The silence in Clara’s bedroom was deafening.

It had been three hours since Julian had carried her up the stairs and unceremoniously deposited her inside, locking the heavy door behind him. Her skin still burned where his hands had gripped her waist. Her mind was a chaotic whirlwind of fear, adren

The heavy silver keycard felt like a block of ice in Clara’s palm.

Long after the heavy steel door had clicked shut, leaving her alone in the brutalist silence of her bedroom, she remained seated on the edge of the mattress. Julian’s words echoed in the cavernous space, reverberating against her r

The red emergency lights pulsed like a frantic heartbeat, painting the brutalist walls of the armory in violent flashes of crimson.

Clara shoved the digital pad into the waistband of her jeans, pulling her dark turtleneck down to conceal it. The klaxons wailed overhead, a mechanical scream that dr