RONAN My head snapped sideways as the drone’s fist clipped me, tearing open the skin at my temple. Pain flared white-hot. I moved just in time. If I had been a fraction slower, its blow would have crushed my skull between its metal hand and the brick wall. The impact still stole my balance. My feet left the ground. I twisted in the air and slammed hard onto my back. The breath burst out of me in a dry, useless gasp. I lay there for half a second, stunned. Blood poured from my head and ran straight into my eye. It burned badly, like acid, and blurred everything on that side. I dragged air into my lungs, choking as my chest fought to work again. Above me, the machine tried to pull its arm free from the wall. It had missed me and driven its fist deep into the reinforced masonry of the fortified facility. The concrete groaned under the strain. The drone stopped struggling. Its smooth black faceplate turned toward me, blank and unreadable. I felt its attention lock onto me like a weight. I rolled hard to the side. A split second later, its metal foot slammed down where my leg had been. The floor shook under the force of it. The sound echoed through the corridor. If I had hesitated, even for a heartbeat, my right femur would have shattered. I scrambled backward, palms slipping on dust and blood, never taking my eyes off it. The machine tracked me perfectly, its head moving in smooth, precise increments. I forced myself upright, my legs wobbling under me, lungs burning. My right hand went to my temple. When I pulled it away, it was slick and red. The drone lifted its free arm across its chest and began pulling armor plates away from its right shoulder. Panels came loose. Pins popped free. Screws hit the floor and bounced. I stared, confused, my mind lagging behind what my eyes were telling me. Then understanding slammed into me. “Oh shit,” I muttered. I spun and ran. I tore down the hallway as fast as I could, boots slapping against the floor. The machine was dismantling its own shoulder to free the trapped arm. I did not want to be anywhere near it when that job was done. I made it maybe five seconds before the sound hit me. Heavy footfalls. Fast. Getting closer. Every step vibrated through the floor and into my bones. That sound told me everything I needed to know. I was being hunted. Even with one arm, that thing would tear me apart. I ran harder, pushing past the pain, past the dizziness. I cursed myself for every workout I had skipped, every lazy choice I had ever made. My heart hammered in my chest like it was trying to break free. Blood streamed faster down my face, warm and sticky. My lungs burned so badly they begged me to slow down, but I knew if I did, the burning would be the last thing I ever felt. The hallway split ahead into a four-way intersection. The pounding footsteps were only a few feet behind me now. I did not slow. At the last possible moment, I stretched out my arm, grabbed the corner, and let the sudden drag wrench my body into a tight turn down the perpendicular hall. Pain ripped through my shoulder, but I stayed on my feet. The instant I rounded the corner, my eyes widened. I understood what I was seeing. I threw myself to the floor on purpose. The drone came around the corner a fraction of a second later, its single arm reaching out for me. Then the world exploded. A tight spread of steel pellets ripped through its chest. Plastic shards and fragments of advanced alloy blasted down the hallway. The machine staggered, trying to stay upright, systems failing in real time. Another blast tore straight through its torso. It collapsed onto the floor in a lifeless heap. Silence followed. Thick and sudden. “Anymore following you?” a voice barked. A security officer stood there in full body armor and a face mask. I could not see their face. I could not tell who they were. Only the depth of their voice told me they were female. “I fucking hope not!” I shouted back. Adrenaline surged through me, making my arms and legs shake like they were vibrating apart. “What section are you from?” she asked, already checking corners, weapon steady. “State Actor AI Interdiction.”“Anyone else alive down there?” I shook my head and wiped blood from my eye again, smearing it across my cheek. “I doubt it. I walked out of the lunchroom and saw half a dozen of those things smashing through our command center door.” She nodded once, sharp and decisive. “Alright. Get to the loading docks. Security is evacuating specialists from there. The way behind me should be clear.” I leaned against the wall, my legs barely holding me up. “What the hell? You’re leaving me?” “These machines went straight for your division. Not anywhere else.” Her voice stayed calm. “That tells me any survivors are important. I’m going to find them.” “By yourself? Are you fucking nuts?” My legs shook harder now, not just from adrenaline. “Come with me. We can both get out.”“No time. We are bugging out.” She paused. “And I’m not alone.” She aimed her shotgun at the base of the drone’s head and fired. Then she motioned back the way she had come. “Move. No idea how long that path stays clear.” She turned and jogged toward the chaos I had just escaped. I stared after her, stunned. I could not decide if she was the bravest person I had ever met or the dumbest. Either way, she was running back toward a swarm of killing machines, and I had no intention of finding out if luck would save me twice. I turned and ran. I pulled up the escape route in my virtual vision. Yellow markers overlaid the hallway, guiding me toward the loading dock. My head pounded with every step. Trying to focus on the real world while tracking the glowing path made my vision swim. Screams echoed through the corridors. Rapid gunfire cracked through the air. As I passed offices, I saw the aftermath. Technicians lay dead around their desks. Necks twisted at impossible angles. Chests crushed inward. Skulls split open. Burned-out drones lay among spent shell casings, smoke curling upward. I avoided every downed machine. I did not trust any of them to stay dead. Behind me, a door I had already passed through exploded open. I glanced back just in time to see it flip over a cubicle wall and crash into the workspace. My head snapped forward. My breathing went ragged. I ran faster, ignoring the pain tearing through my chest. I slammed into the department exit and hit the push bar. The door flew open, though nowhere near as violently as the one behind me.The next hallway was full of people. Dozens of them. They moved in an orderly line toward an exterior exit. Harsh white light flooded inside, blinding after the darkness. I opened my mouth and screamed, my voice raw and desperate. “Drone!”