Second day.
Iyisha woke already tense and carried it with her into the screening zone. The place felt different now. More uniforms. More rifles. More military layered into the space like a warning that hadn't been spoken aloud yet. Orders came faster. Movements were tighter. The line crept forward under the weight of people who could feel it too.
Something was wrong.
At Mikey's table, a metal container was set down with a dull clink. He lifted the lid and frowned.
"What's this powder?" he asked.
The man shifted, eyes flicking between them. "I use it to clean my teeth."
Iyisha felt it before anything else happened, a cold tightening in her chest.
Mikey raised the UV lamp and swept it over the container.
The powder glowed green.
The color spread across the surface, steady and unmistakable, reflecting off the metal and up his gloves.
Iyisha froze.
"I don't know why it's like that," the man said quickly, his voice cracking as he took a step back.
