Back at their makeshift refuge — a warehouse groaning under rust and mildew — the air was heavy with distrust.
The silver-eyed girl, so fervent in her pledge, was gone. In her place, the group discovered a single gear whirring endlessly on the floor, its teeth etched with symbols.
Evangeline knelt, pale. "It's a transmitter. She was a beacon."
Selene's shadows rose like talons, her face contorted with fury. "I warned you. I said no one could be trusted. And now she's led him here."
Elric grabbed her wrist before she could strike the wall. His eyes, sharp and unyielding, met hers. "Paranoia is his weapon, Selene. If we turn on every frightened child, we are nothing but his mirror."
But even as he spoke, the pipes rattled. Steam burst in violent rhythm. Gears turned in the rafters of their hideout, grinding out a dreadful harmony.
The Engineer's voice slithered into every corner."Your rebellion is a firefly in a storm. You clutch at allies and they betray you. You think yourselves unpredictable, yet I have measured even this. You are not opponents. You are equations, and I am the sum."
Outside, the tramp of boots echoed. Enforcers. Mechanized. Their rifles clattered in perfect rhythm.
Evangeline smashed the transmitter beneath her heel. "We must run."
And in that instant, the warehouse exploded into violence.