Chapter 4 - Blood and Circuitry
Ava ran until her lungs burned and the sounds of the pursuit faded into the storm.
She collapsed under the thick canopy of a pine tree, gasping for air.
Her shoulder throbbed where the bullet had grazed her. She pulled back her soaked jacket to inspect the wound.
She expected to see crimson blood.
Instead, a thick, luminescent silver fluid oozed from the torn flesh.
Ava stared at it, her breath catching in her throat.
“No,” she whimpered. “No, no, no.”
She wiped the silver fluid away. Beneath it, the flesh was already knitting itself back together. The wound was closing visibly, the skin fusing without a scar.
Not human.
Holloway hadn't lied. Ethan’s journal hadn't lied.
She pulled the glowing coin from her pocket. It was pulsing rhythmically, matching the exact beat of her heart.
“What are you?” she asked the coin.
The low vibration shifted, echoing in her mind like a distant voice.
We are waiting.
May you like
Ava shivered. The coordinates in her father's journal pointed to a valley in Nevada. The place where Ethan found her.
She had to go back. She had to see it for herself.
