The bottle had broken first.
Von barely managed to get his head up before the front window shattered inward—glass on everything. Flashlights cut through the darkened house like hungry eyes. His father roared in a drunken stupor from the couch.
Boots thundered through the front door, heavy and plated.
They weren't here to talk.
"Subject 1208 located."
"Engage and capture."
Von came to his feet, clutching his side.
He didn't stand a chance.
Not like this.
Not against them.
Then, a shadow occupied the doorway.
And everything was silent.
The guy who walked into the room was gigantic—at least 6'5". Bald, military build, no expression in his eyes. His black-and-silver uniform had the patch of the Awakened Containment Division on it.
On his chest: a badge with one word emblazoned on the metal.
BULLET
Von's breath caught in his throat.
He'd heard rumors.
The guy who leveled a rebel safehouse with his bare fists.
The man who incinerated a teenage pyrokinetic with one blow.
The man who guard-posted Dr. Rhane like a warhound.
And here he was.
Due to him.
Bullet's voice was machine-like and deep.
"Subject 1208. Von Heller. Classified: unstable. Priority retrieval order. Resistance is terminal."
Von backed away a step.
His father stumbled into the corridor, bottle raised. "What the hell are you—?"
"Hardening Right."
The sound was like metal snapping into place.
Bullet's arm turned black and metallic, like obsidian molded by flames. He didn't even look in Von's father's direction.
He simply swung.
CRACK.
The man was hurled through the wall like a rag doll.
Silence followed.
Bullet pinned his icy gaze upon Von.
"You can come quietly," he said, cocking his other arm. "Or not."
"Hardening Left."
Von panicked. His instincts screamed. His powers flashed—weakly—useless against the wall of muscle and metal hurtling toward him.
He jumped out the back window just in time as Bullet's fists splintered in behind him in the kitchen.
BOOM.
Debris flew like shrapnel.
Von crashed through the wet grass, coughing, bleeding from his forehead—but alive.
He took off.
Bullets chased him. Drones dogged him. But nothing scared him more than the sound of Bullet's voice behind him, slow and deliberate like a judge pronouncing a verdict:
"Run as much as you want. When I catch you, it will all be over."
Von stumbled through the dark streets, his heart pounding in his ears.
They were not going to quit.
Dr. Rhane. Bullet. The whole system.
They would never quit.
And deep down somewhere,
Von knew he could not keep fleeing.