Page 99 of Rupture

When he looked up, the sandstorm loomed larger on the horizon, but the breeze had dropped, the air preternaturally still. As if the desert itself had stopped breathing. His boots crunched against loose scree, the sound too loud, slipping him through time—back to the start of the mission.

The same harbinger.

Dried blood under his boots.

No wind. No movement.Wrong.

Finn raised his weapon as he took measured steps toward the cave entrance, scanning for a threat.

Nothing.

Fuck, this place had him spooked.

He scrubbed his shoulder against his chin as he flicked a glance toward the jeep, its bed packed tight with TNT and neodymium magnets under a sky of ribbon-like clouds. His mouth tasted of metal and ozone.Time to?—

A muted thump shook the landscape, vibration crawling through the soles of his boots.

The comms crackled. “This is Ethan. Alternative exit blocked.”

Finn touched his comms. “Copy that. Exit blocked Ethan. We are a go on delivering the second?—”

What the…

The cave entrance shifted from black to living mercury. A steely-gray shimmer pulsed outward, spilling into the open air. It rose, corrupting the golden evening light, ballooning high above him until it sullied the orange-streaked sky.

It shifted. Moving past him, behind him.

Toward Rose and Luca.

“Rose! Move!” But she froze, staring upward. Didn’t even seem to hear him. Her gaze locked on the haze circling above her. Like a hawk sizing up a sparrow.

No.

Ice flooded his veins.

Did it know who she was? Her connection to Thea?

Luca grabbed her arm, yanking her close, pulling her backwards in stumbling steps.

But the swarm matched their pace.Hunting.

A shadow stretched across the ground, narrowing to an arrowhead—aimed directly at Rose.

He had to pull the swarm off her.

Protect her.

Move.Now.

He sprinted for the armed jeep, vaulted into the driver’s seat.

Handbrake off. Accelerator floored.

He flipped the switch to power the magnets. The air shimmered, a pulse of energy rippling outward as the field intensified a hundredfold. The jeep bucked over rocks, almost ripping the wheel from his grip. He clenched his jaw, grit grinding between his teeth as he wrenched control back. He gunned it into a wide arc, skidding sideways close to Rose and Luca. The jeep’s wheels threw up stones and dust that merged with the storm-heavy air. Lightning flickered in the distance, illuminating the clouds from within.

“Over here, you bastards! Over here!”

“Finn, no!” His action broke her paralysis. Her face twisted in horror, but there was no stopping now.

---