They were waiting. He could feel Mr. Solomon’s eyes on him from across the ruined bridge. That infuriating smile still on his face.
The silent ones stood motionless beside him. Their black suits barely touched by the wind. As if they weren’t real.
As if they weren’t human at all. Rachel Monroe let out a slow breath, rubbing at her temples. Okay, she muttered.
We bought ourselves a few minutes. Now tell me we actually have a plan. Tim didn’t answer.
Because in the back seat, Annie had gone completely still. He turned. Sweetheart? She didn’t respond.
Her small hands clutched at her stomach. Her fingers digging into the fabric of her hoodie. Her breathing had turned shallow.
Her chest barely rising. Something was happening. Rachel twisted in her seat.
Annie? Annie winced. Then she let out a soft, pained whimper. Rachel’s eyes widened.
Oh, hell. Tim, pull over. Tim’s pulse roared in his ears.
He threw the cruiser into park, yanking the keys from the ignition. Rachel was already climbing into the back seat. Her hands carefully reaching for Annie’s small frame.
Tim ripped off his seatbelt and moved fast. Crouching beside them. Sweetheart? Talk to us.
Annie gasped. Her eyes flickered open. But something was wrong.
Her pupils had dilated. Too wide. Too fast.
Rachel yanked up Annie’s hoodie and that’s when Tim saw it. The stitches across her stomach were coming undone. Not like a wound tearing open.
Like something inside her was pushing out. Rachel’s breath hitched. Oh my god.
Tim’s heart pounded. We have to get it out of her. Now.
Rachel was already reaching for the switchblade in her boot. I’m not a surgeon. Tim, but I’ll be damned if I let whatever the hell is inside her stay there.
Annie’s body shuddered violently. Her small hands shot out. Grabbing Tim’s arm.
Her voice. Soft. Shaking.
Was barely above a whisper. They’re calling it back. Tim’s blood ran cold.
Rachel froze. What? Annie let out a broken breath. They’re taking it back.
And then. The thing inside her moved. Tim saw it.
A shifting unnatural bulge pressing against her skin. Alive. Rachel swore.
Tim. Hold her down. Tim’s hands clamped onto Annie’s small shoulders as Rachel flicked open her knife.
Annie whimpered. I don’t want to go back. Tim’s vision blurred with rage.
You’re not going anywhere, sweetheart. Not while I’m breathing. Rachel gritted her teeth.
Hold her still. She pressed the blade against Annie’s skin. And then.
The sky above them exploded. A low, mechanical hum filled the air, shaking the ground beneath them. Tim’s head snapped up.
Rachel’s face went pale. Annie’s small body arched as if something inside her had just been activated. And from the other side of the bridge? Mr. Solomon laughed.
The device inside Annie had answered its call. And now they were coming to take her back. Tim Watson had fought against impossible odds before.
But never like this. The hum in the air was deafening. A deep, mechanical vibration that rattled through his bones.
The ground trembled beneath him. The sky above twisting with unnatural clouds. Rachel Monroe crouched beside Annie in the back seat.
Her knife poised over the inflamed stitches. Her face pale with determination. Tim, we don’t have time.
If we don’t get this thing out of her now, we might never get the chance. Annie’s small body arched violently. Her back lifting off the seat as if an unseen force was pulling her away.
Across the ruined bridge? Mr. Solomon stood tall, watching them with that same unreadable smile. His silent figures remained motionless beside him. Waiting.
Because they already knew. Tim turned his eyes to the sky and froze. Shapes were descending through the swirling storm clouds.
Dark, metallic objects. Not helicopters. Not drones.
Something else. Something not of this world. Rachel’s hands trembled.
Tim, tell me that’s not what I think it is. Tim couldn’t. Because he didn’t know what the hell it was.
Annie let out a weak, gasping breath. I don’t want to go back. Tim felt his chest tighten with rage.
They’re not taking you, sweetheart. He promised. I swear.
Rachel exhaled sharply, then tightened her grip on the knife. Then we end this. Tim held Annie down.
Do it. Rachel didn’t hesitate. She pressed the blade into the first stitch.
Annie screamed. Her small body convulsed, her hands clawing at Tim’s jacket. The thing inside her moved.
Rachel cursed, working quickly, slicing through the rough stitches. Her hands slick with blood as she pulled at the thread. It’s in deep, Tim.
I need more time. But they didn’t have time. A blast of wind tore through the trees, bending them at unnatural angles.
The ground shook harder. Cracks spidering through the dirt like something beneath them was waking up. Tim shot a look toward the bridge.
Mr. Solomon lifted a hand. And the silent figures began to cross. Tim grabbed his gun.
Rachel, hurry the hell up. Rachel was breathing hard. Her fingers buried inside Annie’s wound, trying to extract whatever was inside.
I feel it. It’s metal. It’s— Her words died.
Her eyes went wide. Tim’s stomach twisted. Rachel? She slowly lifted something small, metallic and pulsating in the dim light.
It was a disc. No, a sphere. Dark, smooth metal no bigger than a golf ball, its surface covered in tiny, glowing lines.
It hummed with an energy that didn’t belong in this world. Tim barely had time to process it before. Annie screamed.
Her body slammed backward against the seat. Her pupils blown wide. Her tiny frame shaking violently.
Rachel dropped the sphere. The moment it hit the car floor, everything went silent. The wind died.
The ground stopped shaking. The storm above froze mid-motion, as if someone had pressed pause on the world itself. Tim barely dared to breathe.
Then— The sphere floated off the floor. Tim yanked Annie into his arms, his heart hammering. Rachel— Rachel’s voice was hoarse.
Tim! Run! The sphere detonated. A pulse of pure energy shot outward, ripping through the trees, the road, the wreckage of the bridge. Everything.
Tim felt his body lift off the ground, his arms tightening around Annie as the force threw them backward. He hit the ground hard, pain exploding through his ribs. His ears rang.
His vision swam. Somewhere nearby, Rachel was coughing, struggling to move. Tim forced himself up.
His muscles screamed in protest, but he didn’t care. He had to find Annie. She was lying on the ground, her small body limp.
Tim’s breath caught. Sweetheart? A weak whimper. Relief flooded his veins.
Then— A shadow fell over them. Tim looked up. Mr. Solomon stood over him, untouched by the blast, his suit still immaculate.
Behind him, the silent ones had stopped moving, as if disconnected. Solomon looked down at Annie. Then slowly, his eyes met Tim’s.
And for the first time, the man looked furious. You have no idea what you’ve just done. Tim gritted his teeth.
Then why don’t you tell me? Solomon inhaled deeply. Then in a voice like a storm on the horizon, You just started a war. The words sent a chill down Tim’s spine.
But he didn’t care. Because Annie was safe in his arms. And as long as he was breathing, no one was ever taking her again.