city.”

The path to Project Helix starts at Prometheus.